A processing system includes a processing core and a hardware accelerator communicatively coupled to the processing core. The hardware accelerator includes a random number generator to generate a byte order indicator. The hardware accelerator also includes a first switching module communicatively coupled to the random value indicator generator. The switching module receives an byte sequence in an encryption round of the cryptographic operation and feeds a portion of the input byte sequence to one of a first substitute box (S-box) module or a second S-box module in view of a byte order indicator value generated by the random number generator.

Cryptographic methods may be used to protect confidential information in computer systems and other electronic devices. For example, an encryption operation may be performed, in which a series of transformations as specified by a chosen cryptographic algorithm are performed on a plaintext input data (e.g., a sequence of bits representing text, numbers, intelligible characters, etc.) using an encryption key (e.g., a sequence of bits) to produce encrypted data (cipher text). It is generally practically infeasible to determine the unencrypted plaintext data from the encrypted data, without knowing the cryptographic key. If the cryptographic key is known, a decryption (sometimes referred to as inverse cipher) operation may be performed on the encrypted data to reproduce the corresponding plaintext (unencrypted data). Side-channel attacks (SCA) on cryptographic hardware have gained significant attention, exposing a potential weak-link in platform security. Such attacks allow malicious users to steal embedded secrets by observing leaky physical information such as current signature, electromagnetic (EM) radiation and timing data while the device is under regular operation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Power side-channel attack resistant advanced encryption standard accelerator processor


A method for promoting bone growth in a patient (e.g., a mammal such as a human) said method including the step of administering a therapeutically effective amount of adrenomedullin or an adrenomedullin agonist to said patient.

Adrenomedullin is a 52-amino acid peptide first described in 1993 (Kitamura, et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 192:553-560 (1993)). It was originally identified in a human pheochromocytoma and has since been found to be in normal adrenal medulla and in many other tissues including the atria, ventricles, endothelial cells, lungs, brain and kidneys (Kitamura, K., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 192:553-560 (1993); Kitamura, K., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 192:720-725 (1993); Ichiki, Y., et al., FEBS Lett. 338:6-10 (1994); Katoh, F., et al., FEBS Lett. 348:61-64 (1994); Sakata, J., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 195:921-927 (1993); Sugo, S., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 201:1160-1166 (1994); Sugo, S., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 203:719-726 (1994); Jougasaki, M., et al., Am. J. Physiol. 268:F657-F663 (1995); Satoh, F., et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 80:1750-1752 (1995); and Jougasaki, M., et al., Circulation 92:286-289 (1995)). It circulates in picomolar concentrations in both rats and man (Kitamura, K., et al., FEBS Lett. 341:288-290 (1994); Sakata, J., et al., FEBS Lett. 352:105-108 (1994); Sato, K., et al., Life Sci. 57:189-194 (1995)). It is a potent vasodilator, acting directly on the renal, cerebral, mesenteric, pulmonary, and systemic circulations, and its administration results in hypotension (Seguchi, H., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 215:619-625 (1995); Nuki, C., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 196:245-251 (1993); Berthiaume, N., et al., Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 73:1080-1083 (1995); Nakamura, K., et al., Jpn. J. Pharmacol. 67:259-262 (1995); Feng, C. J., et al., Life Sci. 55:PL433-PL438 (1994); and DeWitt, B. J., et al., Eur. J. Pharmacol. 257:303-306 (1994). Its hemodynamic effects are probably mediated via receptors on vascular smooth muscle cells and possibly endothelial cells (Ishizaka, Y., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 200:642-646 (1994); Eguchi, S., et al., FEBS Lett. 340:226-230 (1994); and Shimekake, Y., et al., J. Biol. Chem. 270:4412-4417 (1995)). Binding to renal tubular membranes has been observed, and sodium, potassium, and water excretion are increased by adrenomedullin (Hirata, Y., et al., Hypertension 25:790-795 (1995); and Ebara, T., et al., Eur. J. Pharmacol. 263:69-73)). Adrenomedullin is a bronchodilator, and it modulates release of pituitary and vasoactive hormones (Tian, Q., et al., Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 73:1065-1069 (1995); Kohno, M., et al., Hypertension 25:1185-1190 (1995); and Yamaguchi, T., et al., Life Sci. 56:379-387 (1994)).

Treatment of bone disorders with adrenomedullin

The Administrators of The Tulane Educational Fund


A semiconductor storage device has a first transistor of first conductive type which control data writing, a second transistor of second conductive type which controls data read-out, a third transistor which amplifies a current corresponding to data to be read out, a first semiconductor layer which is disposed in a predetermined direction, in which a gate of the first transistor is formed, a second semiconductor layer which is disposed separately from the first semiconductor layer in the predetermined direction, in which source and drain of the second transistor and source and drain of the third transistor are formed, a write transistor forming region which is disposed in a direction intersecting the first and second semiconductor layers, in which source and drain of the first transistor, a gate of the third transistor and an electric charge storing region storing electric charge in accordance with data to be written are formed, and a read-out transistor gate region which is disposed in a direction intersecting the first and second semiconductor layers, in which a gate of the second transistor is formed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor storage device that it is possible to facilitate miniaturization and refresh operation.
2. Related Art
There are various types of semiconductor storage devices such as DRAM, SRAM and flash memory. Among these devices, SRAM is capable of performing the read/write operations at a high speed. However, SRAM has more complicated circuit configuration than DRAM and requires six transistors for storing 1 bit data. Therefore, SRAM is not suitable for storing a large volume of data.
On the other hand, DRAM can be configured by only one capacitor and one transistor, so that DRAM facilitates miniaturization and is suitable for storing a large volume of data. However, in the case where DRAM is highly integrated, the area of a capacitor is also reduced, so that the quantity of electric charges storable in the capacitor is reduced so as to make it difficult to correctly determine the logic level of data.
As a method for solving the above described problems, there has been proposed a gain cell referred to as Asymmetric Three-Transistor Cell (ATC) for amplifying and reading out a small quantity of electric charges stored in minute capacitors (see STARC news issued on Jan. 15, 2005, Semiconductor Technology Academic Research Center (STARC), URL: http: //www.starc.or.jp).
In the gain cell disclosed in the above reference, PMOS transistors are used as the write transistor and NMOS transistors are used for the read-out transistor and the transistor for information amplification, respectively, so as to make the direction of gate leak paths to a storage node opposite to each other. Thereby, the final equilibrium level of potential in the memory is made to be an intermediate level between "1" and "0", so that the data holding characteristic is improved against data destruction caused by the leak current without providing large capacitors, and electric power required for holding data can also be reduced.


Adaptive, self-adjusting decorative trim assemblies are especially adapted for use in aircraft cabin interiors where the fuselage undergoes deformation and/or distortion due to pressurization during flight. The self-adjusting features of the decorative trim assemblies according to the embodiments described herein thus allow for relative movement between mutually intersecting interior cabin panels without jeopardizing the cabin interior aesthetics (e.g., since the relative positioning of the panels is not disrupted by virtue of such fuselage deformations).

The integration between panels, monuments and divisors along a cabin interior of a transport vehicle, e.g., an aircraft cabin, presents quality problems since major gaps and elevational steps can become visible which in turn create the need for numerous adjustments. These gaps are not however necessarily visible when the interior cabin panels are initially installed during aircraft fabrication while on the ground as all of the panel components and parts will be installed together in a perfectly trimmed relationship. Gaps can and normally do become visible however between installed panels as a consequence of fuselage deformation during normal during flight conditions, e.g., when the fuselage is pressurized.
One traditional well known concept that is widely used to hide or minimize these problems involves adjusting and trimming the finished panels while the aircraft is on the ground, and then to re-adjust the panels again during flight conditions. This re-adjustment of the finished panels helps to achieve the best fit performance for fuselage variation and interior components. However, even this conventional practice still allows for the possibility of non consistent gaps to be visible which are not aesthetically pleasant, while also wasting numerous assembly hours.
Another common alternative is to simply cover the integration region between adjacent interior panels with an overlap finished panel to thereby hide the gap variations. These gap filler panels, however, do not provide perfect matching between surfaces and typically experience serious bonding and/or adhesion issues which require frequent replacement.
What has been needed in this art, therefore, is an assembly of interior passenger cabin panels that is adaptive to different operational environments of the vehicle. It is towards providing such a need that the embodiments of the present invention are directed.

Adaptive decorative trim assemblies for vehicle cabin interiors


The present invention provides digital watermarks through multiple channels. The channels can include, e.g., visible, ultraviolet and infrared channels. The non-visible channels can be selected to fluoresce either in the visible or IR/UV spectrums upon the appropriate illumination in the infrared or ultraviolet spectrums. The watermarks in the various multiple channels can cooperate to facilitate watermark detection or to authenticate an object in which the watermarks are embedded. In other implementations the multiple watermarks include so-called orientation components. A relative relationship between the orientation components is used to convey data.

Today's counterfeiters are shrewd and technically savvy. Advances are needed to complicate the counterfeiter's efforts. Moreover, some of today's watermarking applications require additional data carrying capacity.
One solution is to embed steganographic auxiliary data variously in multi-channels carried by an object.
One form of steganography is digital watermarking. Digital watermarking systems typically have two primary components: an encoder that embeds a watermark in a host media signal, and a decoder (or reader) that detects and reads the embedded watermark from a signal suspected of containing a watermark. The encoder can embed a watermark by altering the host media signal. The decoding component analyzes a suspect signal to detect whether a watermark is present. In applications where the watermark encodes information, the decoder extracts this information from the detected watermark. Data can be communicated to a decoder, e.g., from an optical sensor (e.g., a web camera, digital camera, scanner, etc.).
A watermark can have multiple components, each having different attributes. To name a few, these attributes include function, signal intensity, transform domain of watermark definition (e.g., temporal, spatial, frequency, etc.), location or orientation in host signal, redundancy, level of security (e.g., encrypted or scrambled), etc. The components of the watermark may perform the same or different functions. For example, one component may carry a message, while another component may serve to identify the location or orientation of the watermark. Moreover, different messages may be encoded in different temporal or spatial portions of the host signal, such as different locations in an image or different time frames of audio or video. In some cases, the components are provided through separate watermarks.
The physical manifestation of watermarked information most commonly takes the form of altered signal values, such as slightly changed pixel values, picture luminance, picture colors, DCT coefficients, instantaneous audio amplitudes, etc. However, a watermark can also be manifested in other ways, such as changes in the surface microtopology of a medium, localized chemical changes (e.g. in photographic emulsions), localized variations in optical density, localized changes in luminescence, etc. The surface texture of an object may be altered to create a watermark pattern. This may be accomplished by manufacturing an object in a manner that creates a textured surface or by applying material to the surface (e.g., an invisible film or ink) in a subsequent process. Watermarks can also be optically implemented in holograms or embedded in conventional paper watermarks.
Some techniques for embedding and detecting watermarks in media signals are detailed in the assignee's U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,122,403 and 6,614,914, and in PCT patent application PCT/US02/20832 (published as WO 03/005291), which are each herein incorporated by reference.
In the following disclosure it should be understood that references to watermarking and steganographic hiding encompass not only the assignee's technology, but can likewise be practiced with other steganographic technologies as well.
According to one aspect of the present invention an identification document includes a photographic representation of a bearer of the document and indicia printed thereon. The identification document further includes a first digital watermark component conveyed through a first channel which is visibly perceptible under visible lighting conditions; a second digital watermark component conveyed through a second channel which is substantially non-visible under visible lighting conditions, but at least a portion of the second channel becomes visible with infrared illumination; and a third digital watermark component conveyed through a third channel which is substantially non-visible under visible lighting conditions, but at least a portion of the third channel becoming visible with ultraviolet illumination.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of authenticating a physical object. The object includes a first digital watermark conveyed through a first channel and at least a second digital watermark conveyed through a different, second channel. The first digital watermark includes a first orientation component conveying a first orientation and the second digital watermark includes a second orientation component conveying a second orientation. The first orientation is different than the second orientation. The method includes: receiving optical scan data representing at least some of the object; analyzing the optical scan data to recover the first orientation component and the second orientation component; determining, based at least on the first orientation component and the second orientation component, the first orientation and the second orientation; and deciding whether the object is authentic based on at least one of the first orientation and the second orientation.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method of conveying auxiliary data through digital watermarking. The method includes: providing a first digital watermark signal comprising a first orientation component; providing a second digital watermark signal comprising a second orientation component; conveying the auxiliary data through a relative orientation relationship of the first orientation component and the second digital watermark component.
The foregoing and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be even more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and an apparatus for acquiring a weight coefficient of a digital filter so as to enhance a processing effect of images or videos and reduce the complexity of operations. The method includes: extracting global block features and local block features of image blocks, where the image blocks include a first image block and a second image block; acquiring an image block distance fs between the first image block and the second image block according to a global block feature and local block features of the first image block as well as a global block feature and local block features of the second image block; and evaluating a value of e fs/θ2.

A digital filter is widely applied in the image or video field, mainly for pre-processing, post-processing, and special effect processing of images or videos. In an application of pre-processing of images or videos, the digital filter may be used for demosaicking0 color interpolation to suppress imaging noise, and may also be used for enhancing important details such as image corner angles. In an application of post-processing of images or videos, the digital filter may be used for image zooming, image de-interlacing, post-processing noise reduction enhancement, and the like. In an application of special effect processing of images or videos, the digital filter may also be used for dynamic range compression (Dynamic Range Compression, DRC), image cartoon processing, painting processing, and the like of high dynamic range (High Dynamic Range, HDR) images.
In general, a digital filter used for smoothing or noise reduction may be expressed by a mathematical formula as follows:
      Y    i    =                    ∑                  j          ∈                                                                δ            i                          j                                    ω          ij                                  I          j                                    ∑                  j          ∈                                                                δ            i                          j                          ω        ij
where i is a current pixel coordinate, Yi is an output pixel value, Ij is an original image pixel value, δi is a neighborhood of a pixel position i and may be a one-dimensional, two-dimensional, or multi-dimensional space, and ωij is a weight coefficient of the digital filter. A selection rule of the weight coefficient ωij determines the quality of the digital filter. Therefore, calculation about a weight coefficient of a digital filter is a relatively important issue.
In the prior art, a linear filter such as a common low-pass filter, a band-pass filter, or a high-pass filter usually uses space coordinates of pixels to calculate its own weight coefficient, that is, ωij=f(i, j).
In the prior art, the weight coefficient of the linear filter is a function of the space coordinates of the pixels. That is, the weight coefficient of the linear filter only relates to the space coordinates of the pixels, instead of adaptively changing according to image content (such as a strength value of an image). Therefore, when a weight coefficient calculated by using the foregoing method is used for noise reduction of an image or video, blur occurs at an edge of details in the image or video; and when the weight coefficient is used for enhancement of an image or video, an obvious phenomenon of going beyond occurs nearby an edge with a large contrast, that is, a white edge occurs.

Method and apparatus for acquiring weight coefficient of digital filter


A rotor of a rotary electric machine according to the present invention includes: a rotor core arranged on the outer circumferential side of a rotor shaft; and a plurality of magnetic poles fixed to the rotor core and circumferentially arranged on the rotor core, the rotor including a non-magnetic ring attached by insertion to the outer circumference of the plurality of the magnetic poles and having a substantially polygonal shape in outer circumferential shape. The non-magnetic ring is configured such that the inner circumferential length L of the non-magnetic ring before assembly with respect to the length of an envelope L0 of tangent lines each between the outer circumferential surface of the magnetic pole and the outer circumferential surface of the adjacent magnetic pole is set to L≦L0. An object is to obtain the rotor of the rotary electric machine capable of achieving reduction in size and cost.

As a conventional rotor of a rotary electric machine having a plurality of magnetic poles made of permanent magnets on the outer circumference of a rotor core fixed to the outer circumference of a rotor shaft, there is known one disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-25193. The rotor of the rotary electric machine disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-25193 has the rotor core laminated on the outer circumference of the rotor shaft and the permanent magnets on the outer circumference of the rotor core; and a permanent magnet scattering prevention cover made of a non-magnetic member that covers both end portions of the permanent magnets is disposed. The permanent magnet scattering prevention cover made of the non-magnetic member is fixed to the permanent magnets with adhesive.
Furthermore, as other conventional rotor of a rotary electric machine other than the aforementioned conventional rotor of the rotary electric machine, there is known one disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. S55-120285. In the rotor of the rotary electric machine disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. S55-120285, permanent magnets are arranged on the outer circumference of a yoke, the outer circumference of the permanent magnets is covered with a non-magnetic tubular fastening ring, and the non-magnetic tubular fastening ring is pushed to a yoke portion between the permanent magnets from the outer circumference to fix by a fastening member such as bolts.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-25193    Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. S55-120285

Rotor of rotary electric machine having non-magnetic ring


A spray gun includes a handle and a spray head mounted to each other for forming a hollow main body. A switching assembly is mounted in the main body between the handle and the spray head for controlling the operating type of the spray gun. The switching assembly includes a seat mounted in the main body, a shank extending through the seat, an outlet set received in the seat, a first button and a second button, wherein the first button and the second button are respectively connected two a front end and a rear end of the shank.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spray gun, and more particularly to a spray gun that includes a switching assembly mounted therein for easy operation.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
A spray gun is usually used for gardening and spraying water on flowers and plants. A conventional spray gun is connected to a water source and sprays various sprays by a spray head thereof.
A conventional spray gun in accordance with the prior art includes a handle and a spray head mounted to each other. A trigger is mounted on the handle such that the water is sprayed when the trigger is pressed. The type of conventional gun has been widely used for several years. The user's palm may be numb after operating the conventional spray gun for a period of time because the trigger must be continually pressed during spraying of water. As a result, the convenience, the comfort and the smoothness of the conventional spray gun are weak such that the conventional spray gun needs to be advantageously altered.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantages of the conventional spray gun.

AQUALEAN MANUFACTURING ASSOCIATES CO., LTD.


An adjustable quick release system and mechanism for use with a bicycle frame, a unicycle frame or other frame is disclosed. An embodiment of an adjustable quick release mechanism may comprise a housing, a spacer, a tubular nut, a cam system, and a lever.

The disclosure relates generally to bicycle quick release mechanisms for attaching and removing a wheel from the forks of a bicycle, unicycle or other frame, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to a quick release mechanism used with wheels having solid axles and accommodating variable axle lengths.
The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations described herein.

Adjustable bicycle quick release for a solid axle


A semiconductor device in which variations in characteristics, deterioration of elements, and abnormality in shape are inhibited is provided. The semiconductor device includes a first region including a plurality of elements and a second region including a plurality of dummy elements. The second region is provided in an outer edge of the first region, and the element and the dummy element each include an oxide semiconductor. The element and the dummy element have the same structure, and a structure body included in the element and a structure body included in the dummy element are formed with the same material and provided in the same layer. The oxide semiconductor includes In, an element M (M is Al, Ga, Y, or Sn), and Zn.

A silicon-based semiconductor material is widely known as a semiconductor thin film applicable to a transistor, and an oxide semiconductor has attracted attention as another material. As the oxide semiconductor, not only single-component metal oxides, such as indium oxide and zinc oxide, but also multi-component metal oxides are known. Among the multi-component metal oxides, in particular, an In—Ga—Zn oxide (hereinafter also referred to as IGZO) has been actively studied.
From the studies on IGZO, a CAAC (c-axis aligned crystalline) structure and an nc (nanocrystalline) structure, which are not single crystal nor amorphous, have been found in an oxide semiconductor (see Non-Patent Document 1 to Non-Patent Document 3). Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2 also disclose a technique for manufacturing a transistor using an oxide semiconductor having a CAAC structure. Moreover, Non-Patent Document 4 and Non-Patent Document 5 show that a fine crystal is included even in an oxide semiconductor which has lower crystallinity than the CAAC structure or the nc structure.
In addition, a transistor that uses IGZO for an active layer has an extremely low off-state current (see Non-Patent Document 6), and an LSI and a display utilizing the characteristics have been reported (see Non-Patent Document 7 and Non-Patent Document 8).

Semiconductor device and semiconductor device manufacturing method

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The apparatus for attaching an accessory to an excavator is a device for attaching a grader blade, brush blade, compactor, or other accessory to the bucket of an excavator. The apparatus has a body to which the accessory is attached which has a pair of hooks which slide between adjacent pairs of teeth on an edge of the excavator bucket and a pair of chains attached to the rear of the bucket and tightened by load binders to retain the apparatus on the excavator bucket. The apparatus provides for pivoting the accessory laterally, and may optionally provide for tilting the accessory in a vertical plane.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to earthmoving machinery and equipment, and particularly to an apparatus for attaching a blade, compactor, or other accessory to the shovel of an excavator.
2. Description of Related Art
Earthmoving machinery and equipment has greatly facilitated the construction of buildings, highways, bridges, and other structures. A variety of machines are available, from the general purpose bulldozer to more specialized equipment, including front end loaders, backhoes, graders, scrapers, etc. Although specialized equipment makes many tasks easier, a drawback to the variety of equipment available is that each machine is very expensive. Apparatus for attaching an accessory to an earthmoving machine so that it may perform the function of two machines is therefore desirable. Several patents describe apparatus for attaching blades to the bucket of front end loaders and backhoes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,440,744, issued Apr. 29, 1969 to S. G. Smith, describes a blade attachment for a front end loader which includes a frame with a mounting edge member having a recess which receives the teeth on the lower edge of the front end loader bucket, the edge member having a length equal to the side to side width of the bucket. U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,330, issued Sep. 30, 1969 to Hood, et al., discloses a blade attachment for a backhoe, the blade having U-shaped pockets on its rear surface for receiving the teeth on the backhoe bucket. U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,271, issued Mar. 9, 1976 to A. J. George, teaches a blade for attachment to a backhoe which includes a V-shaped housing for receiving the teeth of the backhoe bucket. U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,529, issued Mar. 1, 1977 to L. M. Johnson, shows a blade attached to a backhoe bucket by a series of clamp plates engaging the teeth of the backhoe bucket, the clamp plates being on both sides of the teeth and secured to the bucket by nuts and bolts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,854, issued Feb. 26, 1980 to J. A. Haynes, describes a grader blade attachable to a front end loader of a backhoe by a bifurcated member having one leg extending into the bucket and secured by a plurality of jackscrews, the other leg extending below the bucket and having an L-shaped member to which the blade is pivotally attached. U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,628, issued May 11, 1982 to B. N. Thomas, discloses a snow plough attachment for a front end loader including a blade with a frame pivotally attached to the rear of the blade, the frame being attached to the bucket by angles which engage the lower edge of the bucket, brackets inside the bucket which engage the frame, and a connector arm pinned to the top edge of the bucket. A semicircular beam is attached to the rear of the blade and slidable through sleeves attached to the frame, with hydraulic cylinders mounted between the frame and the circular beam to vary the angle of the blade.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,884, issued Mar. 17, 1981 to E. D. Williams, teaches a snow plough attachment for a front end loader in which the blade has a pair of brackets on its rear surface, the brackets supporting pins on their upper ends which are received by hooks attached to the top edge of the loader bucket, and having slots defined in their lower ends for receiving the bottom edge of the bucket. U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,980, issued Nov. 30, 1982 to J. D. Jarvis, shows a blade attached to a backhoe by an inclined plate with bosses forming a pocket for receiving the bucket teeth, the plate being secured to the bucket by a turnbuckle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,507, issued Aug. 7, 1984 to A. A. Gaub, describes a grader blade attachment for a front end loader or backhoe in which the blade attachment has a support arm which has an upright post at one end which fits between ears on the rear of the bucket and is secured to the ears by a pin. U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,980, issued Jun. 11, 1985 to N. Solaja, discloses a grader blade attached to a loader bucket, the blade being mounted on a cylinder having a slot defined therein for receiving the front edge of the bucket, the cylinder being secured to the bucket by chains.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,191, issued Nov. 24, 1992 to C. J. Davis, teaches a front end loader with a bucket convertible to a dozer blade, the dozer blade forming the back wall of the bucket. Japanese Patent No. 4-231523, published 08/1992, shows an earth removing device for an extra-small-size shovel car which shows a blade connected to a shovel or bucket by a spring.
There are, however, problems associated with known devices for attaching grader blades and other accessories to the bucket of an earthmoving machine. Several of these devices are attached directly to or over the teeth of the bucket, leading to failure of the teeth from fatigue and wear. Several of the devices do not provide for adjustment of the angle of the blade about a vertical axis, nor for adjustment of the tilt of the blade vertically. Several of the devices require modification of the bucket, or are time consuming, cumbersome and inefficient to install and dismount from the bucket.
An apparatus for attachment of a grader blade, compactor, or other accessory to the bucket of an excavator to expand the functionality of the excavator would be advantageous, inasmuch as the excavator is a tracked vehicle with an extensible and powerful boom which can operate in areas where a bulldozer would have difficulty competing, such as on wet or soft ground.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The apparatus for attaching an accessory to an excavator is a device for attaching a grader blade, brush blade, compactor, or other accessory to the bucket of an excavator. The apparatus comprises a body having a front end and a rear end. A pair of hooks rise from the front end of the apparatus body and are inserted between the bucket teeth in order to engage the lower edge of the bucket. A pair of chains are attached to the rear end of the accessory body, the other end of the chains being attached to the rear of the bucket. Load binders are used to tighten the chains and firmly attach the body of the apparatus to the bottom of the bucket.
In a preferred embodiment, the body of the apparatus is a hollow C-shaped box. A hollow pie-shaped wedge has one sided welded to the accessory, viz., the rear face of a blade. The opposite V-shaped end fits in the open front end of the C-shaped box and is secured by a pivot pin so that the accessory pivots laterally. Hydraulic cylinders are attached between the sides of the C-shaped box and the accessory to control pivoting of the accessory.
In another embodiment, the body of the apparatus has a front face from which a support arm having a ball at its free end extends. The ball engages a socket mounted on the accessory so that the accessory is pivotally mounted on the support arm. In the case of a grader blade, hydraulic cylinders are attached to the apparatus body with their pistons attached to the blade to control the angle and tilt of the blade. In another embodiment, a post depends from, and is pivotally attached to, the bottom surface of the apparatus body. The accessory is pivotally mounted to the post. The angle and tilt of the blade or other accessory are adjusted manually.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an apparatus for attaching a grader blade, compactor, or other accessory to the bucket of an excavator.
It is a further object of the invention to an apparatus for mounting a grader blade or other accessory to an excavator which is quick and convenient to use.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for attaching a grader blade to the bucket of an excavator which includes means for adjusting the angle and, optionally, the tilt of the blade.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

Apparatus for attaching an accessory to an excavator


This solid-state imaging device includes a first substrate and a second substrate which have circuit elements constituting pixels disposed therein are electrically connected to each other. The pixels includes: a photoelectric conversion element disposed in the first substrate; an amplifier circuit that amplifies a signal generated in the photoelectric conversion element to output the amplified signal; a signal accumulation circuit which is disposed in the second substrate and accumulates the amplified signal which is output from the amplifier circuit; and an output circuit that outputs the amplified signal accumulated in the signal accumulation circuit from the pixel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device, an imaging device, and a signal reading method. Particularly relates to a solid-state imaging device and an imaging device in which a first substrate and a second substrate which have circuit elements constituting pixels disposed therein are electrically connected to each other. In addition, the present invention relates to a signal reading method of reading a signal from a pixel.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, video cameras, electronic still cameras and the like have generally been in widespread use. CCD (Charge Coupled Device)-type or amplification-type solid-state imaging devices are used in these cameras. Amplification-type solid-state imaging devices guide signal charge, generated and accumulated by a photoelectric conversion section of a pixel on which light is incident, to an amplification section provided in the pixel, and output a signal amplified by the amplification section from the pixel. In the amplification-type solid-state imaging devices, a plurality of such pixels is arranged in a two-dimensional matrix. The amplification-type solid-state imaging devices include, for example, a CMOS-type solid-state imaging device using a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistor, and the like.
In recent years, CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor)-type solid-state imaging devices (hereinafter, referred to as "MOS-type solid-state imaging devices") have attracted attention as a solid-state imaging device, and have been put to practical use.
Such a MOS-type solid-state imaging device can be driven with a single power supply unlike the CCD (Charge Coupled Device)-type solid-state imaging device. In addition, the CCD-type solid-state imaging device requires dedicated manufacturing processes, whereas the MOS-type solid-state imaging device can be manufactured using the same manufacturing processes as those of other LSIs. For this reason, the MOS-type solid-state imaging device easily deals with an SOC (System On Chip), and can realize the multi-functionalization of the solid-state imaging device.
In addition, the MOS-type solid-state imaging device includes an amplifier circuit in each pixel and thus amplifies signal charge within the pixel. For this reason, the MOS-type solid-state imaging device has a configuration which is hardly influenced by noise from a signal transmission path. Further, the MOS-type solid-state imaging device is characterized in that the signal charge of each pixel can be selected and extracted (selection scheme), and the accumulation time or the reading order of signals can be freely controlled for each pixel in principle.
Previously, in the general CMOS-type solid-state imaging devices, a scheme in which signal charge generated by a photoelectric conversion section of each of the pixels arrayed in a two-dimensional matrix is sequentially read for each row, has been adopted. In this scheme, the exposure timing in the photoelectric conversion section of each pixel is determined by the start and termination of the reading of signal charge, and thus the exposure timing is different for each row. For this reason, when an image of a fast-moving subject is captured using such a CMOS-type solid-state imaging device, the subject is distorted with a captured image.
Previously, as exposure types of general MOS-type solid-state imaging devices (hereinafter, referred to as a "solid-state imaging devices"), a line exposure type and a global exposure type have been known. In the line exposure type, a large number of pixels arrayed two-dimensionally within the solid-state imaging device are exposed at the timing different for each row. The line exposure type is a type in which a video signal of a subject is obtained by sequentially reading signal charge generated after performing exposure of a row of a certain unit by the photoelectric conversion element within pixels in the row. In the case of the line exposure type, exposure and reading can be continuously performed in row units. For this reason, it is possible to obtain a video signal of a subject in a state in which the influence of noise generated in an accumulation section that accumulates the signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element is suppressed to a minimum. However, when an image of a moving subject is captured in the line exposure type, an image of the subject cannot be correctly captured due to the exposure timing different for each row.
On the other hand, the global exposure type is a type in which all the pixels arrayed two-dimensionally within the solid-state imaging device are exposed at a synchronous timing. In the case of the global exposure type, since all the pixels are exposed at a synchronous timing, a distorted video is never obtained even at the time of capturing an image of the moving subject. However, in the global exposure type, since the signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element within the pixel is sequentially read after all of the pixels are exposed, it is difficult to suppress the influence of noise generated in the accumulation section in the pixels that require a long time until the reading of the signal charge is started after terminating exposure. For this reason, in the global exposure-type solid-state imaging device, a video signal having large noise is obtained more often than in the line exposure-type solid-state imaging device.
In the global exposure-type solid-state imaging device, a circuit for suppressing the influence of noise generated in the accumulation section as mentioned above is added to the solid-state imaging device, thereby allowing a video signal in which the influence of noise is suppressed to a minimum to be obtained even in the solid-state imaging device in which the global exposure type is adopted.
In order to eliminate the distortion of a subject, a simultaneous imaging function (global shutter function) of realizing the simultaneity of the accumulation of signal charge is proposed. In addition, the CMOS-type solid-state imaging device having a global shutter function is increasingly being used. In the CMOS-type solid-state imaging device having a global shutter function, generally, it is necessary to include an accumulation capacitance section having a light-shielding property in order to accumulate the signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion section until reading is performed. In such a CMOS-type solid-state imaging device in the related art, after all the pixels are simultaneously exposed, the signal charge generated by each photoelectric conversion section is simultaneously transferred to each accumulation capacitance section in all the pixels and is temporarily accumulated. The signal charge is then converted sequentially into a pixel signal at a predetermined reading timing and is read.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-49361 discloses a solid-state imaging device in which a MOS image sensor chip having a micro-pad formed on a wiring layer side for each unit cell and a signal processing chip having a micro-pad formed on the wiring layer side of a position corresponding to the micro-pad of the MOS image sensor chip are connected to each other by a micro-bump. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2010-219339 discloses a method of preventing an increase in a chip area using a solid-state imaging device in which a first substrate having a photoelectric conversion section formed therein and a second substrate having a plurality of MOS transistors formed therein is bonded to each other.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-49361 discloses a method of which creating a pixel circuit section of a MOS-type solid-state imaging device as a pixel circuit chip; creating a signal processing section as a signal processing chip; and superimposing the chips which are separately created. In the art disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-49361, the pixel circuit chip and the signal processing chip which are separately created are connected to each other through a bump.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-49361 is configured such that a cell of the MOS image sensor chip includes a photoelectric conversion element, an amplifying transistor and the like (FIGS. 5 and 12 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-49361), and a cell of the signal processing chip digitizes a signal which is output from the cell of the MOS image sensor chip and then stores the signal in a memory (FIGS. 8 and 9 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-49361).
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2010-219339, circuit elements constituting pixels having a global shutter function in the related art are separately disposed in two substrates (FIG. 9 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2010-219339). In addition, a phenomenon, in which noise caused by light incident on the pixel during a waiting period until signal charge accumulated in an accumulation capacitance section of a MOS image sensor chip is read moves from a MOS image sensor chip to a signal processing chip, is suppressed.

Solid-state imaging device, imaging device, and signal reading medium that accumulates an amplified signal without digitization


An electronic sound generating apparatus includes a housing having a closed end and a sidewall defining a cavity. The sidewall also includes a series of radially arrayed sound radiating ports. A circuit board with power source, a sound generating element electronically connected to the circuit board and a sound reflector are all received in the cavity. The sound reflector includes a substantially conical face axially aligned within the cavity and directed toward the sound generating element. This face serves to radially reflect the sound from the sound generating element through the series of sound radiating ports. A touch plate and normally open switch are also housed in the cavity with all the components maintained in position by means of a retaining ring. The switch may include a pair of spaced, relatively stationary contacts mounted to the sound reflector as well as a collapsible or compressible trigger member with a relatively displaceable contact. When the touch plate is depressed, the displaceable contact engages and bridges across the stationary contacts to close the switch and actuate the sound generating apparatus.

Small electronic sound generating devices are well known in the art. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,810,997 to Kudo et al. and 4,973,941 to Davis et al.
The sound generating device disclosed in the Kudo et al. patent includes a three piece housing comprised of a holding plate sandwiched between a cover and a touch plate case. A piezoelectric buzzer is retained between the cover and the holding plate and a circuit board is retained between the holding plate and the touch plate case. A sound radiating port is provided in the back or rear end of the device opposite the touch plate that is depressed to actuate the device.
The location of the sound radiating port on the rear end of the housing has its drawbacks. More particularly, as the touch plate must be positioned adjacent a surface of, e.g. the stuffed animal, to allow activation of the device, the sound radiating from the rear of the device typically must travel through the stuffed toy. The resulting muffling effect of the stuffed toy makes the sound being generated difficult to hear. Accordingly, the Kudo sound generating device is only effectively applicable for utilization in relatively small and thin stuffed toys.
In response to this problem, the Davis et al. device includes structure allowing the sound to radiate outwardly through the touch plate on the front face or end of the device. While this addressed the main problem with the design of the Kudo et al. device, the Davis et al. device may also not be appropriate for utilization in all applications. More particularly, in certain instances it may be desirable to have the sound directed radially outward from the side of the device.


A system for generating a tuning voltage including a processor, a tank circuit, and a feedback loop. The processor creates a tuning voltage that is provided to the tank circuit. A feedback loop optimizes tuning performance by adjusting the tuning voltage based on radio signal strength.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a system for creating a tuning voltage for a receiver.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically, electronic receivers require tuning voltages to be provided to radio frequency (RF) tuning filters that track the tuning frequencies of an input signal. However, most radio microprocessors do not have a programmable tuning voltage generator. To create tuning voltages, many radios use complex circuits in addition to the microprocessor. For example, one common implementation utilizes two operational amplifiers, four transistors, and a number of resistors in communication with four control lines of the radio microprocessor. This implementation creates a voltage divider circuit to generate the tuning voltage for frequency tracking. Even if complex circuits are used, many times poor frequency tracking results, thereby compromising receiver performance.
In view of the above, it is apparent that there exists a need for an improved system for creating a tuning voltage.

System for creating a programmable tuning voltage


In a conventional Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) wireless system, the specified distance between a mobile unit and the base transceiver system (BTS) cannot exceed predetermined distances because of time slot synchronization constraints. Furthermore, the varying distances between mobile units and the BTS create timing differences in the random access control channel (RACCH) bursts in the initial uplink signal from the mobile stations. In this approach to extending TDMA system coverage, in-band translator components are located in the center of remote cells which would normally contain a base transceiver system. The in-band translators include a loop back circuit that permits a host BTS to measure the backhaul propagation time delay by sending test access signals between the host BTS and the distant in-band translators.

This invention relates generally to wireless communication systems and in particular to a method of random access control channel synchronization compatible with time-slot synchronization and signal gain control for in-band translators deployed in peripheral cells of TDMA systems to extend the range of broadband Base Transceiver Systems (BTSs) in a cellular communication system.
The demand for wireless communication services, such as Cellular Mobile Telephone (CMT), Personal Communication Services (PCS) and the like, typically requires the operators of such systems to serve an increasing number of users. As a result, a type base station equipment known as a MULTICARRIER broadband Base Transceiver Systems (BTS) has been developed which is intended to service a relatively large number of active mobile stations in each cell. Such broadband BTS equipment can typically service ninety-six simultaneously active mobile stations, at a cost of less than $2000 to $4000 per channel in 1998 dollars.
When coupled with efficient frequency reuse schemes, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,292 entitled xe2x80x9cA Method For Obtaining Times One Frequency Reuse in Communication Systemsxe2x80x9d issued to John R. Doner and assigned to Air Net Communications Corporation, who is the assignee of the present application, maximum efficiency in densely populated urban environments is obtained. According to that arrangement, each cell is split into six radial sectors and frequencies are assigned to the sectors in such a manner as to provide the ability to reuse each available frequency in every third cell. Although this frequency reuse scheme is highly efficient, it requires at least two complete sets of MULTICARRIER transceiver equipment such as in the form of a broadband base transceiver system (BTS) to be located in each cell. Such a configuration results in dramatically increased hardware installation costs for each cell.
While this equipment is cost effective to deploy when a relatively large number of active mobile stations is expected in each cell, it is not particularly cost effective in most other situations. For example, during an initial system build-out phase, a service provider does not actually need to use large numbers of radio channels. It is therefore typically not possible to justify the cost of deploying complex MULTICARRIER broadband transceiver system equipment based only upon the initial number of subscribers. As a result, the investment in broadband MULTICARRIER radio equipment may not be justified until such time as the number of subscribers increases to a point where the channels are busy most of the time. Furthermore, many areas exist where the need for wireless communication systems is considerable, but where signal traffic can be expected to remain low indefinitely (such as in rural freeway locations or large commercial/industrial parks). Because only a few cells at high expected traffic demand locations (such as in a downtown urban location or a freeway intersection) will justify the initial expense of building out a network of high capacity broadband transceiver systems, the service provider is faced with a dilemma. He can build-out the system with less expensive narrowband equipment initially, to provide some level of coverage, and then upgrade to the more efficient equipment as the number of subscribers rapidly increases in the service area. However, the initial investment in narrowband equipment is then lost. Alternatively, a larger up front investment can be made to deploy the high capacity equipment at the beginning, so that once demand increases, the users of the system can be accommodated without receiving busy signals and the like. But this has the disadvantage of carrying the money cost of a larger up-front investment.
Some have proposed various techniques for expanding the service area of a master cell site. For example, the HPT Cell Site Expander product manufactured by 3 dbm, Inc., of Camarillo, Calif. consists of a base station translator which samples downlink signal traffic and translates it to a selected offset frequency. The offset carrier is transmitted to an expansion cell site via directional antennas. At the expansion cell site, the carrier is translated back to the original cellular channel and transmitted throughout the expansion cell site coverage area such as via an omnidirectional antenna. In the uplink direction, a cellular signal received, by the expansion cell site from a mobile unit is translated and then transmitted back to the base station translator, which in turn translates the signal back to its original carrier frequency.
However, such a device is designed only for use with analog-type cellular systems. A specific problem is encountered when attempting to extend the service area of a base station that uses Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signaling. Such a system makes use of a technique in which multiple voice or data channels are provided by dividing the access to each radio carrier frequency into carefully synchronized time slots. In order to properly demodulate a TDMA signal at the base station, a timing advance must be taken into consideration for each radio pulse received from the mobile stations. The timing advance serves to compensate for the differences in signal propagation time since the distance to the base station is different for each mobile station.
A TDMA signal transmitted in the uplink direction must therefore arrive at the Base Transceiver System with proper time alignment. If this is not the case, the signal pulses from the various mobile stations will collide, and it will not be possible for the Base Transceiver System to properly demodulate the signals. As such, it has in most instances been necessary to limit the nominal radius of a TDMA cell so that proper time alignment may be maintained.
An approach to extending the radius of a TDMA cell was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,171, issued to Goedecker and assigned to Alcatel N.V. This technique uses a fixed Base Transceiver System (BTS) that includes both a standard TDMA radio receiver and an additional auxiliary TDMA receiver. The auxiliary TDMA receiver receives and compensates the TDMA radio pulses from mobile stations located outside of the nominal cell radius. In this manner, interference between the TDMA signals received from a mobile station located outside of the nominal cell radius and a mobile station located within the nominal radius is avoided.
Unfortunately, the Goedecker technique is intended for use where both radio transceivers can be located entirely within the base station site. This permits the timing signals for the auxiliary TDMA receiver to be directly connected to the timing signals for the standard TDMA receiver. Thus, it would not be possible to directly apply the Goedecker technique to a remote repeater or translator arrangement, where the auxiliary TDMA receiver would have to be located many miles away from the base station site and such timing signal connection would not be possible.
Furthermore, while the HPT and Goedecker designs can be used to extend the radius of a single cell, they do not appear to suggest how to synchronize TDMA signals received from multiple mobile stations located in multiple cells simultaneously, nor do they suggest any form of random access control channel processing of initial uplink transmissions from mobile stations.
It is an object of this invention to extend the available range in a cellular communication system beyond that which is normally available with Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) air interfaces.
Another object is to provide for time delay compensation in TDMA systems without using multiple auxiliary receivers.
A further object is to compensate for the delay associated between a translating receiver deployed in a remote outlying cell and a host base station.
Yet another object is to provide for remote receiver time delay compensation in an uplink direction by measuring a delay observed in a downlink direction.
It is still another object of this invention to provide accurate diversity for Random Access Control Channel bursts in the initial uplink transmission.
Briefly, the invention is an architecture for a wireless communication system in which the cells are grouped into clusters. A host cell location is identified within each cluster and a MULTICARRIER broadband Base Transceiver System (BTS) is located at or near the host cell site.
Rather than deploy a complete suite of base station equipment at each remaining cell in the cluster, translating radio transceivers are located in the remote cells. These translating radio transceivers operate in-band, that is, within the frequencies assigned to the service provider.
The in-band translators operate in both an uplink and downlink direction. That is, uplink signals transmitted by a mobile station located in a remote cell are received at the in-band translator, translated to a different carrier frequency, and then transmitted to the host BTS. Likewise, downlink signals transmitted by the host BTS are first received by the in-band translator, translated to a different carrier frequency, and then repeated out to the mobile stations.
The host BTS measures a time delay for each in-band translator channel during a calibration mode. This is accomplished by setting the in-band translator to a xe2x80x9cloopbackxe2x80x9d mode whereby the downlink signal received from the host BTS and transmitted to the mobile station is looped back to both of the uplink receive paths. A timing test signal in the form of, for example, a random access control channel (RACCH) burst is then transmitted by the host BTS such as would normally be sent by a mobile station. The RACCH burst is received by the in-band translator and looped back to the host BTS. The host BTS then demodulates the looped back signal, and measures the elapsed time interval between the transmission and reception of the loopback signal at the host BTS. A resulting time-of-arrival delay estimate as measured in the downlink path is then calculated and used by the host BTS to compensate for time alignments to be made in the time slots in the uplink signal during normal operation.
As a result, the limitation on the backhand range of the cell site normally associated with Time Division Multiple Access protocols is avoided. Indeed, the backhand range of such a system is limited only by the expected attenuation in the radio link.
In accordance with the invention, the in-band translator continually monitors the time slots and multiframe bursts in the signals transmitted by the BTS. A continuous, or watchdog timer routine will execute each time that the time slot (physical channel) is detected. By counting subsequent time slots and multiframe bursts, the in-band translator is able to recognize when a specific time slot is capable of supporting a RACCH burst from the mobile station, and accordingly can provide diversity at the appropriate time slot.
As a result, the in-band translator compensates for timing differences of RACCH bursts between randomly positioned mobile stations and the host BTS.

Random access control channel gain control and time slot recovery for remote in-band translator in time division multiple access wireless system

Abstract: After backhaul timing delay is compensated in the BTS, then the in-band translator uses downlink time slot recovery to synchronize slot-by-slot uplink diversity selection and automatic level control.

Abstract: Recovery of timing bursts on downlink from the BTS allows for determination of burst, frame, and multiframe timing for downlink and uplink in the in-band translator. Processing allows for pre-determination of which uplink time slots that the RAACH signal can appear from the mobile unit. This method allows for automatic level control during RAACH bursts in addition to normal uplink bursts.


A lottery ticket dispenser assembly including a plurality of modularly constructed dispenser units arranged in vertically stacked, interlocking relation. The dispenser units each include sets of rails which are engageable with complementary sets of rails on adjacent dispenser units to interlock the dispenser units for sliding movement relative to one another. Each dispenser unit also includes a door which, when closed, prevents the rails of adjacent dispenser units from being disengaged to prevent unauthorized personnel from disassembling the dispenser assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to ticket dispensers such as lottery ticket dispensers and the like, and more particularly to ticket dispensers which are stackable one on top of another.
2. Reference to Prior Art
A ticket dispenser used to dispense lottery tickets typically includes a container for holding a plurality of tickets, a door and a slot through which the tickets can be dispensed. Where it is desired to display different types of tickets for playing different lottery games, it is known to place dispenser units on top of one another in vertically stacked relation with adjacent units bonded together using two-sided tape.

Ticket dispenser assembly including interlocking dispenser units


A developing device including a developing roller and applicable to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus is disclosed. The developing roller is made up of a flexible member and a shaft and feeds toner to a latent image formed on a photoconductive element. A supply roller supplies the toner to the developing roller. A gap is formed between the flexible member and the shaft at at least one end portion of a printing region assigned to the developing roller. The gap sets up a uniform pressure between the supply roller and the developing roller and between the developing roller and the photoconductive element.

The present invention relates to a developing device for use in a printer, facsimile apparatus, copier or similar electrophotographic image forming apparatus and more particularly to an improved developing roller included in the developing device.
An electrophotographic image forming apparatus extensively used today includes a developing device for developing a latent image formed on an image carrier with toner. The developing device includes a developing roller for depositing the toner on the image carrier and a supply roller for supplying the developer from a hopper to the developing roller, as taught in, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 63-189876 and 62-118372. The conventional developing roller includes a flexible member implemented by a single layer of urethane rubber or silicone rubber. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 3-179369 discloses a developing roller including a porous flexible member whose hardness is less than 50.degree., as measured by an Ascar C hardness gauge.
However, the problem with the conventional developing devices is that the toner transfer from the supply roller to the developing roller differs from the opposite end portions to the intermediate portion. Such irregular toner transfer brings about various defective images including a black solid image with short density, a locally omitted image, and a mesh image with an irregular density distribution.
Technologies relating to the present invention are also disclosed in, e.g, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 2-3078 and 4-75073.

Developing device for an image forming apparatus


Embodiments are directed to managing multiple different types of applications using service groups. In one scenario, a computer system receives an indication of one or more application dependencies and characteristics that are to be implemented when an application is provisioned on a distributed host computer system. The computer system creates an application manifest that declaratively defines application dependencies and characteristics for various different service groups. Each service group includes applications that match the declaratively defined application dependencies and characteristics. The computer system also sends the manifest to the distributed host computer system which loads those applications that fit the manifest criteria onto available nodes of the distributed host computer system according to the service groups specified in the manifest.

Computers have become highly integrated in the workforce, in the home, in mobile devices, and many other places. Computers can process massive amounts of information quickly and efficiently. Software applications designed to run on computer systems allow users to perform a wide variety of functions including business applications, schoolwork, entertainment and more. Software applications are often designed to perform specific tasks, such as word processor applications for drafting documents, or email programs for sending, receiving and organizing email.
In some cases, software applications are hosted on large, distributed computing systems such as cloud computing systems. These applications are provided to large numbers of users, spread over wide geographic areas. The applications (or instances thereof) may be run on various different physical and/or virtual computer systems located in geographically-dispersed areas. Managing these distributed applications can require a substantial effort.

Distributed application optimization using service groups


The disclosure relates to novel compounds and compositions comprising a RNAi agent comprising a novel compound as a 3′ end cap. The disclosure also relates to processes for making such compositions, and methods and uses of such compositions, e.g., to mediate RNA interference.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a sequence-specific gene silencing mechanism. This process can be induced artificially by introducing into the cell a RNAi agent targeting a particular sequence. Many structures are suitable for RNAi agents, including but not limited to short interfering RNAs (siRNAs). RNAi agents can have any of a variety of structures, including double-stranded RNA, which can be modified.
RNAi agents are desirable for therapeutic use. However, this use is limited by a short duration of activity, sometimes mediated by the degradation of these molecules in blood serum. Naked RNAi agents often have a half-life of minutes. Layzer et al. 2004 RNA 10: 766-771; Choung et al. 2006 Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 342: 919-927; Sato et al. 2007 J. Control. Rel. 122: 209-216.
There thus exists the need for novel modifications for RNAi agents which do not interfere with RNA interference activity, but which increase the activity, biological half-life in blood serum, and/or duration of activity.
RNAi agents with these modifications would be useful in methods of target-specific silencing via the RNA interference mechanism.

3′ end caps for RNAi agents for use in RNA interference


An image reading unit includes a light source for illuminating a document, a plurality of reflecting devices for reflecting the light from the document, a condensing device for condensing the light reflected by the reflecting devices, and a reading device disposed at a condensing position at a rear side of the condensing device. The light source is disposed at a forward side of the condensing device. A plurality of reflecting devices includes a final reflecting device and a reciprocating reflecting device. The final reflecting device forms a linear optical path together with the reading device, and the reciprocating reflecting device forms at least one reciprocating optical path crossing the linear optical path between the condensing device and the reading device. Accordingly, the image reading unit can be made small.

The present invention relates to an image reading unit and an image reading apparatus provided with the same, in which a light reflected from an original document through a plurality of reflecting devices is condensed or focused and reduced by a condensing device, to thereby read an image on the document by a reading device.
In a general image reading unit or image reading apparatus using the same, which reads an image on a document by reducing a size thereof, it is necessary to secure a predetermined optical path length in order to read the image of the document. The optical path is required to have a certain length from a document reading position to an image sensor, depending on a width of the document, a lens as a condensing device, and the image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) as a reading device. Therefore, in a conventional apparatus, in order to make the apparatus small while the predetermined optical length is secured, a plurality of reflecting devices such as mirrors is used for reflecting the light from the document several times.
As the conventional image reading apparatus or the conventional image reading unit described above, there have been known an image reading unit and image reading apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 63-59259 and Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 09-69915. Each of these image reading units includes a light source for irradiating light to an image surface of the document; a plurality of reflecting mirrors for reflecting the light irradiated from the light source and reflected from the document; a condenser lens for receiving the light reflected from the document through the reflecting mirrors to thereby condense the light; and an image sensor for converting the reflected light passing through the condenser lens into an electric signal to read the image.
In the image reading unit disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 63-59259, a pair of reflecting mirrors is provided above the condenser lens, and while the predetermined optical path length is secured by reflecting the light reflected from the document several times between the reflecting mirrors of the pair, it has been tried to reduce the size of the image reading unit. Also, in the image reading unit disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 09-69915, a plurality of mirrors is disposed below the lens, and by changing the optical path direction below the lens, it has been tried to make the image reading unit small while the predetermined optical path length is secured.
In the conventional units described above, however, it is necessary to have a space for providing the mirrors disposed above or below the lens and the optical paths reflected by the respective mirrors. Therefore, according to the conventional structures, it is difficult to further reduce the size of the image reading unit, especially, to make a thinner unit.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems in the prior arts, and an object of the invention is to provide an image reading unit and an image reading apparatus provided with the same, in which a reciprocating optical path is formed between a condenser lens and an image sensor to make the reading unit small.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.

Image reading unit and image reading apparatus using the same


A compressed air strainer and drying treatment is provided in which a filter core of the strainer can be used successively without replacement. The strainer includes a strainer main trunk, an admitting pipe stretching into the inside of the main trunk, a water intake apparatus on one side of the top end of the main trunk, and an escape pipe set on the other side of the top end connecting a heat exchanger. An automatic drainer and a manual drainer are coupled to one side of the main trunk. On another side of the main trunk, a check valve is provided and a U-shaped pipeline connects the strainer to the evaporator. The drying treatment is accomplished by splitting the inlet compressed air into many fine streams by filter baffle plates to generate innumerable small bubbles and thereby increase the contacting area between the air and the water. Oil, dirt and contaminants are carried into the air bubble and then are filtered therefrom. The air is then passed through a heat-exchanger to lower the temperature of the air. Condensed water is led back into the strainer via the U-shaped pipeline and a check valve. When the water in the strainer gets to a certain level, the automatic drainer will operate, or by opening the manual drainer, the oil, dirt and contaminants can be drained from the strainer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compressed air strainer and drying treatment. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an air strainer connected to a heat-exchanger. The compressed air is depurated by water and pills piled on baffle plates in the strainer, so that oil, dirt and other contaminants are filtered out from the raw air. Then, the moist clean air flows into the heat-exchanger to remove heat therefrom. Next, the air is output into an evaporator to be evaporated to dry the air, producing condensed water and dry clean air. The condensed water and the dry clean air are separated in a splitter, so that the condensed water flows back into the air strainer through a U-shaped pipeline. The high-purity air is made available at the outlet. The contaminants in the air strainer can be drained out with some of the water automatically or manually so as to keep the filtering medium cleaning without being fully replaced.
2. Prior Art
In accordance with modern manufacturing methods, and for the sake of lower cost, compressed air is utilized widely for operating and controlling pneumatic tools, and providing cooling, drying, cleaning, conveying and packing of professional machines, and is used for painting, decorating surface instruments and precision equipment. Therefore, high quality compressed air is now required. Because the outside air is directly drawn into the air compressor, with dirt and contaminants being drawn in together with the air. The compressor adds a lubricant to the air. The compressed air output from the air compressor, therefore, contains an oil mist, dirt, contaminants and moisture. Due to this poor quality of compressed air output, without being processed by filtering and drying treatments, the service life of the machines using the compressed air is affected.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional compressed air filtering and drying system is shown. An outlet of a compressor 1 connects to an air reservoir 2, and an inlet of a conventional cooling and drying apparatus 4 is linked to another port of the air reservoir 2. The outlet port of the conventional cooling and drying apparatus 4 connects to an inlet of a filter 3, and the outlet of the filter 3 provides a connecting port for connection of a pipeline, to output clean compressed air for use. As mentioned above, the poor quality air, the oil mist, dirt and contaminants carried by the air entering the air cooling and drying apparatus, will directly and seriously affect the operating efficiency and the service life of the air cooling and drying apparatus. After passing through the cooling and drying apparatus, the compressed air is purified by the filter 3 for improving the quality of air. But, after undergoing a long period of usage, the inside strainer core of the filter will be gradually blocked, restricting the flow of compressed air therethrough.
Referring additionally to FIG. 1A, the air cooling and drying apparatus includes a compressor 10, a fan motor 11, a condenser 12, a cold-producing medium filter 13, a capillary 14, an evaporator 15, a cold-producing medium return conduit 16, a hot-gas by-passing valve 17, an evaporation manometer 22, an air inlet 19, a splitter 21, an air outlet 20, an air exit manometer 23 and an automatic drainer 18. The cold-producing medium loop employs the compressor 10 to circulate the cold-producing medium via the condenser 12, the cold-producing medium filter 13, and the capillary 14 to the evaporator 15. The evaporator 15 is thereby cooled and heat is exchanged from the outside air. Then, via the cold-producing medium return conduit 16, the cold-producing medium flows back to the compressor 10 to finish one cycle. The cold-producing medium evaporation manometer is coupled to the front end of the cold-producing medium return conduit 16 for indicating the change in pressure of the cold-producing medium in the evaporating process. Meanwhile, a hot-gas by-passing valve 17 bridges between the outlet of the compressor 10 to the return conduit 16 for controlling the temperature of the cold-producing medium. The air loop makes use of the compressed air flowing into the evaporator 15, through the air inlet 19, for exchanging heat with the cold-producing medium. By means of the cooling effect of the evaporator 15, water will be condensed from the raw compressed air and cold dry air will result. Then, the condensed water is separated with the cold dry air by the splitter 21, and drained out automatically by the automatic drainer 18. Meanwhile, the cold dry air separated by the splitter is output via the air outlet 20. But, the oil mist carried in the compressed air sticks on the surface of the cold-producing medium pipelines in the evaporator 15 to form a coating, and detrimentally affects the heat exchange process, so that the heat-exchange efficiency goes down greatly.
Referring to FIG. 2, a conventional strainer, shown on the drawing, is made of a circular filter screen 24 at the core, an adhesive-bonded fabric layer 25 covering the outside of screen 24. Next, a glass fiber layer 26 is wrapped on the layer 25. Lastly, another filter screen 27 is wrapped fully around the other layers in order to block and stick the oil mist and dirt on the every layer's surface for, filtering out the clean air from the oil mist and dirt. But, along with increasing the period of usage, the oil mist and dirt attached on the filter screen piles up. Therefore, the resistance to passage of the compressed air passing through the filter screen 24 increases. If the filter screen 24 is not replaced in time, the pressure difference will rise to a level where the filter screen becomes distorted, followed by it breaking up and thereby causing the filter to lose its effectiveness.
Accordingly, the conventional compressed air filter and drying treatment have shortcomings as follows.
1. Due to the filter core of the filter consisting of a filter screen, an adhesive-bonded fabric and glass fiber, it cannot endure highly moist and higher temperature compressed air. Degradation of the filter inner core by deposition of water and destruction of the composition of the filter material by high temperatures are hard to avoid. Therefore, this kind of filter is not suitable for coupling to the inlet of the air cooling and drying apparatus for prefiltering. So, the poor quality compressed air must be directly input into the air cooling and drying apparatus will thus be a menace to the service life of the air cooling and drying apparatus. PA1 2. When the conventional air cooling and drying apparatus processes the raw compressed air, due to a lack of pre-filtering to remove the oil mist, the oil mist will stick to the surface of the cooling medium, to form an oil coating end thereby isolating the pipeline from the compressed air, the heat-exchanging efficiency is seriously affected. PA1 3. Along with an increase in usage time, a gradual obstruction of the filter core develops, so that the air flow rate is decreased or becomes unstable. PA1 4. If the obstruction of the conventional filter core is so serious that, beside increasing the pressure difference of the compressed air, the filter core becomes distorted under the high pressure, if the filter core will break-up and the effectiveness of filter will be lost. PA1 5. Because the oil and dirt that sticks to the filter core cannot be automatically removed, the user must pay careful attention on the frequency of filter core changes. Judging when the filter core should be replaced or whether it has or becomes a big problem and bother for the user. PA1 6. The filter has to be replaced often, but frequency replacing of the filter core not only increases the production cost, but also pollutes the environment with the abandoned filter cores.

Compressed air strainer and drying treatment


A HUD device and an image display apparatus for solving a problem that a HUD image cannot be seen in a HUD device that displays a virtual image when wearing the sunglasses having polarization function are provided. A head up display device for a vehicle is provided with an image display apparatus configured to project an image onto a windshield or a combiner by polarized light and means of converting polarization of polarized light of the image projected from the image display apparatus, the means being provided on a part of a light path from the image display apparatus to the windshield or the combiner.

In a vehicle such as an automobile, information such as vehicle speed and engine speed is usually displayed on an instrument panel in a dashboard. In addition, information of a car navigation system or the like is displayed on a screen incorporated in the dashboard or installed on the dashboard. Since it is necessary to move a line of sight a lot when a driver visually recognizes the information, a HUD device which projects and displays information such as vehicle speed and information such as instruction relating to car navigation on a windshield (front glass) or a combiner has been known as a technique for reducing the amount of movement of the line of sight.
Note that, as a technique relating to the HUD device, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2015-194707 (Patent Document 1) describes a display apparatus including a device to display an image and a projection optical system to project the image displayed on the display device, wherein a screen distortion can be reduced in an entire viewpoint area of a viewer and a size reduction can be achieved. Note that, in this prior art, the projection optical system includes a first mirror and a second mirror sequentially along the light path from the display device to the viewer. Further, the Patent Document 1 describes that the size reduction of the HUD device can be achieved by configuring the HUD device so that an incident angle in a long axis direction of an image in a first mirror, an incident angle in a short axis direction of the image in the first mirror, and a relation between an interval of an image display surface of the display device and the first mirror and a width of a virtual image visually recognized by the viewer in a horizontal direction satisfy a predetermined relationship.

Head up display device and image display apparatus therefor


Several different types of electrical switches are disclosed. In one particular embodiment, an electrical switch is disclosed comprising: a molded case having a pair of conductive terminal contacts; and a molded actuator for mating with the case. The actuator is movable between a conducting position and a non-conducting position within the case, and the actuator has at least one spring member and a conductive contact surface. The spring member forces the actuator into the non-conducting position, and the conductive contact surface provides an electrical connection between the pair of conductive terminal contacts when the actuator is in the conducting position. The actuator is retained within the case by a retaining member and/or a snap member. The case and the actuator are molded about the conductive terminal contacts and the spring members, respectively. Furthermore, the conductive contact surface is formed of a conductive elastomer that is grafted to the actuator. In other embodiments, the spring members are molded as a part of the actuator or the case, or the spring members are connected to the conductive contact surface or the conductive terminal contacts with the actuator and the case being molded thereabout, respectively.

The use of electrical switches is widespread in the present electronic age. Simple electrical switches are used for a variety of purposes ranging from household appliances to complex computer circuitry. These simple electrical switches must be inexpensive to manufacture and must be produced in large quantities to fill large demands.
To date, most simple electrical switches are fabricated with separate molded non-conductive components and conductive contact elements. These molded non-conductive components and conductive elements are typically assembled together at some time after the molded components have cured. Thus, at least two fabrication steps are required for these simple electrical switches: a molding step and an assembling step.
Furthermore, there are currently no electrical switches available which have a conductive elastomer grafted directly to a molded non-conductive component thereof. Such a conductive elastomer could provide an conducting contact surface for an electrical switch. Additionally, the conductive elastomer could be grafted to the molded non-conductive component of the electrical switch during the processing of the molded non-conductive component of the electrical switch, thereby shortening or eliminating a fabrication step.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a molded electrical switch that can be produced in high volumes with a minimum number of fabrication steps.


Provided is a fabricating method of a nonvolatile memory. The fabricating method includes forming a plurality of gates extending in a first direction on a substrate to be adjacent to each other, forming a gap-fill layer filling at least a portion of a space between the plurality of gates, forming a supporter pattern supporting the plurality of gates on the plurality of gates and the gap-fill layer, and forming an air gap in the space between the plurality of gates by removing the gap-fill layer.

The present invention relates to methods for fabricating nonvolatile memory devices.
Semiconductor memory devices are largely classified into volatile memory devices and nonvolatile memory devices. Volatile memory devices refer to memory devices that lose stored data when they are disconnected from their power sources. Examples of volatile memory devices include static random access memory (SRAM) devices, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices and synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) devices. In contrast, nonvolatile memory devices refer to memory devices that retain stored data even when the devices are disconnected from their power sources. Examples of nonvolatile memory devices include read only memory (ROM) devices, programmable read only memory (PROM) devices, electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) devices, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) devices, flash memory devices, nonvolatile memory devices that use a resistive elements (for example, phase-change random access memory (PRAM) devices, ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) devices or resistive random access memory (RRAM) devices) and so on.
In a flash memory device, a plurality of adjacent gate lines that extend in first direction may be formed on a substrate. As the integration level of flash memory devices is increased, the width of these gate lines and/or the distance between adjacent gate lines may be decreased. As the gate lines become thinner and closer together, the possibility that one or more gate lines may collapse or lean onto an adjacent gate line (which is referred to herein as a "gate leaning phenomenon") during the manufacture of the flash memory may be increased.

Methods of fabricating nonvolatile memory devices and related devices