In a starter, an armature is covered with a cylindrical yoke. A rear end opening portion of the yoke is spread perpendicularly outward so as to form a flange. A disc portion having a larger outer circumferential portion than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion of the yoke is formed. A spigot portion provided in the outer circumference of the disc portion is fitted to a spigot portion provided in the frontmost of a cylindrical portion of a metal rear bracket so that the yoke and the rear bracket are fixedly connected to each other. Therefore, a brush device not limited by the outer diameter of the yoke can be provided. Accordingly, a long-life starter can be obtained by using sufficiently long brushes.

The present invention generally relates to a starter, and particularly to an assembling structure of a yoke, a brush device and a rear bracket.
First, a related art will be described below with reference to FIG. 10 which is a sectional view showing a conventional starter. Hereinafter, the right side and left side on the paper of the drawings are referred to as "front side" and "rear side", respectively. In FIG. 10, an armature 21 is enclosed in a cylindrical yoke 22. A cylindrical portion of a metal cup-like rear bracket 23 is attached to the rear end portion of the yoke 22 through spigot joint. A base 24 is fixed to the rear end inner surface of the rear bracket 23. Resin brush holding frames 25 are supported in the inside of the base 24. The armature 21 is constituted by an armature rotation shaft 26, a commutator 27 having segments formed on its outer circumference, and an armature coil 28 connected to the segments of the commutator 27. A bearing 29 which supports the armature rotation shaft 26 is fitted in the inner surface of an annular projection portion 23a of the rear bracket 23. Plus- and minus-side brushes 30 are received in the brush holding frames 25 and located in position respectively. The brushes 30 are pressed against the commutator 27 by means of brush springs 31. Further, a front bracket 32 is disposed on the front end portion of the starter, and a magnet switch 33 is provided on the upper portion of the starter.
In the aforementioned configuration, because the inner diameter of the rear bracket 23 fitted to the yoke 22 is smaller than the outer diameter of the yoke 22 and a brush device including the brush holders and brushes is received in the rear bracket 23, the outermost circumferential portion of the brush device becomes smaller than the inner diameter of the rear bracket 23. Accordingly, the outermost circumferential portion of the brush device must be smaller than the outer diameter of the yoke 22.
The operation of the starter will be described below. A current flows into a segment of the commutator 27 via the plus-side brush 30, and flows into the armature coil 28 from the segment of the commutator 27. Then, the current flowing-out from another segment of the commutator 27 flows, via the minus-side the brushes 30, into the base 24, the rear bracket 23 and the yoke 22 in the order successively so as to be finally grounded via the yoke 22.
Because the conventional starter is configured as described above, the inner diameter of the rear bracket is limited by the outer diameter of the yoke which is fitted to the rear bracket. Further, because the diameter of the outermost circumferential portion of the brush device is limited by the inner diameter of the rear bracket, the brushes which are constituent members of the brush device for supplying a current to the armature are limited in their length. It is therefore impossible to make the brushes have sufficient length, and it is impossible to attain a necessary brush life.
In the conventional structure, as described above, the brush life of the starter is be short. If the brush life is required to be prolonged in this case, it may be thought of to use brushes containing a large amount of carbon and a small amount of copper to increase their electric resistance. Such brushes are, however, unsuitable for a starter which requires large electric power instantaneously.


The present invention provides for a practical method of grafting oligo- and/or poly(ethyleneglycol) (OEG and/or PEG) derivatives onto hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces, including the surfaces of silicon scanning probe microscopy (SPM) tips, by hydrosilylation of OEG and/or PEG-terminated alkenes. This invention is related to the development of silicon-based bio-devices, including biochips, biosensors such as SPM probes, microarrays, micro-fluidic systems, and implantable microdevices. This invention is also a practical method to modify (many) SPM probe tips with OEG/PEG derivatives and to subsequently modify the tip apex with functional single molecules to improve the specificity and resolution of AFM imaging and measurements. The functional molecules include the dendritic adsorbates with a functional group at their focal point and with or without a tripod-shaped framework.

Scanning Probe Microscope Tips
Sophisticated protein molecules are like people in that the behaviors of individuals of the same population are different. While studying these molecules with traditional methods such as X-ray diffraction resembles the "social science of molecules," providing a statistically averaged property of an ensemble of molecules at static states, the heterogeneity, dynamics, and distribution of the properties among individual molecules is masked. Recent advances in single molecule methods has allowed study of the structure-function relationship of individual molecules, and exploration of heterogeneity among different molecules within a population, as well as observation of action of individual molecules in real time. The research in this new field, "single molecule biochemistry," promises to provide fundamentally new information of biological processes for a better understanding of cellular function. The progress in this field has heavily relied on the development of tools for detection and manipulation of single molecules.
AFM has become a powerful tool for biological research at nanoscale [Binnig, G., Quate, C. F. & Gerber, C. Atomic force microscope. Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 930 (1986); Science Citation Index. Search keyword: AFM or atomic force microscopy]. AFM uses a cantilever spring with a sharp tip to sense the repulsive and attractive forces between the tip and a sample surface. Commercial AFM can measure the forces as low as 10 piconewtons needed to rapidly rupture a single hydrogen bond [Takano, H., Kenseth, J. R., Wong, S. S., O'Brien, J. C. & Porter, M. D. Chemical and biochemical analysis using scanning force microscopy. Chem. Rev. 99, 2845 (1999); Poggi, M. A., Bottomley, L. A. & Lillehei, P. T. Scanning probe microscopy. Anal. Chem. 74, 2851 (2002); Hoh, J. H., Cleveland, J. P., Prater, C. B., Revel, J. P. & Hansma, P. K. Quantized adhesion detected with the atomic force microscope. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114, 4917 (1992); Zlatanova, J., Lindsay, S. M. & Leuba, S. H. Single molecule force spectroscopy in biology using the atomic force microscope. Prog. Biophys. Mol. Biol. 74, 37 (2000)]. While scanning over the surface, the data of tip-sample interaction provides images of the surface with a high spatial resolution. Both the high force and spatial resolutions render AFM feasible to probe non-covalent inter- and intramolecular interactions at molecular level. To this end, the surface of AFM tips, mostly made of silicon or silicon nitride, have been chemically or biochemically modified for probing specific interactions between the molecules attached to the tip and their partners immobilized on surfaces [Willemsen, O. H., Snel, M. M. E., Cambi, A., Greve, J., De Grooth, B. G. & Figdor, C. G. Biomolecular interactions measured by atomic force microscopy. Biophys. J. 79, 3267 (2000); Tamayo, J., Humphris, A. D. L., Owen, R. J. & Miles, M. J. High-Q dynamic force microscopy in liquid and its application to living cells. Biophys. J. 81, 526 (2001); Wang, T., Arakawa, H. & Ikai, A. Force measurement and inhibitor binding assay of monomer and engineered dimer of bovine carbonic anhydrase B. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 285, 9 (2001); Nakagawa, T., Ogawa, K., Kurumizawa, T. & Ozaki, S. Discriminating Molecular Length of Chemically Adsorbed Molecules Using an Atomic Force Microscope Having a Tip Covered with Sensor Molecules (an Atomic Force Microscope Having Chemical Sensing Function). Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 2—Lett. 32, L294 (1993); Frisbie, C. D., Rozsnyai, L. F., Noy, A., Wrighton, M. S. & Lieber, C. M. Functional-Group Imaging by Chemical Force Microscopy. Science 265, 2071 (1994); Noy, A., Vezenov, D. V. & Lieber, C. M. Chemical force microscopy. Annu. Rev. Mater. Sci. 27, 381 (1997); Hugel, T. & Seitz, M. The study of molecular interactions by AFM force spectroscopy. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 22, 989 (2001); Janshoff, A., Neitzert, M., Oberdorfer, Y. & Fuchs, H. Force spectroscopy of molecular systems—Single molecule spectroscopy of polymers and biomolecules. Angew. Chem.-Int. Edit. 39, 3213 (2000); Tromas, C. & Garcia, R. in Host-Guest Chemistry 115 (2002)], such as biotin-streptavidin/aviding [Schonherr, H., Beulen, M. W. J., Bugler, J., Huskens, J., van Veggel, F., Reinhoudt, D. N. & Vancso, G. J. Individual supramolecular host-guest interactions studied by dynamic single molecule force spectroscopy. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 122, 4963 (2000); Lee, G. U., Kidwell, D. A. & Colton, R. J. Sensing Discrete Streptavidin Biotin Interactions with Atomic-Force Microscopy. Langmuir 10, 354 (1994)], antigen-antibody [Moy, V. T., Florin, E. L. & Gaub, H. E. Intermolecular Forces and Energies between Ligands and Receptors. Science 266, 257 (1994); Hinterdorfer, P., Baumgartner, W., Gruber, H. J., Schilcher, K. & Schindler, H. Detection and localization of individual antibody-antigen recognition events by atomic force microscopy. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93, 3477 (1996); Hinterdorfer, P., Gruber, H. J., Kienberger, F., Kada, G., Riener, C., Borken, C. & Schindler, H. Surface attachment of ligands and receptors for molecular recognition force microscopy. Colloid Surf. B-Biointerfaces 23, 115 (2002)], and complementary strands of DNA [Raab, A., Han, W. H., Badt, D., Smith-Gill, S. J., Lindsay, S. M., Schindler, H. & Hinterdorfer, P. Antibody recognition imaging by force microscopy. Nat. Biotechnol. 17, 902 (1999); Wielert-Badt, S., Hinterdorfer, P., Gruber, H. J., Lin, J. T., Badt, D., Wimmer, B., Schindler, H. & Kinne, R. K. H. Single molecule recognition of protein binding epitopes in brush border membranes by force microscopy. Biophys. J. 82, 2767 (2002); Lee, G. U., Chrisey, L. A. & Colton, R. J. Direct Measurement of the Forces between Complementary Strands of DNA. Science 266, 771 (1994); Boland, T. & Ratner, B. D. Direct Measurement of Hydrogen-Bonding in DNA Nucleotide Bases by Atomic-Force Microscopy. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 92, 5297 (1995); Noy, A., Vezenov, D. V., Kayyem, J. F., Meade, T. J. & Lieber, C. M. Stretching and breaking duplex DNA by chemical force microscopy. Chem. Biol. 4, 519 (1997); Clausen-Schaumann, H., Rief, M. & Gaub, H. E. Sequence dependent mechanics of single DNA molecules. Biophys. J. 76, A151 (1999)]. Chemically modified AFM tips have also been used to harvest strands of genomic DNA at a specific region of a chromosome, and the DNA amplified by PCR [Clausen-Schaumann, H., Rief, M., Tolksdorf, C. & Gaub, H. E. Mechanical stability of single DNA molecules. Biophys. J. 78, 1997 (2000); Schumakovitch, I., Grange, W., Strunz, T., Bertoncini, P., Guntherodt, H. J. & Hegner, M. Temperature dependence of unbinding forces between complementary DNA strands. Biophys. J. 82, 517 (2002)]. By tethering a polymer strand both to an AFM tip and a solid surface, the polymer can be pulled by the AFM while the force-extension curves are recorded, which provide insight into the structural and mechanical properties of the molecule, including rupture force of a single covalent bond [Xu, X. M. & Ikai, A. Retrieval and amplification of single-copy genomic DNA from a nanometer region of chromosomes: A new and potential application of atomic force microscopy in genomic research. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 248, 744 (1998)], and the intramolecular forces associated with protein folding [Hoh, J. H., Cleveland, J. P., Prater, C. B., Revel, J. P. & Hansma, P. K. Quantized adhesion detected with the atomic force microscope. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114, 4917 (1992); Grandbois, M., Beyer, M., Rief, M., Clausen-Schaumann, H. & Gaub, H. E. How strong is a covalent bond? Science 283, 1727 (1999); Rief, M., Gautel, M., Oesterhelt, F., Fernandez, J. M. & Gaub, H. E. Reversible unfolding of individual titin immunoglobulin domains by AFM. Science 276, 1109 (1997)] and elasticity and conformational transitions in such as polysachharides [Oberdorfer, Y., Fuchs, H. & Janshoff, A. Conformational analysis of native fibronectin by means of force spectroscopy. Langmuir 16, 9955 (2000); Muller, D. J. & Engel, A. in Atomic Force Microscopy in Cell Biology 257 (2002)] and DNA [Noy, A., Vezenov, D. V., Kayyem, J. F., Meade, T. J. & Lieber, C. M. Stretching and breaking duplex DNA by chemical force microscopy. Chem. Biol. 4, 519 (1997); Clausen-Schaumann, H., Rief, M. & Gaub, H. E. Sequence dependent mechanics of single DNA molecules. Biophys. J. 76, A151 (1999); Li, H. B., Rief, M., Oesterhelt, F., Gaub, H. E., Zhang, X. & Shen, J. C. Single-molecule force spectroscopy on polysaccharides by AFM—nanomechanical fingerprint of alpha-(1,4)-linked polysaccharides. Chem. Phys. Lett. 305, 197 (1999); Marszalek, P. E., Li, H. B., Oberhauser, A. F. & Fernandez, J. M. Chair-boat transitions in single polysaccharide molecules observed with force-ramp AFM. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99, 4278 (2002); Fisher, T. E., Marszalek, P. E. & Fernandez, J. M. Stretching single molecules into novel conformations using the atomic force microscope. Nat. Struct. Biol. 7, 719 (2000); Bustamante, C., Macosko, J. C. & Wuite, G. J. L. Grabbing the cat by the tail: Manipulating molecules one by one. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 1, 130 (2000)].
Most of the chemically and biochemically modified AFM tips were derived from a layer of small molecules either on a gold-coated or directly on a Si/Si3N4 tip. When these tips are in contact with a sample surface, multiple to more than tens of molecules on the tip can participate semi-simultaneously in the binding or unbinding events. With such systems, the mean value of single-molecule interaction force can be derived by statistical treatment of data obtained from many repeated measurements of the pull-off force [Takano, H., Kenseth, J. R., Wong, S. S., O'Brien, J. C. & Porter, M. D. Chemical and biochemical analysis using scanning force microscopy. Chem. Rev. 99, 2845 (1999); Poggi, M. A., Bottomley, L. A. & Lillehei, P. T. Scanning probe microscopy. Anal. Chem. 74, 2851 (2002); Williams, M. C. & Rouzina, I. Force spectroscopy of single DNA and RNA molecules. Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 12, 330 (2002); Johnson, K. L., Kendall, K. & Roberts, A. D. Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 324, 301 (1971); Stevens, F., Lo, Y. S., Harris, J. M. & Beebe, T. P. Computer modeling of atomic force microscopy force measurements: Comparisons of Poisson, histogram, and continuum methods. Langmuir 15, 207 (1999)]. However, this value is an average over an ensemble of multiple interaction sites. The ultimate goal of AFM is to address individual molecule at a specific site, especially if the molecule has multiple binding sites [Zlatanova, J., Lindsay, S. M. & Leuba, S. H. Single molecule force spectroscopy in biology using the atomic force microscope. Prog. Biophys. Mol. Biol. 74, 37 (2000)].
Most measurements of intra-molecular forces of single molecules including proteins and polysaccharides start with "fishing" a molecule with a "sticky" AFM tip [Hoh, J. H., Cleveland, J. P., Prater, C. B., Revel, J. P. & Hansma, P. K. Quantized adhesion detected with the atomic force microscope. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114, 4917 (1992); Noy, A., Vezenov, D. V. & Lieber, C. M. Chemical force microscopy. Annu. Rev. Mater. Sci. 27, 381 (1997); Hugel, T. & Seitz, M. The study of molecular interactions by AFM force spectroscopy. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 22, 989 (2001); Li, H. B., Rief, M., Oesterhelt, F., Gaub, H. E., Zhang, X. & Shen, J. C. Single-molecule force spectroscopy on polysaccharides by AFM—nanomechanical fingerprint of alpha-(1,4)-linked polysaccharides. Chem. Phys. Lett. 305, 197 (1999); Marszalek, P. E., Li, H. B., Oberhauser, A. F. & Fernandez, J. M. Chair-boat transitions in single polysaccharide molecules observed with force-ramp AFM. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99, 4278 (2002); Fisher, T. E., Marszalek, P. E. & Fernandez, J. M. Stretching single molecules into novel conformations using the atomic force microscope. Nat. Struct. Biol. 7, 719 (2000)]. (Reference FIG. 9 for "fishing.") The molecules are immobilized on a solid surface, and the tip is brought in contact with the molecules to establish a strong binding before the tip retracts away from the surface. The probability of "fishing" one or more molecules depends on the density of the molecules on the surface and the nature of the interaction including binding strength and number of binding sites on the tip and the molecule. Also, multiple bindings can occur randomly if the molecule possesses multiple binding sites. To minimize the attachment of multiple molecules, the so-called "fly-fishing mode" [Lo, Y. S., Huefner, N. D., Chan, W. S., Stevens, F., Harris, J. M. & Beebe, T. P. Specific interactions between biotin and avidin studied by atomic force microscopy using the Poisson statistical analysis method. Langmuir 15, 1373 (1999); Rief, M., Oesterhelt, F., Heymann, B. & Gaub, H. E. Single molecule force spectroscopy on polysaccharides by atomic force microscopy. Science 275, 1295 (1997)] has been used, in which the tip approaches the surface step by step, retracting partly after each approach until a binding event is observed in the force-extension curve upon pulling back. The presence of only one molecule between the tip and the surface is indicated by the characteristic conformational transitions of the molecule.
Few Single Molecule AFM Tips (SMAT) designed for studying intermolecular interactions have been reported. Hinterdorfer et al were the first to demonstrate the preparation of SMATs containing a polyethylene glycol (PEG) linker tethering with a polyclonal anti-HAS antibody molecule for interacting with an immobilized HSA antigen molecule [Moy, V. T., Florin, E. L. & Gaub, H. E. Intermolecular Forces and Energies between Ligands and Receptors. Science 266, 257 (1994)]. They measured the unbind force of the single antibody-antigen pair, and discovered that both binding sites of the antibody could bind simultaneously and independently with the same probability. In addition, they demonstrated the mapping of binding probability over the surface of the antigen molecule with a lateral resolution of 1.5 nm. Notably, the antibody molecules in the SMATs did not deteriorate after measuring thousands of force-extension curves and storage in buffer for more than two months [Moy, V. T., Florin, E. L. & Gaub, H. E. Intermolecular Forces and Energies between Ligands and Receptors. Science 266, 257 (1994)]. These SMATs were prepared by solution deposition of the PEG linker molecues to the tip using a condition leading to a surface density of about one molecule per 50 nm2 (about the area of an AFM tip apex). However, the precise number and location of the molecules at a given tip apex cannot be controlled by this method. The PEG molecules were flexible and long (8 nm) for overcoming mis-orientation, steric hindrance, and conformational changes for efficient antibody-antigen binding [Moy, V. T., Florin, E. L. & Gaub, H. E. Intermolecular Forces and Energies between Ligands and Receptors. Science 266, 257 (1994)]. The antibody at various locations at the tip apex may reach the antigen. However, the advantage of long and flexible PEG linker is limited for molecules anchored slightly away from the tip apex. In addition, the non-specific interactions between the bulk tip and the sample varies with the different locations of the molecules. Therefore, the reproducibility of the results obtained with different "SMATs" prepared by the above method is questionable.
Recently, Lieber and co-workers demonstrated the fabrication of SMATs on carbon nanotube modified tips [Sekiguchi, H., Arakawa, H., Okajima, T. & Ikai, A. Non-destructive force measurement in liquid using atomic force microscope. Appl. Surf. Sci. 188, 489 (2002); Dai, H. J., Hafner, J. H., Rinzler, A. G., Colbert, D. T. & Smalley, R. E. Nanotubes as nanoprobes in scanning probe microscopy. Nature 384, 147 (1996); Hafner, J. H., Cheung, C. L. & Lieber, C. M. Direct growth of single-walled carbon nanotube scanning probe microscopy tips. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 121, 9750 (1999); Hafner, J. H., Cheung, C. L. & Lieber, C. M. Growth of nanotubes for probe microscopy tips. Nature 398, 761 (1999)]. Single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have a small diameter (0.7–5 nm), and are the stiffest material, rendering SWNT-modified AFM tips ideal for high resolution imaging [Hafner, J. H., Cheung, C. L. & Lieber, C. M. Growth of nanotubes for probe microscopy tips. Nature 398, 761 (1999); Hafner, J. H., Cheung, C. L., Woolley, A. T. & Lieber, C. M. Structural and functional imaging with carbon nanotube AFM probes. Prog. Biophys. Mol. Biol. 77, 73 (2001)]. Carboxylic acids groups were generated by electrochemical etching at the tip terminal [Schnitzler, G. R., Cheung, C. L., Hafner, J. H., Saurin, A. J., Kingston, R. E. & Lieber, C. M. Direct imaging of human SWI/SNF-remodeled mono- and polynucleosomes by atomic force microscopy employing carbon nanotube tips. Mol. Cell. Biol. 21, 8504 (2001); Snow, E. S., Campbell, P. M. & Novak, J. P. Atomic force microscopy using single-wall C nanotube probes. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 20, 822 (2002); Wong, S. S., Woolley, A. T., Joselevich, E., Cheung, C. L. & Lieber, C. M. Covalently-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube probe tips for chemical force microscopy. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 120, 8557 (1998); Hiura, H., Ebbesen, T. W. & Tanigaki, K. Opening and Purification of Carbon Nanotubes in High Yields. Adv. Mater. 7, 275 (1995)] and were used to attach biotin molecules [Hiura, H., Ebbesen, T. W. & Tanigaki, K. Opening and Purification of Carbon Nanotubes in High Yields. Adv. Mater. 7, 275 (1995)]. It is significant that the COOH groups thus generated are confined to the small tip end that is away from the bulk tip surface. However, the number of these groups varies with individual tips, and they may bond more than one biotin molecule, although single molecule tips can be identified by measurement of the unbinding force of the biotin-streptavidin complexes [Wong, S. S., Joselevich, E., Woolley, A. T., Cheung, C. L. & Lieber, C. M. Covalently functionalized nanotubes as nanometre-sized probes in chemistry and biology. Nature 394, 52 (1998); Sinnott, S. B. Chemical functionalization of carbon nanotubes. J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 2, 113 (2002)]. In addition, there exist non-specific interactions between the hydrophobic surface of carbon nanotubes and biomolecules, e.g. proteins, in many biological systems. Furthermore, nanotube tips are still relatively difficult to prepare, requiring chemical vapor deposition and transmission electron microscopy facilities [Dai, H. J., Hafner, J. H., Rinzler, A. G., Colbert, D. T. & Smalley, R. E. Nanotubes as nanoprobes in scanning probe microscopy. Nature 384, 147 (1996); Hafner, J. H., Cheung, C. L. & Lieber, C. M. Growth of nanotubes for probe microscopy tips. Nature 398, 761 (1999); Cheung, C. L., Hafner, J. H. & Lieber, C. M. Carbon nanotube atomic force microscopy tips: Direct growth by chemical vapor deposition and application to high-resolution imaging. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97, 3809 (2000); Wong, S. S., Joselevich, E., Woolley, A. T., Cheung, C. L. & Lieber, C. M. Covalently functionalized nanotubes as nanometre-sized probes in chemistry and biology. Nature 394, 52 (1998); Sinnott, S. B. Chemical functionalization of carbon nanotubes. J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 2, 113 (2002)], and so far only a few research groups have access to these tips. Therefore, it is necessary to develop more practical and economical methods for preparation of SMATs complementing the unique capabilities of nanotube tips, such as high resolution in imaging and control of tip orientation, for applications of AFM in a wide range of problems.
Silicon Surface Modification
Modification of silicon surfaces with a stable, uniform and ultrathin layer of biocompatible materials is of tremendous interest for the development of silicon-based bio-devices, including biochips, biosensors, microarrays, microfluidic systems, and implantable microdevices [J. Yakovleva, R. Davidsson, A. Lobanova, M. Bengtsson, S. Eremin, T. Laurell, J. Emneux, Anal. Chem. 2002,74, 2994; L. Leoni, D. Attiah, T. A. Desai, Sensors, 2002, 2, 111; S. Sharma, R. W. Johnson, T. A. Desai, Appl. Surf Sci. 2003, 206, 218]. Grafting oligo- or poly(ethylene glycol)s (OEGs or PEGs)—the well-known biocompatible materials—onto silicon oxide surfaces has been mostly based on siloxane chemistry using trichloro- or trialkoxylsilane derivatives [L. Leoni, D. Attiah, T. A. Desai, Sensors, 2002, 2, 111; S. Sharma, R. W. Johnson, T. A. Desai, Appl. Surf Sci. 2003, 206, 218; S.-W. Lee, P. E. Laibinis, Biomaterials 1998, 19, 1669; A. Papra, N. Gadegaard, N. B. Larsen, Langmuir 2001, 17, 1457]. Unfortunately, these reagents easily polymerize to form large aggregates and multilayers on the surfaces, and this is problematic particularly for coating on miniature devices. One way to circumvent this problem is to graft OH-terminated PEG onto Cl—Si surfaces prepared by chlorination of hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces [X.-Y. Zhu, D. R. Staarup, R. C. Major, S. Danielson, V. Boiadjiev, W. L. Gladfelter, B. C. Bunker, A. Guo, Langmuir 2001, 17, 7798]. The above methods involve the formation of Si—O bonds with the surfaces. A more practical approach was envisioned based on hydrosilylation [M. R. Linford, P. Fenter, P. M. Eisenberger, C. E. D. Chidsey, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1995, 117, 3145; R. L. Cicero, M. R. Linford, C. E. D. Chidsey, Langmuir 2000, 16, 5688; J. M. Buriak, Chem. Revs. 2002, 102, 1271; T. Strother, W. Cai, X. Zhao, R. J. Hamers, L. M. Smith, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 1205; M. P. Steward, J. M. Buriak, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 1998, 37, 3257; Angew. Chem. 1998, 110, 3447; A. B. Sieval, R. Linke, G. Heij, G. Meijer, H. Zuilhof, E. J. R. Sudhölter, Langmuir 2001, 17, 7554; D. A. Nivens, D. W. Conrad, Langmuir 2002, 18, 499; R. Boukherroub, D. D. M. Wayner, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 11513; A. B. Sieval, V. Vleeming, H. Zuilhof, E. J. R. Sudhölter, Langmuir 1999, 15, 8288] of α-OEG-ω-alkenes directly onto H-terminated silicon surfaces, forming Si—C bonds that are more stable towards hydrolysis than Si—O bonds. Also, the reaction can be induced by light, allowing for photopatterning the surface [M. P. Steward, J. M. Buriak, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 1998, 37, 3257; Angew. Chem. 1998, 110, 3447]. This very useful approach has not been reported, although hydrosilylation is widely used to prepare alkyl monolayers presenting a variety of surface functional groups including esters and amides [J. M. Buriak, Chem. Revs. 2002, 102, 1271]. An uncertainty was the presence of multiple ethylene glycol units that might interfere with the reaction and trap trace amount of water that facilitates the oxidation of the H—Si surface. While the initial interest of this approach was to modify silicon atomic force microscopic (AFM) tips [C. M. Yam, Z. Xiao, J. Gu, S. Boutet, C. Cai, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 7498], this approach was also explored for the growth of OEG layers on other silicon surfaces. The research resulted in the following invention that can be used in silicon-based biotechnology. The following invention as described herein details the method of growth of OEG layers by hydrosilylation of CH2═CH(CH2)m1(CF2)m2(OCH2CH2)n OR where m1>0, m2≧0, n≧3, and R=alkyl groups such as CH3, amide, ester, thiolate, disulfide, or protected amino, hydroxy, or thiol groups, on hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces including hydrogen-terminated flat silicon surfaces, porous silicon surfaces, and silicon nanoparticles. For example, m1=9, m2=0, n=3, 6, 7, 9, R=CH3, abbreviated as EG3 [S.-W. Lee, P. E. Laibinis, Biomaterials 1998, 19, 1669], EG6 [C. P. Fischer, C. Schmidt, H. Finkelmann, Macromol. Rapid Commun. 1995, 16, 435], and EG9 on atomically flat H—Si(111) surfaces (see FIG. 18).

Modification of silicon-containing scanning probe microscopy tips and growth of oligo-or poly (ethylene glycol) films on silicon surfaces through formation of Si-C bonds


A system for determining the log of an element in Galois field GF(2.sup.m) using a small, selectable size table, a finite field multiplier, and a counter. The system allows for a flexible trade-off between speed and integrated circuit area, and applies for any GF(2.sup.m) for all possible m. The system allows for on-the-fly error location determination without the need for storing all possible logs for the GF(2.sup.m) under consideration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to error correcting systems which utilize an error correcting code to correct errors which have occurred in the transmission or storage of information. The present invention provides a method and apparatus for determining the log of an element in the Galois Field GF(2.sup.m). More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for determining the log of an element in GF(2.sup.m) with the help of a small table of selectable size which applies for any GF(2.sup.m) and any value of m.
2. Related art
In Galois Field GF(2.sup.m), elements are primarily represented in two different forms: vector form and power form. In vector form, each element of the Galois Field is represented by a polynomial of degree m-1 or less which has coefficients from the binary field (i.e., 0 or 1). In power form, all elements of the Galois Field (except the zero element) are represented by powers of a primitive element of the Field.
For purposes of convenience and high speed processing, elements in GF(2.sup.m) are generally represented in vector form. All operations such as addition, multiplication, division, etc., are performed in vector form using special purpose hardware.
When performing error detection and correction, and more particularly during the associated decoding process, after error location numbers are obtained in vector form, it is necessary to find the log of the error location vector in order to determine the error location within the length of the codeword containing the error. To illustrate, if a is a primitive element in GF(2.sup.m), and if a.sup.k represents an error location vector, then: EQU a.sup.k =a.sub.m-1 x.sup.m-1 +a.sub.m-2 x.sup.m-2 + . . . +a.sub.0 EQU and EQU log[a.sup.k ]=log[a.sub.m-1 x.sup.m-1 +a.sub.m-2 x.sup.m-2 + . . . +a.sub.0 ]=k
where k represents the location of an error in the codeword.
In order to provide for on-the-fly (i.e., in real-time) error correction, the prior art teaches that a log table must be implemented on an integrated circuit chip. This is true even if the chip is provided with special purpose fast multipliers and inverters. Such a table requires a ROM table of size 2.sup.m * m, which can be quite expensive for large values of m.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an alternative method and apparatus for determining the log of an element in GF(2.sup.m) that provides for on-the-fly error correction and is inexpensive to implement.

Method and apparatus to determine the log of an element in GF(2.sup.m) with the help of a small adjustable size table


According to various aspects, exemplary embodiments are disclosed of direct fired heaters including premix burner technology and/or feed forward control loop modulation via inlet air temperature.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Direct gas-fired heaters have been manufactured for over 50 years to serve industrial and commercial facilities. In direct fired commercial heaters, circulation air and products of combustion are vented directly into the space being heated, unlike indirect fired heaters that vent combustion products to the outdoors. Direct gas-fired heaters are primarily intended for space heating applications in commercial and industrial facilities to address the heat load and ventilation requirements of these facilities.
The most common use for a direct fired heater is to replace air that is being exhausted as part of a process. When used for this purpose, direct fired heaters are commonly referred to as make-up air heaters. Typically, a make-up air heater is provided to the marketplace in a draw-through heater configuration to meet customer demand for a constant airflow output, e.g., in cubic feet per minute (cfm), that matches the exhaust airflow capacity.
In a draw-through design or configuration, outside air first passes over a line burner before entering a centrifugal blower. The blower is located downstream of the line burner and operates to draw outside air through or over the line burner. The blower in this draw-through arrangement is a "constant volume machine" which indicates that the air volume delivered by the blower to the space is relatively constant as it handles air over a fairly narrow range of outlet temperatures.
Make-up air heaters normally discharge air at or slightly above the desired room temperature. Energy efficiency may be optimized by neutralizing the impact of exhausting air out of a building and replacing it with a heating system that converts all of the sensible heat contained in the gas to heat the outside air that replaces that which was exhausted by the process. The moisture from the combustion process is discharge in the space, which adds to the comfort level of the occupant as the outside air tends to be very dry in the fall and winter months when heat is needed most. Because the moisture derived from the combustion process is not condensed, the overall system efficiency of these types of direct fired make-up air heaters are recognized to be approximately 92% efficient. The inventors hereof have recognized, however, that without the air being provided by the direct fired make-up air heater in a controlled manner, air would enter the building through openings that are part of the building structure in the form of infiltration air. Air that infiltrates a building is untempered air (not preheated), which results in cold drafts and uncomfortable working conditions especially for personnel working in the dock areas where open doors become the pathway of choice for the infiltration air.
Direct gas-fired heaters have also been marketed for over 50 years with a blow-through heater configuration in which the blower is upstream of the burner. More specifically, the blower is located to handle outside air and blow the outside air past a burner, which is operable for heating the outside air before it is discharged into the space to be heated.
But the inventors hereof have recognized that direct fired blow-through heaters are not well suited for exhaust air applications because cold outside air will expand after it passes over the burner as a function of the change in air density. By way of example, air at 0° F. and having an air density of 0.08635 pounds per cubic foot (lbs/ft3) heated to 70° F. after it passes the burner results in an expansion of that air and a lowering of the air density to a value of 0.075 pounds per cubic foot. This, in turn, results in an increase in the airflow being discharged by the heater of 15.1%. If the exhaust application was a kitchen hood in a restaurant, the excess supply air may have a negative impact on the kitchen hoods ability to extract the smoke and odor for the cooking process, which could also impact the remaining public areas of the facilities.
Direct fired blow-through heater configurations are well suited for use as space heaters. In this case, a direct blow-through heater may be applied to address the heat load of a facility and not to match a given exhaust application. Industrial and commercial buildings have an infiltration load element as part of its heat load as a result of wind and temperature differences between indoor and outdoor temperatures. Based on ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers) ventilation requirements, it is often necessary to provide a source for this ventilation requirement as well as which can be met by this same heater.
In some well insulated buildings, the infiltration element of the heat load analysis can show that the infiltration load and the load associated with the ventilation requirement is more significant than the conduction load. In these applications, the optimization of a heating system occurs when the system first addresses and matches the combination of infiltration load and ventilation load on a designated day and then checks to verify that the conduction load requirement has also been addressed. When a direct fired heater is utilized for space heating, that portion of the heater's capacity that heats the outside air temperature to room temperature is directly tied to the infiltration and ventilation heat load. That portion of the heater capacity above room temperature and the maximum temperature rise of the heater is applied to the conduction load with any extra capacity also being applied to the any infiltration and ventilation heat load remaining, if required. There is a significant system efficiency advantage if the blow-through heater is capable of obtaining a temperature rise equal to or greater than the maximum discharge temperature allowed by the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Standard Z83.4 for Non-Recirculating Direct Gas-Fired Industrial Air Heaters. ANSI Standard Z83.4 sets the maximum discharge temperature at 160° F. and limits the maximum temperature rise to 190° F. In an application where the minimum design for a location is 0° F. (e.g., like Saint Louis, Mo., etc.), a heater with a temperature rise of 160° F. would therefore optimize the heater selection for that location.
Another benefit of a direct fired blow-through space heater configuration is that a space heater is generally cycled on and off based on a call for heat by a room thermostat. A conventional draw-through make-up air heater will run continuously as long as the exhaust fan is operating. During the operating time of a space heater, the heater airflow tends to neutralize the flow of infiltration air into the building as a result of the air brought in by the heater escaping out of the same cracks. This exhale of the air supplied by the heater carries out other contaminants that may be created in the building. If the infiltration rate of the building is too low, additional relief openings may be required to meet the minimum ventilation requirements of the facility.
Since the products of combustion in both draw-through heaters and in blow-through heaters are released into the heated air stream, it is important the levels of these combustion products (carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2)) be controlled by the burner design to meet the levels identified by the ANSI Standard for these products. ANSI Standard Z83.4 covers both configurations of heaters (blow-through and draw-through) and limits the CO rise through the heater to no more than 5.0 parts per million (ppm). In comparison, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) indicates the maximum exposure for an 8 hour period for the occupants of a building. If propane fork trucks are utilized in the facility, the combustion products generated by the fork trucks is additive to the environment. And, additional ventilation provided by the operation of these space heaters is required to purge that contamination from the building. It is generally recognized that 5,000 cfm of ventilation air is required per operating and well-tuned fork truck to keep contaminants from approaching undesirable levels.
The NO2 rise through the heater is limited to 0.5 ppm, and CO2 is limited to 4,000 ppm for these heaters by ANSI Standard Z83.4. CO2 production is solely a function of the type of gas utilized (natural gas or propane) and the temperature rise based on a mathematical relationship (CO2=19.63×K×Temp Rise, where K=1.04 for natural gas and 1.206 for propane). NO2 like CO is a function of the burner design and generally limits the maximum temperature rise that the direct fired heater can achieve during certification testing for the burners that have been utilized in these types of heaters for many years. OSHA limits the short term exposure limit (STEL) of NO2 to 5 ppm, which allows for only a 15 minute timeframe. This ANSI Standard Z83.4 for direct fired heaters limits the combustion products to protect the health of the occupants within the space. It does not in any way limit the emissions based on their impact on the environment as it relates to compounds that contribute to the creation of smog and greenhouse gases. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are recognized as a major contributor to both smog and greenhouse gases. Although the NOx emission for the existing technology of burner design is far from what may be considered as "Low NOx", the operating efficiency of the direct fired heater lessens the impact of the total annual production of NOx compared to gas appliances that have lower operating efficiencies with lower NOx emission levels. Typically, the emission level of the existing burner technology has run between 55 ppm and 65 ppm at 3% oxygen (O2).
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has long been recognized as the leader in establishing the greenhouse gas emissions limits for gas utilization equipment by providing Rules for each type of appliance. Their primary focus has traditionally been on limiting the annual output of nitrogen oxides (NOx). By establishing NOx limits on an appliance category, this organization pushes the envelope of innovation by the equipment manufacturers. Their Rules apply to the localized areas around Los Angeles encompassing five adjoining counties. The 35 other Air Quality Management Districts in California continuously monitor SCAQMD activities and the results, and soon follow the lead of SCAQMD.
When SCAQMD first addressed large boilers, SCAQMD established a Rule for NOx emissions at 30 ppm at 3% O2. After manufacturers discovered technology improvement that consistently lowered their NOx emission results, SCAQMD revised the Rule to lower the allowable limit to 20 ppm at 3% O2 which continued to drive innovation. Eventually, these technological improvements led to the NOx emissions being lowered to 9 ppm at 3% O2 which is considered as ultra-low NOx. SCAQMD has focused on the largest sources of greenhouse gas emission in their efforts to reduce the smog in the immediate area around Los Angeles. As the air quality continued to improve, SCAQMD gradually shifted their focus to the smaller NOx generation sources.

Direct fired heaters including premix burner technology


A display panel, a display device and a display method are provided. The display panel includes: first pixels configured to display a first image; second pixels configured to display a second image. The display panel further includes light-shielding patterns configured to shield part of light beams emitted by the second pixels.

With the development of display technology, display devices have become indispensable products for everyone, such as mobile phones, notebook computers, personal digital assistants, and the like. When using the display device, how to ensure that the display content of the display device is not viewed by the other users is a matter of concern.
The anti-peeping display device in the related art need to be provided with an anti-peeping functional layer which is a multi-layer structure, which leads to a complex and heavy structure of the display device and puts forward higher requirements for the manufacturing process.
In view of this, a new anti-peeping scheme is urgently needed to solve the above technical issues.

Display panel with light-shielding patterns, display device and display method


A linear electric generator (LEG) includes sections of coils of an induction coil assembly (ICA) disposed along a distance d1 and apparatus for passing a permanent magnetic assembly (PMA) of length d2, where d2 is less than d1, along the coils for generating voltages and power in the coils in close proximity to the PMA. Unidirectional conducting elements are connected between the coils and output power lines to couple the voltages developed across excited coils to the output power lines without the unexcited coils loading down or dissipating the voltage developed across the output power lines.

This invention relates to linear electric generators (LEGs) and to circuitry for improving their efficiency. A problem with known LEGs may be best explained with reference to prior art FIGS. 1 and 2. A LEG may be constructed, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, so as to have a long stator (e.g., an induction coil assembly 24 of length d1) and a relatively short permanent magnet assembly 22, of length d2. When the permanent magnet assembly 22 moves relative to the induction coil assembly 24 a voltage (and a current if a load is connected across the coil assembly) is induced in the coil assembly. An advantage of systems in which the coil is made much longer than the magnet, as compared to those with long permanent magnet assemblies and short induction coil (stator) assemblies, includes the ability to hold the wiring of the induction coil assembly stationary (i.e., cables are not continually moved or flexed). Another advantage of such systems is that the long coils and short permanent magnet enable the use of relatively simple passive permanent magnet dampers/brakers (e.g., passive dampers can be formed by placing conductive plates at the ends of the travel of the permanent magnets to form a passive damper or brake). Still another advantage of having a relatively short permanent magnet is that big and long magnets present a hazard in that they tend to attract a large amount of debris.
Although the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has many advantages, a problem with known linear electric generators having a long induction coil assembly and a relatively short permanent magnet assembly is that the electric current generated in the coils has to pass (flow) through the entire coil assembly (i.e., all the coils) in the stator, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The useful voltage derived from the coils is obtained from those coils and coil sections directly opposite and very close to the permanent magnet assembly. This useful voltage induces a current which flows through the coils. The portions of the stator coils that are not adjacent (or directly opposite) to the permanent magnet assembly (PMA) and those that do not interact with the magnet assembly cause a voltage drop in the coil (i.e., due to the resistance and inductance of the coil) without enhancing the generation of additional current. The voltage drop due to the resistance/impedance of the coils not contributing to the generation of voltage (current) results in significant losses in the power being generated by the LEG.
A proposed solution to the problem is shown and discussed in a co-pending application titled Coil Switching Circuit for Linear Electric Generator by David B. Stewart et al filed concurrently herewith and bearing Ser. No. 11/030,932 and assigned to the same assignee as the instant application and whose teachings are incorporated herein by reference. The Coil Switching application teaches the use of a switching arrangement for coupling only selected sections of coils of the induction coil assembly (ICA) of a LEG across output lines of the LEG. The selected sections include those sections of coils of the ICA closest to the passing PMA. A disadvantage of the proposed solution is that it requires the use of switches to couple the active coils to the output lines of the LEG and switches to decouple or bypass the inactive coils. For proper operation of the system using a switching arrangement, position sensors, and/or other appropriate means, are needed to sense the position of the PMA relative to the ICA to constantly turn switches on and off in order to ensure that only desired coils are in fact connected in circuit. This disadvantage is overcome in circuits and systems embodying the invention.

Circuitry for increasing efficiency of a linear electric generator


Methods of reducing background during amplification of small amounts of nucleic acids employ careful analysis of sources of low level contamination. Ultraviolet light can be used to reduce nucleic acid contaminants in reagents and equipment. “Primer-dimer” background can be reduced by judicious design of primers. We have shown clean signal-to-noise with as little as starting material as one single human cell (˜6 picogram), E. coli cell (˜5 femtogram) or Prochlorococcus cell (˜3 femtogram).

At nucleic acid amount less than a nanogram, various "whole genome amplification" (WGA) strategies, such as multiple displacement amplification (MDA) (Dean et al. (2002) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99:5261-5266, incorporated herein by reference) yield a "background" of undesired amplification products. The ability to efficiently amplify trace amounts of nucleic acids with a minimum of undesired background is highly desirable in research and diagnostic methods, including, but not limited to, clinical, food, environmental and forensic investigative testing.

Amplification of trace amounts of nucleic acids

President and Fellows of Harvard College


A child support system for infants or small children. The child support system includes a child containment device and at least one child support unit detachably mounted to the child containment device. The child containment device includes a frame, liner and, optionally, a raised bassinet mattress. The at least one child support unit may take the form of a bassinet, sleeper, seat, and/or a changing table. The child containment device frame can be collapsible for storage and transport. The child support unit can be configured for use in different modes, in combination with, and/or independent of the child containment device.

Child containment devices such as play yards, play pens, cribs, sleepers, and the like are commonly used to provide a safe and comfortable area for infants and small children to play and rest. Such devices commonly include a frame, a horizontal floor and vertical walls. The frame may be a foldable structure for portability and ease of use. Care of infants and small children often also involves use of a changing table for supporting the child during diaper changes or clothes changing. Smaller infants and children also often use an enclosed bassinet or cradle-like structure for sleeping.
In some instances, it may be desirable to provide parents or other adult caregivers with an integrated system including a changing table and/or a bassinet or sleeper in combination with a play yard or other child containment device. Continuing improvements in this field of endeavor are sought. It is to the provision of an improved child support system meeting these and other needs that the present invention is primarily directed.


An electron gun assembly has at least one additional electrode located along the equipotential plane of a potential distribution formed between a focusing electrode and anode electrode forming a main lens. In a no-deflection state, the additional electrode receives a voltage of a predetermined level corresponding to the potential of the equipotential plane on which the additional electrode is located. In a deflection state, letting Vf be the application voltage of the focusing electrode, Eb be the application voltage of the anode electrode, and Vs be the application voltage of the addition electrode, a value (Vsxe2x88x92Vf)/(Ebxe2x88x92Vf) changes with an increase in electron beam deflection amount, while the additional electrode forms an electron lens having different focusing powers in the horizontal direction and vertical direction.

The present invention relates to a color cathode ray tube apparatus and, more particularly, to a color cathode ray tube apparatus for reducing the elliptic distortion of a beam spot at the periphery of a screen and displaying a high-quality image.
A color cathode ray tube apparatus has an envelope made up of a panel and funnel. The funnel incorporates in its neck an electron gun assembly for emitting three electron beams, i.e., a center beam and a pair of side beams that pass through the same horizontal plane. A deflection yoke for forming a nonuniform magnetic field for deflecting the three electron beams is mounted on the funnel. The nonuniform magnetic field is formed from a pincushion type horizontal deflection magnetic field and barrel type vertical deflection magnetic field.
Three electron beams emitted by the electron gun assembly are focused on a phosphor screen while being converged to the entire surface of the phosphor screen formed on the inner surface of the panel through a shadow mask by the nonuniform magnetic field. Then, a color image is displayed.
The color cathode ray tube apparatus adopts, e.g., a BPF (Bi-Potential Focus) DACandF (Dynamic Astigmatism Correction and Focus) type electron gun assembly.
As shown in FIG. 1, this electron gun assembly has three cathodes K aligned in a line, and a first grid G1, second grid G2, third grid G3 made up of a first segment G31 and second segment G32, and fourth grid G4 which are sequentially laid out in a tube axis direction from the cathode K to the phosphor screen. Each grid has three electron beam apertures formed in correspondence with the three cathodes K.
In the electron gun assembly, the cathode K receives a voltage prepared by superposing a video signal on a reference voltage of 150 V. The first grid G1 is grounded, and the second grid G2 receives a voltage of about 600 V. The first segment G31 of the third grid G3 receives a voltage of about 6 kV, and the second segment G32 thereof receives a variable voltage prepared by superposing a parabolic voltage on a reference voltage of about 6 kV. This parabolic voltage increases with an increase in electron beam deflection amount, and maximizes for the maximum deflection amount, i.e., in deflecting an electron beam to the corner of the phosphor screen. The fourth grid G4 receives a voltage of about 26 kV.
The cathodes K, first grid G1, and second grid G2 constitute an electron beam generator for generating an electron beam and forming an object point with respect to a main lens (to be described later). The second grid G2 and the first segment G31 of the third grid G3 constitute a pre-focusing lens for preliminarily focusing the generated electron beam. The second segment G32 of the third grid G3 and the fourth grid G4 constitute a BPF type main lens for finally accelerating and focusing the preliminarily focused electron beam on the phosphor screen.
When the electron beam is deflected to the corner of the phosphor screen, the potential difference between the second segment G32 and fourth grid G4 minimizes to minimize the power of the main lens. At the same time, the maximum potential difference occurs between the first and second segments G31 and G32 to form a quadrupole lens for horizontally focusing an electron beam and vertically diverging it. The power of the quadrupole lens at that time is maximum.
When the electron beam is deflected to the corner of the phosphor screen, the distance from the electron gun assembly to the phosphor screen becomes maximum, and the distance from the object point to the image point becomes longer. An increase in distance from the object point to the image point is compensated by weakening the power of the main lens. The deflection aberration of the nonuniform magnetic field formed by the deflection yoke is compensated by the action of a quadrupole lens formed between the first and second segments G31 and G32.
To improve the image quality of the color cathode ray tube apparatus, the focusing characteristic and beam spot shape on the phosphor screen must be improved. Particularly in an in-line type color cathode ray tube apparatus for emitting three electron beams in a line, a beam spot 1 at the center of the screen can be made circular, as shown in FIG. 2. However, a beam spot 1 at the periphery extending from the end of the horizontal axis (X-axis) to the end of the diagonal axis (D-axis) elliptically distorts (vertically collapses) and causes a blur 2 owing to the deflection aberration.
The blur 2 of the beam spot 1 can be eliminated, as shown in FIG. 3, by adopting the DACandF method of dividing a low-voltage electrode forming a main lens into a plurality of segments, like the third grid G3 of the electron gun assembly. However, the elliptic distortion of the beam spot 1 at the periphery of the screen cannot be eliminated. This elliptic distortion interferes with the electron beam aperture of the shadow mask to generate moire, which makes it difficult to see the display contents.
The vertical collapse of the beam spot 1 at the periphery will be explained with reference to optical models shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In a no-deflection state in which an electron beam is focused on the center of the screen, an electron beam 8 generated by the electron beam generator is preliminarily focused by a pre-focusing lens, and focused on a phosphor screen 5 by a main lens 4. In a deflection state in which an electron beam is deflected to the periphery of the phosphor screen, the electron beam 8 is preliminarily focused by the pre-focusing lens, passes through a quadrupole lens 6, and deflected by a deflection magnetic field 7 having a quadrupole component while being focused on the phosphor screen 5 by the main lens 4. Then, the electron beam 8 is focused on the phosphor screen 5.
In general, the beam spot size on the screen depends on a magnification M. The magnification M is given by the ratio xcex10/xcex1i of a divergent angle xcex10 and incident angle xcex1i of the electron beams 8. Letting Mh be the horizontal magnification, Mv be the vertical magnification, xcex10h be the horizontal divergent angle, xcex1ih be the horizontal incident angle, xcex10v be the vertical divergent angle, and xcex1iv be the vertical incident angle, the horizontal and vertical magnifications Mh and Mv are given by
Mh=xcex10h/xcex1ih
Mv=xcex10h/xcex1iv
If
xe2x80x83xcex10h=xcex10v
the above components satisfy
xcex1ih=xcex1iv
Mh=Mv
in the no-deflection state shown in FIG. 4.
The beam spot at the center of the screen becomes circular. To the contrary, in the deflection state shown in FIG. 5, the above components change to
xcex1ih less than xcex1iv
Mh greater than Mv.
The beam spot extends along the D-axis at the periphery.
As described above, to improve the image quality of the color cathode ray tube apparatus, the focusing characteristic and beam spot shape on the phosphor screen must be improved.
As for the focusing characteristic and beam spot shape, the conventional BPF DACandF type electron gun assembly changes the power of the main lens along with changes in electron beam deflection amount. In addition, the electron gun assembly forms a dynamically changing quadrupole lens to eliminate any vertical blur of the beam spot caused by the deflection aberration and focus the electron beam on the entire screen.
However, the elliptic distortion of the beam spot at the periphery cannot be eliminated. This elliptic distortion may interfere with the electron beam apertures of the shadow mask to generate moire, degrading the display quality.
The present invention has been made to overcome the conventional drawbacks, and has as its object to provide a color cathode ray tube apparatus for reducing the elliptic distortion of a beam spot on the entire screen and displaying a high-quality image.
According to the present invention, there is provided a color cathode ray tube apparatus comprising an electron gun assembly having a main lens which is made up of at least a focusing electrode and anode electrode, and accelerates and focuses an electron beam on a phosphor screen, and a deflection yoke for generating a deflection magnetic field for deflecting the electron beam emitted by the electron gun assembly, wherein the electron gun assembly has at least one additional electrode located along an equipotential plane of a potential distribution formed between the focusing electrode and anode electrode forming the main lens, in a no-deflection state in which the electron beam is focused on a center of the phosphor screen, the additional electrode receives a voltage of a predetermined level corresponding to a potential of the equipotential plane on which the additional electrode is located, and in a deflection state in which the electron beam is deflected to a periphery of the phosphor screen, letting Vf be an application voltage of the focusing electrode, Eb be an application voltage of the anode electrode, and Vs be an application voltage of the additional electrode, a value
(Vsxe2x88x92Vf)/(Ebxe2x88x92Vf)
changes with an increase in electron beam deflection amount, while the additional electrode forms an electron lens having different horizontal and vertical focusing powers.
According to the present invention, there is provided a color cathode ray tube apparatus comprising an electron gun assembly having a main lens which is made up of at least a focusing electrode and anode electrode, and accelerates and focuses an electron beam on a phosphor screen, and a deflection yoke for generating a deflection magnetic field for deflecting the electron beam emitted by the electron gun assembly, wherein the electron gun assembly has at least one additional electrode located along an equipotential plane of a potential distribution formed between the focusing electrode and anode electrode forming the main lens, in a predetermined deflection state in which the electron beam is deflected, the additional electrode receives a voltage of a predetermined level corresponding to a potential of the equipotential plane on which the additional electrode is located, and in a deflection state in which the electron beam is deflected to a periphery of the phosphor screen, letting Vf be an application voltage of the focusing electrode, Eb be an application voltage of the anode electrode, and Vs be an application voltage of the additional electrode, a value
(Vsxe2x88x92Vf)/(Ebxe2x88x92Vf)
changes with an increase in electron beam deflection amount, while the additional electrode forms an electron lens having different horizontal and vertical focusing powers.


A method and device for monitoring a mobile telephone repeater are disclosed. The repeater is of the kind comprising an uplink (100) and a downlink (200) between two antennas (1, 2), wherein the repeater receives, amplifies and retransmits signals between a base station and a mobile telephone. A stability test is performed automatically, whereby a possible continuous and strong signal, being caused either by an instability involving a positive feedback between the two antennas or by a disturbing signal, is detected, whereupon the amplifying gain is adjusted in response to the result of the stability test. The test criterion includes the step of checking whether the level of the input signal in the respective amplifier chain exceeds a threshold value during at least a major portion of a measuring period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method and a device for monitoring a mobile telephone repeater of the kind having two antennas and two links therebetween, said two links comprising an uplink for amplifying signals from a mobile telephone to a base station and a downlink for amplifying signals from said base station to said mobile telephone, said two links being provided with a number of amplifier chains each being designed to pass through a specific signal frequency channel or frequency band, wherein a possible continuous and strong signal, being caused either by an instability involving a positive feed back between said two antennas or by a disturbing signal, is detected by applying a test criterion which includes measuring a signal level and checking whether the measured signal level exceeds a threshold value, whereupon an amplifying gain in the respective amplifier chain is adjusted in response to the result of the stability test.
2. Description of the Related Art
A repeater for use in cellular telephone systems is a device which amplifies a received RF-signal and retransmits the amplified signal at the same carrier frequency. Accordingly, there is a risk that the signal retransmitted from one antenna is picked up by the other antenna so as to cause a positive feedback and a strong self-oscillating signal which is maintained by the amplifiers in the particular amplifier chain.
If the downlink oscillates, the area to be covered by the repeater may be disturbed so as to make the mobile telephones in this area inoperative. On the other hand, if the uplink oscillates, the associated base station will receive a continuous, strong signal which blocks the receiver of the base station and prevents it from functioning properly.

Method and device for monitoring a mobile telephone repeater


To provide a service with fairness by providing QoS of approximately an equal degree among users of the same service class to keep fairness of the service as well as by maintaining a transmission rate at a predetermined ratio among users of different service classes to relatively keep QoS among service classes. A resource control method which is executed by a base station in a mobile communication between the base station and each of a plurality of mobile stations, the method comprising: an unallocated resource measurement step of measuring an amount of unallocated resources, when one mobile station originates a new connection request or a handover request; a service quality calculation step of calculating a service quality which can be provided to the one mobile station with the amount of the unallocated resources obtained by the measurement; a decision step of deciding whether the service quality obtained by the calculation is within a predetermined range in accordance with a service class to which the one mobile station belongs; and a reassignment step for reassigning the resources to each mobile station depending on the service class to which each mobile station belongs, when the service quality is not within the predetermined range in accordance with the service class to which the one mobile station belongs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resource control method in a mobile communication system between a base station and a plurality of mobile stations, the base station, the mobile stations and a mobile communication system including the base station and the mobile stations.
2. Related Background Art
In mobile communication environments, variations in a receiving level and an amount of interference are extremely depending on the movement of terminals and the changes of radio wave environments, and variations in an amount of resources such as a radio channel necessary for a communication are large. In a cellular system, an amount of resources available for each cell varies, and, by a handover due to the movement of the terminal, the resource that can be used by terminals changes as time passes. Accordingly, it is difficult to absolutely guarantee so-called QoS (a quality of service for a network) such as an error rate and a transmission speed all over the time of communications, which is allocated when the terminal originates a new connection request and handover request.
In a conventional quality guarantee service, e.g., in a circuit-switched voice service in the mobile communication, when initially required QoS becomes unfulfilled because of a decrease in a receiving level and an increase in interference during the communication and because of inexistence of a non-busy channel in a handover destination when a handover is performed, in other words, when it is impossible to keep voice QoS a certain predetermined level, the communication has been stopped at that time. For users, the cut-off of the communication desired to be continued is a large loss in a service.
On the other hand, in the invention titled as "A Slot Allocation Method in Mobile Communication, Base Station using the Method, and Mobile Stations using the Method", which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-177865, each user notifies to a network a QoS request in which two values composed of the maximum and minimum of resources required are included. When a new connection request is originated, the network checks allocatable resources, and the resources are utilized within the range between an amount of the maximum requested resources and an amount of the minimum requested resources of the connection request.
However, in this method the resources are allocated depending on a traffic state at the time when a new connection request or a handover request is originated. Accordingly, when a plurality of service classes exist, if the times of issuing connection requests by a plurality of users of the same service class are different from each other, unfairness may occur among users of the same service class. Specifically, the unfairness occurs if the maximum request resources are allocated to the user issuing the request in non-congested condition and the minimum request resources are allocated to the user issuing the request in congested condition.
Among the users of different service classes, the users of a low priority service class who originate the request in non-congested condition, are sometimes allocated with the maximum request resource amount, and the users of a high priority service class who originate the request in congested condition, are sometimes allocated with the minimum request resource amount. Accordingly, unfairness occurs for these users of the different service classes. Existence of the unfairness among the users of the same service class and different service classes makes it impossible to provide service with fairness, and may deteriorate a degree of satisfaction of users.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7D, mobile stations (hereinafter referred to as MS) MS1 and MS3 shall belong to a high service class demanding a high transmission rate, and a MS2 shall belong to a low service class demanding a low transmission rate. Note that FIG. 7A shows a communication from a base station to each mobile station and FIG. 7C shows a communication from the mobile station to the base station.
The thickness of the arrow in FIG. 7A indicates a magnitude of transmission power allocated to each MS, and a stacking graph of the transmission power allocated to each MS is shown in FIG. 7B. The thickness of the arrow in FIG. 8A described later similarly shows a magnitude of transmission power, and FIG. 8B described later similarly shows a stacking graph of the transmission power. Moreover, the thickness of the arrow in FIG. 7C indicates a magnitude of received power relating to a received signal from each MS, and a stacking graph of the received power from each MS is shown in FIG. 7D. The thickness of the arrow in FIG. 8C described later similarly shows the magnitude of the received power, and FIG. 8D described later shows the stacking graph of the received power similarly.
As shown in FIGS. 7A to 7D, when the MS1 and MS2 originated a new connection request, there was a margin of resources. Accordingly, the resources were allocated to the MS1 and MS2 for the maximum request of QoS. For example, the resources were allocated to the MS1 and MS2 so that transmission rates of 384 kbps and 192 kbps could be realized.
However, when the MS3 originates a new connection request in this state, the remaining transmission power resource is small. Accordingly, the transmission rate as little as 64 kbps can be provided to the MS3. Therefore, unfairness occurs in the service provided to the MS1 and MS3 that are users of the same service class. 64 kbps is allocated to the MS3 of a high service class and 192 kbps is allocated to the MS2 of a low service class. Thus, unfairness occurs also in the service provided to the MS2 and MS3 that are users of the different service classes.
Such a state may occur also when the handover request is originated. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8D, since there was a margin of the resources when the MS1 and MS2 originated the handover request, the resources were allocated to the MS1 and MS2 for the maximum request of QoS. For example, the resources were respectively allocated to the MS1 and MS2 so that the transmission rates of 384 kbps and 384 kbps could be realized.
However, when the MS3 originates the handover request in this state, the remaining transmission power resource is small. Accordingly, the transmission rate as little as 32 kbps can be provided to the MS3. Therefore, unfairness occurs in the service provided to the MS1 and MS3 that are the users of the same service class. 32 kbps is allocated to the MS3 of the high service class, and 384 kbps is allocated to the MS2 of the low service class. Thus, unfairness occurs also in the service provided to the MS2 and the MS3 that are the users of the different service classes.
As described above, services cannot be provided with fairness by the conventional method, and the conventional method may deteriorate a degree of satisfaction of users.
In the foregoing conventional resource control method, the maximum request resource is allocated to the user issuing the new connection request or the handover request in non-congested condition, and the minimum request resource is allocated to the user issuing the new connection request or the handover request in congested condition. In such a case, unfairness occurs in the service among the users of the same service class.
Furthermore, the maximum request resource is allocated to the user of the low priority class issuing the new connection request or the handover request in non-congested condition, and the minimum request resource is allocated to the user of the high priority class issuing the new connection request or the handover request in congested condition. In such a case, unfairness occurs in the service among the users of the different service classes.
Existence of the unfairness among the users of the same service class and among the users of the different services makes it impossible to provide high-cost performance services. Therefore, there was a drawback that improvement in a degree of satisfaction of users is difficult.

Resource control method, mobile communication system, base station and mobile station


Disclosed is a technique for maintaining statistics. A query is received. Column group generation is performed to form one or more column groups. Column group refinement is performed based on statistics data generated for a previously received query. A statistics check is automatically performed. A statistics collection command is generated to obtain statistics.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to statistics management.
2. Description of the Related Art
A database system is one in which data is stored, retrieved, and processed. Data records in a relational database management system (RDBMS) in a computer are maintained in tables, which are a collection of rows all having the same columns. Each column maintains information on a particular type of data for the data records which comprise the rows. Tables in the database are searched using, for example, a Structured Query Language (SQL), which specifies search operations or predicates to perform on columns of tables in the database to qualify rows in the database tables that satisfy the search conditions.
Relational DataBase Management System (RDBMS) software using a Structured Query Language (SQL) interface is well known in the art. The SQL interface has evolved into a standard language for RDBMS software and has been adopted as such by both the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Standards Organization (ISO).
The database system typically stores statistics that may be useful for database processing. Statistics deficiencies, however, lead to poor performance of a SQL query. An RDBMS relies on statistical information residing in a system catalog to choose an access path for a SQL query. An access path may be described as a technique that is selected by an RDBMS optimizer for retrieving data from a database (e.g., an access path can involve the use of an index, a sequential scan, or a combination of the two) or as a path that is used to locate data that is specified in SQL statements. For the statistical information to be useful, the statistical information should be sufficient, consistent, and timely. However, there exist several statistics deficiencies that often cause a sub-optimal access path to be chosen. Some common categories of statistics deficiencies include: missing statistics, conflicting statistics, and obsolete/volatile statistics. Obsolete statistics refer to statistics that do not reflect the current state, while volatile statistics refer to statistics for data that changes often, which requires these statistics to be recollected frequently.
The missing statistics category represents query statistics that do not exist in the system catalog. The term "query statistics" may be described as statistics used to generate an efficient access path for execution of the query. Query statistics include, for example: table statistics, index statistics, column statistics (e.g., uniform distribution, non-uniform distribution, and distribution over range), and multiple column statistics (e.g., uniform distribution, non-uniform distribution, distribution over range, and correlation). Distribution statistics address data skew, while multi-column cardinality statistics address correlation.
The conflicting statistics category represents query statistics that exist in the system catalog, but for which there is some conflict between statistics.
The obsolete and/or volatile statistics category represents query statistics that exist in the system catalog, but for which the statistical information does not reflect the current status of the data. Because obsolete statistics do not portray data in the database accurately, obsolete statistics may lead to selection of a less efficient access path than if statistics were not available at all.
Traditionally, a database administrator (DBA) could periodically collect statistics for tables, indexes, and maybe some identified interesting columns and column groups (i.e., group of columns) for a database. When a DBA encounters a long running query, the DBA then may perform the following tasks manually: analyze the query; attempt to find all query statistics; check whether all query statistics exist in the system catalog; attempt to collect any missing statistics; check whether existing query statistics conflict with each other, and, if so, recollect these statistics to avoid conflicts; and, check whether obsolete statistics exists and, if so, either recollect or remove these statistics, depending on whether the obsolete statistics are needed. Some drawbacks of this manual approach are that the tasks are time-consuming and require a DBA to have specific knowledge in query tuning and about the specific optimizer. For a complex query, it may take hours or even days for an experienced DBA to manually perform statistics analysis. Moreover, because the process is complicated, it is unreasonable to expect a novice DBA to perform this activity correctly. Also, a DBA performs statistics analysis in a reactive way. Because the queries are becoming more and more complex in database environments, it is very difficult for DBAs to apply this manual approach in a database system (e.g., a production system). Moreover, oftentimes the manual effort to determine which statistics should be collected is prohibitive and complete and accurate statistics are often not collected, which leaves conventional optimizers to make optimization decisions with incomplete statistics.
The Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 product, available from Microsoft Corporation, stores statistical information regarding the distribution of values in indexed columns and for columns without indexes that are used in a predicate. The Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 product also indicates out-of-date or missing statistics as warnings. The Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 product updates statistical information periodically as the data in tables changes. This approach only eases some preliminary statistics deficiency problems. There are several drawbacks to the Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 product. For example, the Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 product does not take conflicting statistics into consideration. Additionally, the Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 product does not fully cover query statistics, such as multiple column related statistics. Multiple column related statistics are important because performance bottlenecks usually come from multiple column related statistics deficiencies for complex queries.
Thus, there is a need for improved statistics management.

International Business Machines Corporation


A step assembly for a motor vehicle having a passenger compartment including a driver side and a passenger side and a cargo bed having first and second side portions includes a step member extending from a first end configured to be mounted at one of the driver side and the passenger side of the passenger compartment to a second end configured to be mounted at a corresponding one of the first and second side portions of the cargo bed.

Motor vehicles, such as pick-up trucks, include a cargo bed and a passenger compartment. In most cases, the cargo bed is decoupled or isolated from the passenger compartment to enhance rideability and passenger comfort. Many pick-up trucks have a ground clearance that is greater than that of standard passenger vehicles. Accordingly, stepping into and out from the passenger compartment may be challenging. Also, accessing the cargo bed may prove challenging to certain individuals. Manufacturers have provided steps on either side of the passenger compartment to aid riders stepping into and alighting from the motor vehicle. Manufacturers have also provided tail gate steps that aid in stepping into and down from the cargo bed. Often times, it is desirable to access a side portion of a cargo bed. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an assist step assembly for a motor vehicle having a bed that provides access to side portions of the cargo bed.

Step assembly for a motor vehicle having a bed


In a method and apparatus for compensating non-linearity of a gain of a residual amplifier (RA), a pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC) converts an analog input to a digital output (DO). The ADC includes a plurality of pipelined stages (PPS). Each stage, which includes an instance of the RA, provides a digital code corresponding to an output of the RA included in a preceding stage. A memory stores a piecewise linear representation for modeling the non-linearity of the gain. A calibrated gain of the RA corresponding to each region of a plurality of linear operating regions of the RA is stored in the memory. A gain adjuster adjusts the digital code for each one of the PPS in accordance with a gain factor derived from the calibrated gain for each one of the PPS. A constructor constructs the DO from the adjusted digital code received from each one of the PPS.

The present disclosure relates generally to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) used in electronic circuits, and more particularly to a method and an apparatus for improving the performance of pipelined ADC's.
An ADC is generally used to sample an analog signal at various time instances, and generate a digital code representing the strength of the sampled analog signal at the corresponding time instance. A pipelined ADC is a type of ADC which contains multiple (pipelined) stages, with each stage resolving a number of bits forming a digital sub-code. The digital sub-codes generated by various stages are used to generate a digital code corresponding to the analog input.
FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a pipelined ADC 100, according to prior art. The ADC 100 is shown containing a sample and hold amplifier (SHA) 110, a plurality of pipelined stages 120 (e.g., stage 122 through stage 128), and a digital error correction block 130. In some configurations of the ADC 100, the SHA 110 may be excluded. The SHA 110 samples an analog input signal received at an input terminal coupled to a conductive path 134 and holds the voltage level of the sample for further processing. Each one of the plurality of pipelined stages 120 generates a digital sub-code corresponding to a voltage level of an analog signal received as an input, and an amplified residue signal provided as an analog input to a downstream stage. For example, stage 112 converts a voltage level present on path 111 to generate a digital sub-code provided to the digital error correction block 130 via path 132, and the amplified residue signal is provided as an analog input to stage 124 via path 112.
The digital error correction block 130 receives digital sub-codes from each one of the plurality of stages 120, and generates a digital code corresponding to the analog input signal sample received via paths 132, 134, and 138 respectively. Essentially, the digital error correction block 130 performs a weighted addition of the sub-codes to generate the overall code, as is well known in the relevant arts. The generated digital code is provided to an external circuit via path 146.
FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of each stage included in a plurality of pipelined stages described with reference to FIG. 1A, according to prior art. Each one of the plurality of stages 120 (including stage 122 through stage 128) is shown to contain flash ADC 150, digital to analog converter (DAC) 160, subtractor 170 and gain amplifier 180. Flash ADC 150 (an example of a sub ADC) converts a sample of an analog signal received on an input path, e.g., path 111, into a corresponding P-bit sub-code provided on path 156 (contained in path 132 of FIG. 1A, and P is less than N). DAC 160 converts the sub-code received on path 156 into corresponding analog signal (Vdac) on path 168.
Subtractor 170 generates a residue signal 178 as the difference of sample 111 (Vi) and the analog signal received on path 168 (Vdac). Gain amplifier 180 amplifies the residue signal 178 (Vi-Vdac) and is provided on an output path, e.g., path 112, as an amplified residue signal. The signal on path 112 is used to resolve the remaining bits in the N-bit digital code by the subsequent ADC stages. Subtractor 170, DAC 160, and gain amplifier 180 may be implemented using a capacitor network and an operational amplifier.
As noted above, ADCs need to be generated with low bit errors. Digital error correction block 130 may correct for errors in the sub-codes to a limited extent. Specifically, small errors in the comparator reference voltages may be corrected by the digital error correction block 130. However, some (typically large) errors in the sub-codes may not be entirely corrected due to various limitations of digital error correction block 130.
One source of error in the sub-code, commonly known as gain error, is due to a non-accurate gain in each stage. Gain error and settling error in each stage of the plurality of stages 120 typically leads to non-linearity in the overall A/D transfer characteristics. This results in stringent gain error and bandwidth specifications for the operational amplifiers implementing the gain amplifier 180. Typically, the power dissipation of a pipelined ADC is dominated by the plurality of stages 120. As noted above, in a stage having P bit resolution, the ideal gain of the gain amplifier 180 needs to be 2**P (where ** represents the 'to the power of' operation). Any deviation from this value leads to non-linearity that may not be corrected by the digital error correction block 130.
The pipelined ADC 100 described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B, may include compensation for small gain errors but generally does not include compensation for non-linearity errors. One solution to compensate for non-linear gain uses complex algorithms and complex digital filters (not shown) to correct the non-linearity once it has been estimated. Such a solution, however, requires very large complexity of the digital circuits, which require large silicon areas and increased power for implementation. For example, one implementation of the solution requires a complete, off-chip, digital post-processing system (not shown) to correct the non-linearity of the gain. Therefore, a need exists to provide an improved pipelined ADC that compensates for non-linearity of gain in each stage preferably without incurring a substantial penalty in noise performance, cost, power consumption, and silicon area.

Scheme for non-linearity correction of residue amplifiers in a pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC)


An air conditioner is provided. The air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a base pan constituting a lower appearance: and a condensed water detector detecting the amount of condensed water collected on the base pan. The air conditioner according to another embodiment of the present invention includes: a base pan constituting a lower appearance; a blower unit provided at one side of the base pan to guide a flow of air; and a motor providing a fan with a rotational power, wherein a motor support supporting the motor is further installed on the base pan.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner configured to enable a smooth flow of condensed water falling on a base pan, and a foreign particle filtering, to detect the amount of the condensed water collected on the base pan from an outward position of the air conditioner and selectively drain the condensed water, to have a groove for preventing an interference with a peripheral part and to be further provided with a motor support, in order to make the product more compact and strong.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an air conditioner includes a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an indoor heat exchanger, and is used for maintaining an indoor space at a set temperature to make the indoor space a pleasant environment. That is, an air conditioner is a cooling/heating apparatus installed in a predetermined portion or a wall surface of an interior space such as a vehicle, an office, and a home to cool or heat the interior space. The air conditioner employs a cooling cycle involving a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve (a capillary tube), and an indoor heat exchanger or a heating cycle in series using reverse circulation of a coolant. However, since a related art air conditioner is large in scale and is installed and used on a wall of a building, it is difficult to move the air conditioner once it is installed. That is, it is impossible to move the related art air conditioner, which causes inconvenience in using the air conditioner. Therefore, a mobile air conditioner having moving wheels attached on a bottom of the air conditioner to allow a user to easily move the air conditioner has recently been developed. Utility model No. 0252478 registered in the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) discloses this related art mobile type air conditioner.
However, like in the related art, only releasing the condensed water may not take place a smooth evaporation of the condensed water. Accordingly, it is difficult to eliminate the condensed water, so that the condensed water overflows and is leaked to badly influence other parts. In addition, in the related art air condition, it is impossible to conceive the amount of the condensed water collected therein from an outside of the air conditioner product.
Furthermore, since the related art air conditioner does not have a constitution for filtering a foreign particle contained in the condensed water, peripheral parts may be contaminated or disordered due to the foreign particle contained in the condensed water.


This application discloses a screen capturing method and terminal, the method includes: receiving, by a first terminal, a screen capturing instruction, where the screen capturing instruction is used to instruct the first terminal to obtain a screenshot of a user interface of the first terminal; determining, by the first terminal, a target element in the user interface; determining, by the first terminal, an association relationship between the target element and the screenshot of the user interface; and generating, by the first terminal, a screenshot picture of the user interface, where the screenshot picture of the user interface includes the screenshot of the user interface, the target element, and the association relationship between the target element and the screenshot of the user interface.

Screen capturing is also referred to as screen capturing. Nowadays, obtaining content on a screen through screen capturing is a function frequently used by a user during use of a terminal. Especially for content such as a historical chat record that cannot be shared at a time, the user always shares the content with others through screen capturing and the like.
The user may usually take a screenshot of content displayed on a screen by triggering a combination of buttons on the terminal, such as a power button plus a volume down button or a power button plus a home button. After the buttons are triggered, the terminal obtains content in a video RAM, for example, a terminal running an Android system obtains content in a frame buffer (frame buffer) of a video RAM, and generates a screenshot according to the content in the video RAM. In addition, the terminal may further identify the generated screenshot. If the terminal identifies that the screenshot includes a picture, the terminal obtains an original picture by using an application program corresponding to the picture included in the screenshot, then compresses the obtained original picture and the screenshot into a compressed package, and sends the compressed package, so that during display of the screenshot, displaying of the original picture corresponding to the picture included in the screenshot may be triggered.
However, in the foregoing method, after screen capturing is completed, the original picture is obtained by identifying content in the screenshot, and the original picture and the screenshot are compressed into a compressed package for sending. This process increases complexity in a screen capturing process. In addition, because the original picture corresponding to the picture included in the screenshot and the screenshot may be in different formats, and the original picture corresponding to the picture included in the screenshot may be in diversified formats, incompatibility is caused when the screenshot that includes the original picture and that is generated by using the foregoing method is first sent to a peer end for display. In addition, only a picture element and a text element in the screenshot can be identified and obtained in the foregoing method, and a content identification degree is limited.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Screen capturing method and terminal, and screenshot reading method and terminal


A dead-time generator for incorporation in an integrated circuit wherein the integrated circuit includes a high side and low side gate driver and wherein the high side and low side gate driver drive output switches such that a dead-time is provided between on times of the output switches, the dead-time generator comprising a circuit internal to the integrated circuit having an external terminal at which a dead-time setting component is connected, and wherein the dead-time generator comprises a circuit for providing a discrete dead-time for a range of dead-time setting values at the dead-time setting terminal and wherein, for a plurality of ranges of dead-time setting values at the dead-time setting terminal, the dead-time generator generates an associated plurality of discrete dead-times.

The present invention relates to gate drivers, in particular, to gate drivers having dead-time insertion to prevent simultaneous conduction of two switches connected in a half bridge configuration. In particular, the present invention relates to a gate driver integrated circuit with programmable dead-time insertion.
Conventional methods that integrate a programmable dead-time generation circuit in an integrated circuit generally use a resistor external to the integrated circuit to set the amount of dead-time by, for example, setting an internal current reference to generate the dead-time. This is shown for example in FIG. 1 where the resistance R sets the dead-time generated by the dead-time generation circuit in the gate driver integrated circuit.
The conventional method of dead-time setting has the following disadvantages:
1. Because of the direct relationship between the external component value and the amount of the dead-time, this method is inherently prone to noise injection from the dead-time setting terminal of the integrated circuit. This is shown in FIG. 3 which shows a graph of dead-time versus input voltage in the conventional programmable dead-time circuit using a resistance connected to the dead-time terminal DT of the integrated circuit of FIG. 1.
2. The amount of dead-time is determined by both internal and external components, which have independent individual variations. Therefore, in order to ensure dead-time for shoot-through prevention purposes, it is hard to achieve precise dead-time values.
3. Internal and external circuits which determine the dead-time tend to have different temperature coefficients. The performance of the amplifier can be unstable with temperature change and/or it might go into thermal runaway if it gets into the shoot through region.
These problems become serious when the application needs a narrow dead-time, such as less than 100 nanoseconds for higher output linearity, for example, in Class D audio amplifiers.

Gate driver with programmable dead-time insertion