An optical recording medium configured with a light reflection layer; a first protection layer; a recording layer containing a phase-change material which changes between crystalline and amorphous phases by a light irradiation; a second protection layer; and one of a cover layer and a protective coating layer disposed on a substrate in this order; and in which the light reflection layer is formed of one of an Al alloy and an Ag alloy; the first protection layer has a ZnS—SiO2 mixture layer which contains a mixture of ZnS and SiO2, and a intermediate layer having higher thermal conductivity than the ZnS—SiO2 mixture layer; the intermediate layer is formed on the side of the light reflection layer; the recording layer comprises Ge, Sb, and Te as main elements; and the second protection layer comprises a mixture of ZnS and SiO2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical recording medium such as a rewritable DVR, comprising a phase-change recording layer for high density recording.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, recording of a binary signal and detecting of tracking signal in a compact disc (CD) or DVD is carried out utilizing a change of reflectivity caused by interference of reflected light from the bottom of a concave pit as well as a mirror finished surface. Recently, phase-change rewritable compact disc (CD-RW, or CD-Rewritable) has been generally used as the medium compatible with CD. Moreover, regarding DVD, various types of phase-change rewritable DVD have been proposed. Furthermore, it is proposed that the wavelength for recording and reproducing be shortened to 390 nm to 420 nm for a DVD capacity of 4.7 GB, which leads to increasing the numerical aperture (NA) and to realizing a DVR with the capacity of 20 GB or more (Refer to page. 210: ISOM Technical Digest 2000).
The detection of the recorded information signal in these phase-change rewritable CDs, DVDs, and DVRs is performed by using the changes of reflection rate and phase differences caused by the difference of refractive index between amorphous and crystalline states. A phase-change medium, in general, comprises a bottom protection layer, a phase-change recording layer, an upper protection layer, and a light reflection layer on a substrate. Controlling the reflection rate and phase differences by the multiple interactions of those layers makes it possible to provide the compatibility with CD and DVD. In CD-RW, it is possible to secure the compatibility of a recorded signal and channel signal in the range having a lowered reflection rate of 15% to 25%, thus enabling reproducing information in a CD drive to which an amplifier is added to cover the low reflection rate.
Since the deleting and over recording processes in phase-change recording medium can be performed solely by the modulation in strength of one converging light beam, in phase-change recording medium such as CD-RW, rewritable DVD and the like, a method of recording includes overwrite recording, in which recording and deleting are performed Simultaneously. In recording information utilizing a change of phase, it is common that rewritable phase change recording medium in practical use utilize a crystalline state as the unrecorded/deleted states, and form an amorphous mark for recording, although one of the crystalline/amorphous states and the mixed states can be used, as well as plurality of crystalline phases. For the material of the recording layer, chalcogen elements, which are chalcogenide alloys including S, Se, and Te, are mainly used.
Examples include the GeSbTe mainly comprising the GeTe—Sb2Te3 pseudobinary dual alloy, the InSbTe mainly comprising InTe—Sb2Te3 pseudobinary dual alloy, and AgInSbTe alloy and GeSnTe mainly comprising Sb0.7Te3.3 eutectic system. Among these, the types in which over-exceeding Sb is added to a GeTe—Sb2Te3 pseudobinary dual alloy, especially compositions in the neighborhood of intermetallic compounds such as Ge1Sb2Te4, Ge2Sb2Te5, and the like, have been practically used.
These compositions are characterized by crystallization which does not accompany a phase separation peculiar to an intermetallic compound. The crystal growth rate is fast, resulting in easy initialization and fast recrystallization rate on erasing. Therefore, for a recording layer providing more practical overwriting property, the related art focuses on pseudobinary dual alloy and on the compositions in the neighborhood of an intermetallic compound. (Refer to Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., vol. 69 (1991), p 2849 or SPIE, vol. 2514 (1995), pp 294–301, etc.)
Moreover, the related art has disclosed compositions of recording layers having a GeSbTe ternary composition or containing additional elements, regarding the host material of the ternary composition. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 61-258787, JP-A No. 62-53886, JP-A No. 62-152786, JP-A No. 01-63195, 01-211249, JP-A No. 01-277338, and so on). However, applying the materials with those compositions to optical recording medium for high density recording, such as rewritable DVD and so on, has just started and there are many problems that should be solved.


A conductor cable includes an inner portion and a conductive coating. The inner portion is formed of a metal/ceramic composite. The conductive coating is coated on the inner portion.

Cables for transmitting electrical signals are widely known and have come into extensive commercial use. Examples of such cables include coaxial and twinaxial cables. Coaxial cables generally consist of a signal, or inner, conductor and a metallic outer shield separated from the inner conductor by a dielectric material. Twinaxial cables generally consist of two signal conductors that are each surrounded by a dielectric material that separates the conductors from a common metallic shield.
Copper is a commonly used material for the inner conductor due to its high conductivity. However, copper is a very heavy metal and increases the weight of the cable, wiring harnesses, and interconnect systems used in devices for transmitting electrical signals or electrical power.
With cables being used in almost all commercial products using electronics, such as automobiles, aircraft, and handheld devices, reducing the weight of the cables is important for economic and energy consumption concerns. It would be beneficial to reduce the weight of hard goods over that which is currently available by reducing the weight of cables therein.

Metal/ceramic composite conductor and cable including same


A data brokering system and method for programming is provided. The data brokering system comprises a process module for executing process logic, a panel module for accessing external information, and a process-panel interface for defining a standard of communication between the process module and the panel module. The panel module communicates with the process module and the external information. The method comprises the steps of executing process logic, having the process logic communicating with a panel module to access external information, and defining a standard of communication between the process logic and the panel module.

Typically, a computer program is created to perform a certain set of actions or functions, i.e., create a customer invoice, enter or update customer information, place a purchase order, generate reports, add or change information in a database, etc. Typical computer programs have process logic hard coded into them. Making changes to the process logic requires the information technology (IT) department to change the code to have the application function differently. Moreover, present computer programs typically require user interfaces to be created as part of the computer program. This requires repeated coding of these interfaces as each computer program is created.
FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of a typical computer program framework 10. The computer program framework 10 comprises a user interface module 12, a process logic 14, and a database 16. The user interface 12 enables a user to view and enter information. The process logic 14 manages the information flow to and from the user interface 12, performs the appropriate business logic and manages the information flow to and from the database 16. These program modules are normally written in a high level programming language which is compiled to run on a specific computer operating system. Changes to the computer program require the program code to be modified, re-compiled and then re-installed on the users' computer in order to take advantage of the newly implemented changes.
Computer programs are generally dedicated to a specific group of functions which deal with a defined database 16. Developers are creating new applications which combine multiple computer programs which access multiple databases and multiple functions.
FIG. 2 shows another diagrammatic representation of a typical computer program framework 20. The computer program framework 20 comprises two computer programs 10A,10B, a system event management module 22, and a middleware module 24. The user programs 10A,10B comprise user interface modules 12A,12B, process logic 14A,14B, and databases 16A,16B. Other computer programs may be added to the computer program framework 20. The middleware module 24 and the system event management module 22 enable the various process logic 14 to communicate and interface with one another. This approach requires detailed knowledge of the workings of each computer program and its application. It is also challenging to work with different operating systems.
In both of the computer program framework examples above, functions are the primary focus of the user programs. Access to multiple databases at present requires middleware to sit between the various process logic 14 and must be set up prior to an application being created.

System and method for managing processing of a plurality of events through an event management


A pressure trip unit for an electrical switch, including an actuating element and at least one flow channel per electrical pole, is disclosed. In an embodiment, the at least one pole of the electrical switch includes at least two switching contacts for making or disconnecting a flow path. The switching contacts of the at least one pole of the electrical switch are disconnectable via the actuating element which can respond to a pressure generated in a disconnection zone of the, in each case, two switching contacts by an electric arc drawn in the event of an electrodynamic recoil of the switching contacts. Further, the disconnection zone is connectable to the actuating element via the flow channel, the at least one flow channel including a nonreturn valve to permit a flow only from the disconnection zone in the direction of the actuating element.

Typically, current-limiting switchgears, in particular current-limiting circuit breakers, for example in the form of MCCBs (Molded Case Circuit Breakers), are used in extensively branched power distribution networks. It is customary to conduct selective staggering with a minimum nominal current distance between the switchgears involved. Each branching plane can be protected here against overloads and short circuits that occur by a switchgear which is appropriately dimensioned depending on the connected consumers.
For example, a switchgear which is arranged closest to a consumer and which is often referred to as a consumer-close or downstream switchgear, is configured for the lowest nominal current. If a short circuit current then flows both through the consumer-close switchgear and through a switchgear which is arranged above the consumer-near switchgear in the hierarchy of the power distribution network and is often referred to as a consumer-remote or upstream switchgear, only the consumer-near switchgear is intended to switch off. In other words, in the event of a malfunction (short circuit), only the switchgear which is closest to the event is intended to break the current flow.
Upon opening, the switching contact pairs of the consumer-close and of the consumer-remote switchgear draw an electric arc, wherein the opening width of the switching contact pairs and also the electric arc energy are higher in the case of the consumer-close switchgear because of the lower mass moment of inertia of its movable current path including the switching contact. This opening, which, under some circumstances, is only a single-pole opening, has to be followed by an all-pole switching off of the consumer-close switchgear. The consumer-remote switchgear must not switch off so as not to disconnect further consumers from the power distribution network. However, the consumer-remote switchgear must act in an assisting manner by brief raising of the switching contacts, i.e. must contribute, for example, to the switching off of the consumer-close switchgear by limiting the current.
Switchgears which act in such a staggered manner in power distribution networks behave selectively. In order to achieve this selectivity, the switchgears lying closest to the malfunction have to break the current paths of all of the switching poles more rapidly than the switchgears arranged thereabove.
DE 691 10 540 T2 and DE 692 17 441 T2 each disclose electrical switching arrangements in the form of circuit breakers with insulating material housings, which, per switching pole, comprise two switching contacts which are pressed resiliently against each other in the switching-on position of the circuit breaker. The switching contacts can be disconnected by the action of electrodynamic recoil forces if the current flowing through the switching contacts exceeds a certain threshold value, in order thereby to bring about a limiting of the current mentioned.
The circuit breaker disclosed in the documents comprises an overload and/or short circuit detection element for acting upon a switching off mechanism which brings about the automatic switching off of the circuit breaker in the event of a fault. Furthermore, the circuit breaker disclosed in the documents comprises an actuating element which responds to a positive pressure generated in the disconnection zone of the switching contacts by way of an electric arc drawn in the event of an electrodynamic recoil of the switching contacts, in order to actuate the switching off mechanism of the circuit breaker.
The actuating element disclosed in the documents is a gas-tight unit which is connected exclusively to the disconnection zone of the switching contacts and comprises a movable element, for example a piston or a membrane, with a limited control stroke. The movable element is acted upon firstly with the positive pressure and secondly by a restoring device with adapted active force. The displacement of the movable element brings about the tripping of the switching off mechanism of the circuit breaker, wherein the restoring device with adapted active force is dimensioned such that an undesirable tripping in the event of a simple overload or a response of a downstream, current-limiting circuit breaker is prevented.
Further pressure trip units are likewise disclosed in the documents DE 10 2009 015 126 A1 and DE 10 2011 077 359 A1.

Pressure trip unit for an electrical switch and electrical switch with such a pressure trip unit


Systems and methods for identifying pixels that are inside a two-dimensional path may be used to fill the path. The path is segmented and a point in space is identified that is used to generate a triangle fan, where each triangle in the fan is formed by one of the segments of the path and the point. Locations in a winding buffer are updated for each pixel that is within a triangle of the triangle fan. The resulting winding buffer indicates the pixels that are inside the two-dimensional path. The winding buffer may be used to fill the path.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to determining pixels that are inside a two-dimensional path and, more specifically, to producing a winding buffer that indicates whether each pixel is inside of or outside of the two-dimensional path.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally a two-dimensional path is triangulated in order to fill the pixels that are inside the path. Triangulation is a computationally intensive process that is typically performed on a general purpose processor. The resulting triangles may be filled by a two-dimensional processing engine in order to offload the general purpose processor.
Accordingly, it is desirable to use techniques other than triangulation to determine the pixels that are inside of the two-dimensional path in order to offload the general purpose processor and improve system performance for filling the two-dimensional path.


A battery cover latching assembly (50) for a portable electronic device (100) includes a housing (20), a first cover (10) configured for attaching to a first side of the housing, and a second cover (30) configured for attaching to a second side of the housing. The battery cover latching assembly includes a locking portion (131), a latch (342), and a button (40). The locking portion is formed on the first cover. The latch is formed on the second cover, the latch is engageable with the locking portion so as to lock the first cover and second cover with each other. The button is configured so as to be retained by the housing, the button is operable to deform the latch so as to unlock the first cover and the second cover.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to cover latching assemblies and, more particularly, to a battery cover latching assembly for use in a portable electronic device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Batteries are widely used in portable electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, and so on. Conventional batteries are attachably received in the electronic device, and battery covers are designed to connect with housings of the electronic devices to package the batteries. The batteries have to be replaced by opening the battery covers when, for example, the batteries are damaged or dead (i.e. no longer rechargeable).
A clasp structure or latch structure is used with a conventional battery cover to engage with a housing of a portable electronic device. For example, the Alcatel OT310 mobile phone has a latch for the battery cover. The latch includes a pair of hooks at one end of the battery cover and a locking pin protruding from the other end of the battery cover. Accordingly, a pair of grooves is defined in an end portion of a backside of a housing of the mobile phone, and a locking hole is defined in the other end portion of the backside of the housing. In assembly, the hooks are firstly inserted into the grooves in the backside of the housing. Then, the battery cover is pressed downwardly to the housing until the locking pin on the battery cover is inserted into the locking hole in the backside of the housing. The battery cover is thus assembled to the housing of the mobile phone. The battery cover is simple in structure, and the engagement between the battery cover and the housing of the mobile phone is firm, too. However, during disassembly, a relative great effort is needed to disassemble the battery cover, since a substantial force is exerted thereon. Therefore, the battery cover can easily be damaged during such disassembly. As a result, it is difficult for a user to replace a battery in the housing of the mobile phone.
Therefore, a new battery cover latching assembly is desired in order to overcome the above-described shortcomings.

Battery cover latching assembly for portable electronic device

Shenzhen Futaihong Precision Industry Co., Ltd.


A plurality of M PBXs are coupled to a plurality of N nodes forming a Distributed Transit Private Branch Exchange (PBX). The plurality of N nodes are located remotely from each other and form a wide area network. Each node is coupled to predetermined ones of the other nodes via separate links so that each node is able to communicate with all other nodes. One or more D-channel Server Modules (DSMs) are located in predetermined nodes of the plurality of N nodes. Each DSM is associated with a plurality of D channels which are each coupled to a separate interface device in the same node or different node by means of a link for receiving and transmitting signaling data to one of an associated predetermined PBX of the plurality of PBXs. Each DSM is arranged to analyze the call signaling message received via a D channel and, based on routing information, either route the call back to the same PBX or a different PBX attached to the same DSM when the calling and called subscribers are located in the PBXs attached to the same DSM, or route the call to a remote DSM when the call is routed between remote PBXs that are not coupled to the same DSM. The remote DSM, in turn, routes the call to the PBX attached to that DSM. Therefore, each DSM only controls calls addressed to a DSM associated with that DSM, and when a call is not addressed to a PBX associated with that DSM, the DSM passes any call control to a destination DSM associated with a PBX to which the call is addressed.

Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs) are typically used by a corporation to provide voice/data (Voice/Facsimile/Modem/Data) between various facilities within the corporation. Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a prior art network 10 comprising a plurality of PBXs 12, 14, and 16 which are interconnected with communication lines 17, 18, and 19. More particularly, PBX 12 is interconnected to PBX 14 and PBX 16 via communication lines 17 and 18, respectively, while PBX 14 is interconnected to PBX 16 via the communication line 19. Therefore, each PBX 12, 14, and 16 can directly communicate with any of the other PBXs in the network 10. If two PBXs need to communicate, then a separate connection between the PBXs is required. This configuration becomes increasingly more inefficient as the number of PBXs increases because the number of leased communication lines required becomes excessive in order to keep connectivity between the PBXs.
Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a prior art network 20 which reduces the number of leased communication lines needed in a large network and illustrates the known concept of a "Transit PBX". The network 20 comprises a plurality of remote PBXs 22, 24, and 26, and a remote Transit PBX 28 that is interconnected to the remote PBXs 22, 24, and 26 via separate leased communication lines 25, 27, and 29, respectively. For example, the PBXs 22, 24, and 26 could be located in Los Angles, New York, and Dallas, respectively, with the Transit PBX 28 located in Chicago. All call control between the PBXs 22, 24, and 26 is performed within the single box of the Transit PBX 28.
Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a prior art network 20a which includes four Transit PBXs similar to the Transit PBX 28 of FIG. 2 that are interconnected. The network 20a comprises a plurality of Transit PBXs of which four Transit PBXs 28a, 28b, 28c, and 28d are shown. The Transit PBX 28a is interconnected to a remote PBX 22a via a leased communication lines 25a, and is interconnected to the Transit PBX 28b via a link 23a. The Transit PBX 28b is also interconnected to Transit PBXs 28c and 28d via separate leased communication lines 23b and 23c, respectively. The Transit PBX 28c is interconnected to PBXs 22b and 22c via separate leased communication lines 25b and 25c, respectively. The Transit PBX 28d is interconnected to PBX 22d via a leased communication lines 25d. All call control between the PBXs 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d is performed within the single box of each of the Transit PBX 28a, 28c, or 28d interconnected to the associated PBXs. Still further, each of the Transit PBXs 28a, 28b, and 28c need to be manually updated to include any changed route information occurring in each of the other Transit PBXs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,004 (Bogart et al.), issued on Dec. 11, 1984, discloses an arrangement for according station and attendant feature transparency between independently operational Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs) of a PBX network. Each PBX includes a switching processor, station lines, and tie trunks extending to other PBXs, and also includes a Direct Memory Data Controller (DMDC) for transmitting service or feature related data messages associated with tie-trunk calls to other PBXs over data links. On an interPBX call, the DMDC in the calling PBX transmits a data message to a DMDC in the called PBX over a direct link between the calling and called PBXs. In the event there is no direct link between the calling and called PBXs, the DMDC in the calling PBX transmits a message over a data link to a DMDC at a tandem PBX which, in turn, sends the message over a link to the DMDC in the called PBX. The DMDC in the called PBX processes the received data message and, by direct memory access, sends the message to its switch processor which provides the specified feature or other service required on the call above and beyond the establishment of a voice path connection between the calling and called PBXs. Such arrangement is similar to the network of FIG. 1.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,943 (Cooney et al.), issued on Jun. 6, 1995, discloses a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) network comprising at least two PBXs where each PBX serves a group of stations of a customer, and at least two Serving Switching Systems (SSSs) for serving the PBXs which are interconnected via a public switched telephone network. The PBXs are each connected to one of the SSSs via at least one Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Primary Rate Interface (PRI) facility. The SSSs are interconnected for transmitting ISDN signals, and the ISDN stations on one of the PBX can communicate, using ISDN signals, with ISDN stations on another one of the PBXs via ones of the SSSs. Call control signals for interPBX calls of the customers of the PBX network are exchanged between a specific calling PBX and a SSS to which the specific PBX is connected. Ones of the SSSs comprise translation data for associating any internal customer directory number with any customer station.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,691 (Hokari), issued on May 18, 1993, discloses a private network where Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs) are connected directly through a dedicated tie trunk to allow direct interworking between the PBXs, and through a Primary Rate Interface (PRI) to an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). One of the PBXs (a master PBX) has (a) routing data for virtual tie trunks for signaling and speech transmission to be established via the ISDN to a distant PBX, and (b) channel status data indicating their set-up or clear-down state according to time of day and calender day. The stored data is periodically accessed and, depending on the contents of the channel status data, a call set-up or clear-down message is sent from the master PBX to the ISDN to set-up or clear-down the virtual tie trunks. On receipt of a response from the distant PBX, busy/idle status of the virtual tie trunks is changed according to the accessed channel status data. In response to a request from a user station, a path is established therefrom to the virtual speech tie trunk and a call set-up message is sent directly to the distant PBX through the virtual signaling tie trunk.
The prior art references teach that the PBXs of a network act as separate PBXs or nodes that handle call control for that PBX or node. It is desirable to provide an arrangement wherein call control is distributed across a wide area network instead of solely within a single PBX or node.

Distributed transit private branch exchange


A water heating apparatus using electrodes is provided. The water heating apparatus includes a heating tank in which electrolyte solution is stored and a plurality pairs of heating electrodes composed of positive electrodes and negative electrodes arranged in the heating tank at uniform intervals. Since the plurality of pairs of electrodes are arranged in the heating tank at uniform intervals, the heating operation can be always performed in a state where the electrolyte solution of no less than the minimum water level is stored regardless of the direction of the heating tank so that it is possible to heat water or to generate steam. Therefore, the water heating apparatus can be easily applied to a product that is inclined or upset and that is not in a specific direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water heating apparatus that can be used for a steam cleaner or an oven, and more particularly, to a water heating apparatus in which three or more electrodes are arranged in a tank so that water can be heated regardless of the direction of the tank.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a common steam cleaner, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a water tank 1 that is a space for storing water and a boiler 10 for heating the water supplied by the water tank 1 to generate steam are included in the main body of the cleaner.
Here, a pump 3 is provided between the water tank 1 and the boiler 10 to supply water. A valve for opening and closing a channel may be provided instead of or in addition to the pump 3.
In the cleaner, a steam nozzle 7 for spraying the steam generated by the boiler 10 to an object to be cleaned is included in a head (not shown) that contacts the object to be cleaned.
A heating apparatus such as the boiler 10 that generates steam is used for the steam cleaner of the above structure or an oven for cooking. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a water heating apparatus that generates steam using carbon electrodes.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, a water heating apparatus 10′ using carbon electrodes is divided into a heating tank 11 and carbon electrodes 15.
The heating tank 11 includes a water supply hole 12 for supplying electrolyte solution and a steam discharge hole 13 for discharging steam. The two or more carbon electrodes 15 are mounted on the bottom of the heating tank 11 so that current is flown to the carbon electrodes 15 to heat the electrolyte solution in the heating tank 11. Here, salt water that can be easily supplied can be used as the electrolyte solution and a carbon material having low reactivity is mainly used as the carbon electrodes 15.
In the water heating apparatus 10′ using the carbon electrodes having the above structure, when current flows through the carbon electrodes 15 in a state where the pair of carbon electrodes 15 composed of a positive electrode and a negative electrode are sunken under the electrolyte solution in the heating tank 11 as illustrated in FIG. 3, the current that flows through the carbon electrodes 15 heats the electrolyte solution to generate steam.
However, when any one of the pair of carbon electrodes 15 is not sunken under the electrolyte solution, current does not flow through the carbon electrodes 15 so that a normal heating operation is not performed.
That is, since the pair of electrodes are provided on the bottom of the heating tank, when the heating tank is inclined at no less than a certain angle or is upset as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, any of the pair of carbon electrodes 15 is not sunken under the electrolyte solution so that current does not flow through the carbon electrodes 15 and that the operation of the heating apparatus stops. Therefore, when the conventional water heating apparatus using the carbon electrodes is applied to an apparatus that severely vibrates or an apparatus that is not in a specific direction, the operation of the heating apparatus may not be normally performed so that there are limitations on applying the product.

Water heating apparatus using electrodes


The instant invention is a method of coupling compounds comprising the steps of:. a) forming a maleimide derivative by reacting a maleimide containing compound having the formula: ##STR1## with an amine functional compound capable of displacing the N-hydroxysuccinimide group; and PA0 b) reacting the derivitized maleimide of step (a) with a second amine functional compound.

Heterobifunctional compounds having the general formula I (shown below) are well known as coupling agents that are useful for coupling chemical compounds. ##STR2## Some of the most commonly used coupling agents include: m-maleimidobenzoyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (MBS), sulfosuccinimidyl 4-(p-maleimidophenyl) butyrate (S-SMPB), m-maleimidobenzoylsulfosuccinimide ester (S-MBS) and N-.gamma.-maleimidobutyryloxysuccinimide ester (GMBS).
Homobifunctional compounds have also been found useful as coupling agents. Examples of such compounds can be found in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/600,795 now abandoned which enjoys common ownership with the instant application.
Compounds having the general formula I have two reactive groups which serve as the basis for the utility of these compounds as coupling agents. The first reactive group is the N-hydroxysuccinimide group (NHS) or a water soluble analog thereof. At an alkaline pH, amino groups displace the NHS by nucleophilic attack of the ester. A reaction between a compound of formula I and an amine functional compound results in the acylation of the amino group of the amine functional polymer.
The second reactive group is the maleimide group which is reactive at the carbon-carbon double bond. In particular, at a neutral pH, the maleimide moiety is reactive at the carbon-carbon double bond with thiol groups, and such a reaction results in the formation of a thioether bond.
Presently, coupling two compounds using a compound of the formula I takes place in a stepwise manner and, generally, is performed in a two step process. The first step of the process takes place at a neutral or weakly alkaline pH and links an amine functional compound to a coupling agent as outlined above. The second step of the process takes place at a neutral pH and couples a thiol functional compound to the coupling agent in the manner previously stated. Hence, the amine functional compound and the thiol functional compound are coupled.
The method outlined above has been used to couple a variety of compounds. For example: Kitagawa et al., J. Biochem., 79, 233-236 (1976). used MBS to couple insulin with .beta.-D-galactosidase; Meyers, D. T. et al., J. Immunol. Methods, 121, 129-142 (1989), used MBS, S-MBS, GMBS and S-SMPB to couple an antibody to ricin (a toxin) to produce a immunotoxin (IT), and Dell'Arciprete L. et al., J. Immunol., 140, 2466-2471 (1988), used MBS to conjugate an antibody to diphtheria toxin to form an IT.
Although the aforementioned coupling method has been used successfully, it is limited in the types of compounds it can couple. More specifically, in order to successfully couple two compounds, the coupling method requires an amine functional compound and a thiol functional compound. If, for example, it were desired to couple two proteins (neither of which had a thiol group) it would be necessary to introduce a thiol group to one of the proteins in order to use the coupling method currently available. However, adding a thiol group to a compound may induce unwanted conformational changes to the compound and the removal of excess thiolating reagent is mandatory before the compound is coupled. Additionally, thiol groups are less stable at ambient conditions than, for instance, amine groups. Due to the necessity for a thiol group in the second step of the previously mentioned process, that process is limited in its application.
There is thus a need for a coupling process that does not require compound modification prior to coupling.

Coupling method using selective amination of maleimide


The present invention provides a camera for selectively supporting a film having perforations along its upper and lower edges and a film not having the perforations, comprising masking plates for photographic screen size setting that are installed in a camera body to be freely movable to positions at least between the inside and outside of perforations, a perforation detector for determining whether perforations are present on the edges of at least the photographic screens of a film loaded in a camera body, and a masking plate drive for receiving an output of the perforation detector, moving the masking plates to a screen size setting inside of perforations when a film is perforated, and moving the masking plates to a screen size setting including a portion corresponding to the perforations when a film is imperforated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera for supporting a roll film having perforations along its upper and lower edges and a roll film not having the perforations. More particularly, this invention is concerned with a camera for employing a film cartridge of a size 135 specified in the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) and switching photographic screen sizes depending on the presence or absence of perforations on a roll film.
2. Description of the Related Art
A camera capable of switching photographic screen sizes for a roll film has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 36-14234 in the past. This camera changes photographic screen masking plates and finder window sizes simultaneously. Using the same camera, photographic screen sizes are changed externally according to the purposes of photography, then photographs are taken. The spacing of photographic screens is held constant, and a photographic screen size is displayed on the finder window.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-142324 has disclosed a large-sized camera that is designed for a Brownie film and still supports a JIS 135-size film. In the camera, a film advancing drive is incorporated. The film advancing drive is operated using an advancing lever formed on a camera body, so that a Brownie film take-up and a film take-up for a JIS 135-size film cartridge can be switched freely. In each of the Brownie film take-up and JIS 135-size film cartridge take-up, a film advancing mechanism interlocked with the film advancing drive is incorporated.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48-35775, which has no relation to a camera capable of switching photographic screen sizes, has described that films are exposed in different screen sizes using cartridges of the same kind, then the screen sizes adopted for the films in the cartridges are identified by looking at the appearances of the cartridges.
In conventional cameras capable of switching photographic screen sizes, photographic screen sizes are switched manually and the switching mechanisms are complex. The Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 36-14234 has disclosed a photographic screen switching means. Herein, when a JIS 135-size film cartridge is employed, photographic screens are changed from a standard size of 24 mm by 36 mm to a half size of 24 mm by 18 mm; that is, only the length in the film feeding direction can be changed. At this time, the film length in the direction orthogonal to the feeding direction cannot be changed. Therefore, photographic screens can be shrunk to the half size and exposed easily. It is, however, hard to provide photographic screens larger than the standard size, because a film can be enlarged only in the feeding direction.
The art disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-142324 is restricted to large-sized cameras using a Brownie film or other large-sized film but cannot apply to cameras capable of loading only a JIS 135-size film cartridge. To change the sizes of photographic screens, a film of a different size must be loaded. When only, for example, a JIS 135-size film cartridge is in use, photographic screens cannot be altered.
A film loaded in the JIS 135-size film cartridge is perforated on its sides as stipulated in JIS Standard K7519-1982 "135-size Film Cartridge" or ISO Standard 1007 "Photography-135-size Film and Magazine Specification." Due to the perforations, only 25.4 mm is ensured as an effective photographic width for a film width of 35 mm. Therefore, a standard photographic screen size is 24 mm by 36 mm as stipulated in JIS Standard B7115. The effective use rate in the direction orthogonal to the film feeding direction is 0.69 or a quotient of 25 by 35, which is smaller than 70%. Unlike photographs taken at an improved effective use rate at which the photographic screen size is increased fully within the film width of 35 mm, photographs taken in the standard photographic screen size must be enlarged greatly during printing. Therefore, the quality of a print image deteriorates.
The perforations are designed for intermittent feeding of cinefilm, and not always necessary for normal still cameras. Consequently, when perforation is abolished, larger photographic screens are provided. This results in a smaller enlargement ratio during printing. High-quality print images ensue.


The volume controller of the present invention does not require a use of an expensive main controller and a quartz oscillator to generate the pulse signals for regulating the volume. The volume controller can handle the noise generated by turning of an encoder and regulates the volume accurately despite the noise. As the volume is increased, a first pulse signal generating circuitry generates pulse signals with an already established width according to the pulse signals of the encoder. As the volume is decreased, a second pulse signal generating circuitry generates pulse signals with already established width according to the pulse signals of the encoder. The first or the second pulse signal generating circuitry will act optionally according to the increase or decrease of the volume. When the first or the second pulse generating means are optional and yet generates the pulse signal, the control means will disconnect the standard terminal of the encoder that is not to be grounded. This will keep the encoder from generating the pulse signal. And the volume removal integrated circuit will regulate the volume according to the pulse signal of the first or the second pulse signal generating circuitry.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a volume controller using an encoder regulating the level of the voice signal in the voice output machines which sends voice signals. More particularly, this invention finds application in devices such as a television or an audio system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typically, an audio signal generating machine such as a television or an audio system sending voice signals usually have volume controllers to regulate the level of the voice signal. Conventionally, variable resistors have been used to regulate the volume of the voice output machines. However, in using the above mentioned variable resistors some problems arose. As time passed by, foreign substances such as dust may collect. Due to this problem, when regulating the volume, contact errors happen and noises are heard. This gives the user an unpleasant experience, and it will also not be possible to regulate the volume accurately. Therefore, encoders have much been used recently in order to regulate the volume correctly and to get rid of the noise in the voice signal even if there will be noises due to the piled foreign substances like dust.
Another of the contemporary solutions have been to provide a main controller judging the increase of the volume according to the phase difference of the two pulse signals put in from the encoder. Some of these systems require that volume control integrated circuit regulates the volume according to the number of the pulse signals generated by the encoder. Many of these systems regulate the volume directly according to the user turning the turning knob of the encoder. However, they require an expensive main controller and an expensive quartz oscillator. The cost of the production will be increased, and the consumer has to bear the economic expenses. The challenge is to provide an effective volume controller using encoder to regulate the volume without using an expensive main controller and an expensive quartz oscillator. This can be done through the various embodiments of the volume controllers of the present invention, some of which use separate pulse generating circuitry for increasing and decreasing volume.


The present invention provides a plating method and apparatus, which is capable of introducing plating solution into the fine channels and holes formed in a substrate without needing to add a surface active agent to the plating solution, and capable of forming a high-quality plating film having no defects or omissions. The plating method for performing electrolytic or electroless plating of an object using a plating solution comprises: conducting a plating operation after or while deaerating dissolved gas in the plating solution; and/or conducting a preprocessing operation using a preprocessing solution after or while deaerating dissolved gas in the preprocessing solution and subsequently conducting the plating operation.

FIG. 1 shows the construction of a conventional plating apparatus. As shown in the drawing, the plating apparatus includes a plating bath 100. The plating bath 100 is provided with a main body 101 accommodating a plating solution Q, and a collecting vessel 102 for collecting the plating solution Q2 that overflows from the main body 101. A pump 103 transfers the plating solution Q2 collected in the collecting vessel 102 to a temperature regulator 104. The temperature regulator 104 regulates the plating solution Q2 to a predetermined temperature appropriate for plating. A filter 105 is provided for removing particles and the like from the plating solution Q2 as the solution is supplied to the main body 101. A flow meter 106 is provided for measuring the circulating flow of the plating solution.
With the construction described above, a substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer is retained in a retainer 108 within the main body 101, while an anode 107 is disposed also in the main body 101 and opposing the substrate W. A power source 109 supplies an electrical current between the substrate W and the anode 107 in order to plate the substrate W. When performing electroless plating, the plating bath 100 is not provided with the power source 109 or the anode 107. The plating process includes immersing the substrate W into the plating solution Q2.
When forming a plating film in fine channels or plugs for wiring formed in the substrate W or in opening portions of resist having poor wettability, sometimes the plating solution or preprocess solution cannot enter these fine openings, leaving air bubbles in the same. These bubbles can cause defects or omissions in the plating film.
In order to prevent such defects or omissions in the plating, a surface active agent has been added to the plating solution in conventional methods with the aim of lowering the surface tension of the plating solution to allow plating solution to enter the fine channels and plugs of the substrate and opening portions in the resist. However, lowering the surface tension of the plating solution increases the tendency of air bubbles to generate on the surface of the solution during circulation. Further, adding new surface active agent to the plating solution causes abnormalities to occur in the plating deposition and increases the amount of organic matter taken in by the plating film. Hence, this method can have an adverse effect on the properties of the plating film.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An article that is especially suitable for cleansing skin is described which includes a foamable composition having the form of an elastic semi-solid gel and a fibrous layer made up of a continuous network of bonded fibers. The weight ratio of the foamable composition to the fibrous layer is in the range from about 30 to 1 to about 2000 to 1 and the foamable composition at least partially encompasses the fibrous layer.

Consumers have been increasingly receptive to new personal washing systems that provide better skin care, greater refreshment or that generally led to a more pleasurable bathing and showering experience. Although toilet bars are still widely used because of their convenient form and simplicity, liquid products and more recently sheets have grown in popularity.
Consumers recognize that liquids provide excellent skin care and fragrance attributes. However, this product form does not lather well without the use of an implement such as a sponge or so-called pouf and without such an implement, liquids are not perceived as economical. Sheets in contrast, lather well but are generally single-usage forms and thus are primarily used in facial washing where the perceived benefits more readily justifies their higher cost.
Liquid and sheet personal washing forms have primarily been targeted to female consumers, and these forms are not so widely used by men who often prefer bars for their convenience and refreshment qualities.
Based on extensive research, the inventors have discovered a new cleansing form, namely a resilient composite composed of a foamable elastic semi-solid gel that at least partially encompasses a fibrous layer formed from a continuous network of bonded fibers. The foamable gel utilizes gelling agents that are either thermo-reversible or triggered to set by changes in environment and permits the use of a range of surfactants especially those that have heretofore been only suitable for liquids because of their high solubility in water.
These composites have the advantage that they can provide the benefits of a liquid, e.g., mildness and fragrance impact, with the simplicity and economical usage of a bar. Furthermore, the resilient composites can be manufactured in a variety of shapes including those of a traditional toilet bar and thus are appealing to male consumers. Surprisingly, the combination of the different sensory stimuli provided by the elastic semi-solid gel and fibrous layer has been found to be highly appealing to may consumers.
These and other advantages of the compositions disclosed herein will become clear from the description of the invention.
The following patents and publications have been considered:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,446 describes a plastic mesh pad or sponge containing a gelled cleaning composition including an alkali metal phosphate, a wetting agent, fatty acid soap, a chelating agent and a surfactant.
U.S. Pat No. 3,949,137 describes a gel-impregnated sponge composed of two layers: one layer is impregnated with a hardened gel material and one layer is an unimpregnated sponge.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,506 describes a bar soap having a sponge core which is revealed after the soap bar is reduced to a sliver, said sponge core providing support and preventing breakage of the sliver thus reducing wastage.
U.S. Pat Application Publication No. 2003/0220212 A1 describes bar soap reinforced with a reinforcement member such as a mesh to prolong the usage of the bar.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,190, 079 describes a scrubbing soap bar composed of vegetable oil and glycerin into which is partially imbedded a thin fine-mesh netting that serves as a feature to facilitate grasping and holding the bar.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,225 relates to a bathing and cleansing article in the form a scrub brush specifically made to contain or hold a bar of soap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,550 describes a seamless fibrous, soap-filled pad in the form of an envelope that surrounds a solid soap, which is held in integral form by the entanglement of the fibers.
U.S. Pat Application Publication No. 2004/0033915 A1 relates to cleansing bars including a cleansing composition and a plurality of discrete elements (e.g., fibers) having a length to diameter ratio of from about 50 to 1 to about 100,000 to 1.
EP 1 266 599 A1 describes a solid cleanser holder composed of an apertured textured film surrounding a solid cleanser. The film reduces slip, exfoliates and enhances lather.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,328,131, 4,181,632, 4,207,198, and GB 1 551 587 describe several embodiments of elastic bars that include gelatin, one or more surfactants, and ingredients to manipulate the elastic properties of the composition (e.g., gel strength).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,750 describes a solid cosmetic composition used for topical application, e.g., a moisturizing stick, that includes gellan gum, at least one hydrocolloid and at least one fatty chain-including amphiphilic polymer.
GB 2 280 906 A describes a shaped toiletry product in the form of a gel that includes a gelling agent, preferably gelatin, water and at least one surfactant. Shaped, single-use bath gels, shampoos and shower gels are disclosed.
U.S. Pat Application Publication No. 2004/0097385 A1 describes viscoelastic cleansing gel compositions including anionic surfactant and a polysaccharide gelling agent. The gels are "jiggly" and are used to form shaped body washes and shampoos.
WO 99/42548 describes aqueous detergent compositions having an aqueous phase containing a foaming surfactant, a blend of kappa and iota carrageenan and water.
The present invention seeks improvements over deficiencies in the known art. Among the one or more problems addressed include developing a composite bar with excellent sensory properties, economy in use, mildness, and high lather.

Unilever Home & Personal Care USA, divison of Conopco, Inc.


What is described is a microscope comprising at least one rotary knob, which is rotatable about an axis of rotation, for operation of actuating elements and comprising a plurality of buttons for control of electrical components, said buttons being arranged in the region of the rotary knob, wherein the buttons comprise operating surfaces, which are located substantially parallel to the axis of rotation and on the outline of the rotary knob, as viewed along the axis of rotation.

The invention relates to a microscope comprising at least one rotary knob, which is rotatable about an axis of rotation, for operating an actuating element and comprising several buttons arranged in the vicinity of the rotary knob, said buttons serving to control electrical components.
Such a microscope is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,555 wherein a rotary knob for focus operation is provided on the stand of the microscope, said handle being surrounded by a plurality of electric buttons. The buttons are associated with the fingers of the hand of an operator. Thus, for example, one button is provided for the thumb. This button is located on a housing part which surrounds the coarse focusing rotary handle around 120°. Using the ball of the thumb, the operator can operate the rotary handle within the remaining sector, which is about 60° in size, for coarse focusing, while at the same time reaching the corresponding push button located above the rotary handle. Further push buttons are also located on the housing part surrounding the coarse adjustment rotary handle. In contrast to the button provided for the thumb, which button is operated in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotary handle, the direction of operation of these push buttons is substantially parallel to the axis of rotation, so that they may be conveniently reached by the middle, ring and little fingers when the ball of the thumb is placed on the rotary handle for coarse adjustment. In the operational concept of U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,555, the index finger is intended to operate the setwheel for fine adjustment of focus, said wheel clearly protruding relative to the rotary handle for coarse adjustment and the housing part with the buttons.
Thus, the above concept allows one button each to be associated with each finger of the hand. A maximum of four buttons is possible, because the index finger is used for fine focusing.
However, it has turned out that this operational concept is not always satisfactory. Moreover, in terms of design, the limitation to four buttons is inconvenient. Therefore, it is an object of the invention to improve a microscope of the above-mentioned type so as to achieve an ergonomic arrangement of push buttons for ergonomically favorable control of electrical components and without limitation to four push buttons.

Arrangement of operating elements on a microscope


An embodiment relates to a sense amplifier driving device for stabilizing bit line precharge power when a post-overdriving operation is performed. The sense amplifier driving device includes a power driving unit configured to supply a first pull-up voltage and a pull-down voltage to a pull-up power line and a pull-down power line during a post-overdriving period and a driving signal generation unit configured to generate a pull-up driving signal and a pull-down driving signal activated during the post-overdriving period in order to control the driving of the power driving unit. The driving signal generation unit controls a point of time at which the pull-down driving signal shifts in response to a post-overdriving enable signal.

1. Technical Field
Various embodiments generally relate to an integrated circuit, and more particularly to a sense amplifier driving device for stabilizing a bit line precharge power when a post-overdriving operation is performed.
2. Related Art
Demands for high-speed, highly integrated semiconductor memory devices are leading to advances in synchronous memory devices. The synchronous memory device has an interface that is synchronized with the system bus.
A single data rate (hereinafter referred to as "SDR") synchronous memory device transfers only one data bit per clock cycle of the system bus. The SDR synchronous memory device transfers a data bit on either the rising edge or the falling edge of the clock.
However, the SDR synchronous memory device is still insufficient to satisfy speed requirements of a system. A double data rate ("DDR") synchronous memory device is faster than the SDR synchronous memory device. The DDR synchronous memory device transfers data bits on both the rising and falling edges of the clock signal.
Each of the data input/output pins of the DDR synchronous memory device continuously inputs and outputs two data in synchronization with the rising edge and falling edge of an external clock (e.g. system clock). Accordingly, without increasing clock frequency, the DDR synchronous memory device can input/output data at higher speed than the SDR synchronous memory device because the bandwidth of the DDR synchronous memory device is at least twice the bandwidth of the SDR synchronous memory device.
Dynamic random access memory ("DRAM") is a volatile memory device. A memory cell of DRAM includes a cell transistor and a cell capacitor.
The cell transistor functions to transfer electrical charges from the cell capacitor to a bit line, and the cell capacitor stores electrical charges corresponding to data. That is, each data bit may have a high voltage level or a low voltage level depending on the amount of charges stored in the cell capacitor.
A memory cell of DRAM requires a refresh operation, which is the process of periodically reading data from the memory cell and immediately rewriting the read data to the same memory cell.
A memory cell of DRAM is activated in an active mode. A sense amplifier, which is used when data is read from the memory cell, may sense a small voltage level of a data bit, which is read from a memory cell through a bit line, and amplify the small voltage level to recognizable logic levels so the data can be interpreted properly. The bit line sense amplifier circuit may also write back the amplified data on the memory cell.
Furthermore, in a precharge mode, a memory cell is deactivated, and the memory cell retains data. The refresh operation may include an active operation and a precharge operation, which are repeatedly performed in a specific cycle.
When a refresh operation is performed, a post-overdriving operation may be performed to reduce an electric current that will be consumed in the next sensing operation. When a post-overdriving operation mode ends, the level of a bit line precharge voltage rises. In this case, when a precharge operation is performed after the activation operation, it may be difficult for the sense amplifier to sense a high-voltage data bit.

Sense amplifier driving device and semiconductor device including the same


A vehicle alarm is provided including a vehicle unit situated within a vehicle. The vehicle unit includes a transmitter for transmitting an activation signal via free space upon the receipt of an alarm signal. An intrusion detection mechanism is adapted to generate an intrusion signal upon the unauthorized infiltration of the vehicle. Another component of the vehicle unit, control means, is adapted to transmit the alarm signal to the transmitter means upon the receipt of the intrusion signal. Next provided is a home unit situated within a house with a dialer for contacting an emergency entity upon the actuation thereof. The home unit further includes a receiver for effecting the actuation of the dialer upon the receipt of the activation signal via free space.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle alarm for providing remote indication of infiltration and more particularly pertains to alerting a user within a home or abroad that a vehicle has been infiltrated or stolen.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of car alarms is known in the prior art. More specifically, car alarms heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of preventing vehicle theft are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, the prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,379 to Howell et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,495 to Tompkins; U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,287 to Peters et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,940 to Kaplan; U.S. Pat. Des. No. 350,494 to Hwang; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,206 to Ayers.
In this respect, the vehicle alarm for providing remote indication of infiltration according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of alerting a user within a home or abroad that a vehicle has been infiltrated or stolen.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved vehicle alarm for providing remote indication of infiltration which can be used for alerting a user within a home or abroad that a vehicle has been infiltrated or stolen. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.

Vehicle alarm for providing remote indication of infiltration


A method, apparatus and article of manufacture to dynamically modify, terminate, or replace software components and connections (i.e., contracts) between components in a running assembly. Information about the component and contracts between components in a running assembly is used to determine an allowable sequence of management commands to transition the assembly of components from a current state to a specified goal state. At the same time, other components may continue to perform an operational workflow.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer software assemblies composed from a collection of independent software components. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for dynamically modifying or replacing components in a running assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Software components have emerged as a software design methodology that borrows concepts from software patterns, object oriented design, and software frameworks. Generally, a software component is a unit of independent deployment that encapsulates a defined set of functions. For example, a component may provide a set of spell checking services to a word processing program. A party developing a word processing program may develop a spell checking component, or may obtain one from a third party. Because components may be deployed independently, the same component could provide spell checking services to an email program, or any other program that required these services. A common way to implement a component is as a class object using object-oriented programming languages such as C++, Java®, or Smalltalk, among others.
The functionality of a software component is specified by rules that describe an interface to the component, any preconditions that must be followed before invoking a particular function provided by the component, and any post conditions that will exist after a function is executed. A useful way to view these conditions is as a contract between a user of a component interface and a provider of an implementation of the interface (i.e., of a component). The contract states what the client must do to use the interface (preconditions), and states what the component must do to provide the services promised by the contract (post conditions).
In component based design, interconnections (or contracts) are formed between multiple components. An assembly of components may be "wired" together according to interface specifications and rules. A common contract is just an output "wire" that comes out of one component and is connected to the input "wire" of another component. Together, the components, and connections between components, form a working assembly. In composing a component assembly, a developer explicitly wires the components together so that each component operates correctly within the assembly as a whole. For example, the assembly may be "powered-up" or "powered-down" using a sequence of management commands hard coded into a particular assembly.
If the assembly is static, then connections may be formed when the components are wired together and do not change. In such a case, the component assembly functions as a single construct, wherein contract formation and the wiring between components are fixed as part of the assembly. In order to modify or change a component, the complete assembly must be shut down before any modifications may occur. Further, the sequence of management commands used to start or stop the assembly must be modified to reflect the change.
In a dynamic or on-demand assembly, the interconnections between different components may change while the assembly is running. Thus, contracts between different components may be formed and broken, perhaps many times. For example, consider a contract between a client component and a server component, where the client transfers data to the server, and then the server manipulates and returns the data. Each time the client transfers data to the server, a new contract is formed. Before a contract is terminated, the client may need to receive the current state of the data or need the server to certify that it has destroyed any copies of the data once it is returned. Simple contract time-outs are not sufficient.
Further, to change or modify the components of a dynamic assembly, information regarding each component of the assembly must be available. Each time a component modification or replacement is desired, an administrator must determine appropriate sequence of management commands to modify or replace a component. However, if performed incorrectly, the administrator may disrupt the assembly causing it to crash, or data to be lost.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a method for modifying or replacing components in a running assembly of software components.

On demand software contract modification and termination in running component assemblies

International Business Machines Corporation


A handheld centrifuge includes an inertia body having an axle and a pair of inertia wheels coupled to the axle. The inertia wheels are coupled to the axle in substantially perpendicular direction to the axle, and spaced apart from each other. A string is connected to the axle. At least one closed vessel is detachably installed on an outer face of the inertia wheel to contain a substance to be centrifuged. The closed vessel is installed in substantially radial direction of the inertia wheel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a handheld centrifuge, and more particularly, to a handheld centrifuge that is easy to carry.
2. Description of the Related Art
Centrifugation involves the use of centrifugal force for the separation, refinement, or concentration of mixtures having different ingredients or specific gravities. A centrifuge is an apparatus that uses centrifugal force to separate particles from a suspension.
The performance of a centrifuge is determined by the magnitude of the centrifugal force it generates. Relative centrifugal force (RCF=centrifugal acceleration/gravitational acceleration) is used to express the performance of the centrifuge. Since the magnitude (ac) of the centrifugal acceleration is equal to the radius (r) of gyration multiplied by the angular velocity squared (ω2): ac=r ω2, the magnitude of the RCF is determined by the radius (r) and the angular velocity (ω). The centrifuge is used in various fields such as the food, pharmaceutical, and mining industries.
Most centrifuges utilize a motor to generate centrifugal force, which increases cost, bulk and complexity. The extra bulk means that the centrifuge is not suitable to carry.


A superscalar microprocessor includes a reorder buffer to correctly handle dependency checking and multiple updates to the same destination. The reorder buffer stores instructions in program order, and retires instructions that have executed and the results obtained. When a instruction is retired, the results of the instruction are stored and the memory space in the reorder buffer is deallocated. The results of the retired instructions are stored to a register file via a retire bus. If the results of two or more retired instructions output to the same register in the register file, then only the newest instruction, the later instruction in the original program sequence, is stored to the program register. The register file has a plurality of write ports for the transfer of data via the retire bus. If two retired instructions output to the same register, then a write port is not utilized. The retire window is the number of instructions monitored for retirement. The present invention advantageously increases the size of the retire window. Accordingly, if two or more retired instructions output to the same register, an additional instruction from the retire window can be retired. The additional instruction utilizes the write port not used by the older of the instructions that output to the same register. Thereby, the reorder buffer is emptied at a faster rate and causes less instruction dispatch stalls.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of superscalar microprocessors and, more particularly, to retiring instructions from reorder buffers within superscalar microprocessors.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Superscalar microprocessors achieve high performance by executing multiple instructions per clock cycle and by choosing the shortest possible clock cycle consistent with the design. As used herein, the term "clock cycle" refers to an interval of time accorded to various stages of an instruction processing pipeline within the microprocessor. Storage devices (e.g. registers and arrays) capture their values according to the clock cycle. For example, a storage device may capture a value according to a rising or falling edge of a clock signal defining the clock cycle. The storage device then stores the value until the subsequent rising or falling edge of the clock signal, respectively. The term "instruction processing pipeline" is used herein to refer to the logic circuits employed to process instructions in a pipelined fashion. Although the pipeline may be divided into any number of stages at which portions of instruction processing are performed, instruction processing generally comprises fetching the instruction, decoding the instruction, executing the instruction, and storing the execution results in the destination identified by the instruction.
In order to increase performance, superscalar microprocessors often employ out of order execution. The instructions within a program are ordered, such that a first instruction is intended to be executed before a second instruction, etc. When the instructions are executed in the order specified, the intended functionality of the program is realized. However, instructions may be executed in any order as long as the original functionality is maintained. For example, a second instruction which does not depend upon a first instruction may be executed prior to the first instruction, even if the first instruction is prior to the second instruction in program order. A second instruction depends upon a first instruction if a result produced by the first instruction is employed as an operand of the second instruction. The second instruction is said to have a dependency upon the first instruction.
Another hazard of out of order execution occurs when two instructions update the same destination storage location. If the instruction which is second in the original program sequence executes first, then that instruction must not update the destination until the first instruction has executed. Often, superscalar microprocessors employ a reorder buffer in order to correctly handle dependency checking and multiple updates to a destination, among other things. Instructions are stored into the reorder buffer in program order, typically as the instructions are dispatched to execution units (perhaps being stored in reservation stations associated therewith). The results of the instructions are stored into the destinations from the reorder buffer in program order. However, results may be provided to the reorder buffer in any order. The reorder buffer stores each result with the instruction which generated the result until that instruction is retired, i.e., selected for storing its result into the destination.
A reorder buffer is configured to store a finite number of instructions, defining a maximum number of instructions which may be concurrently outstanding within the superscalar microprocessor. Generally speaking, out of order execution occurs more frequently as the finite number is increased. For example, the execution of an instruction which is foremost within the reorder buffer in program order may be delayed. Instructions subsequently dispatched into the reorder buffer which are not dependent upon the delayed instruction may execute and store results in the buffer. Out of order execution may continue until the reorder buffer becomes full, at which point dispatch is suspended until instructions are retired from the reorder buffer. Therefore, a larger number of storage locations within the reorder buffer generally leads to increased performance by allowing more instructions to be outstanding before instruction dispatch (and out of order execution) stalls.
Unfortunately, larger reorder buffers complicate dependency checking. One or more source operands of an instruction to be dispatched may be destination operands of outstanding instructions within the reorder buffer. As used herein, a source operand of an instruction is a value to be operated upon by the instruction in order to produce a result. Conversely, a destination operand is the result of the instruction. Source and destination operands of an instruction are generally referred to as operand information. An instruction specifies the location storing the source operands and the location in which to store the destination operand. An operand may be stored in a register (a "register operand") or a memory location (a "memory operand"). As used herein, a register is a storage location included within the microprocessor which is used to store instruction results. Registers may be specified as source or destination storage locations for an instruction. A register file is a storage device for a plurality of registers with ports for writing to and reading from the registers.
The locations from which to retrieve source operands for an instruction to be dispatched are compared to the locations designated for storing destination operands of instructions stored within the reorder buffer. If a dependency is detected and the corresponding instruction has executed, the result stored in the reorder buffer may be forwarded for use by the dispatching instruction. If the instruction has not yet executed, a tag identifying the instruction may be forwarded such that the result may be provided when the instruction is executed.
When the number of instructions storable in the reorder buffer is large, the number of comparisons for performing dependency checking is also large. Generally speaking, the total number of comparisons which must be provided for is the number of possible operands of an instruction multiplied by the number of instructions which may be concurrently dispatched, further multiplied by the number of instructions which may be stored in the reorder buffer. As the number of instructions increases, the amount of circuitry employed to perform the comparisons increases dramatically. The large amount of circuitry may undesirably increase the total amount of circuitry employed by the microprocessor. Additionally, more than one destination operand within the reorder buffer may be stored within the storage location indicated for a source operand. Circuitry is therefore employed to detect the last of the destination operands indicated by the comparisons, in order to correctly detect the dependency (i.e. the instruction which stores a result into a storage location used for a source operand and which is nearest to the dispatching instruction in program order is the instruction upon which the dispatching instruction depends).
After instructions in the reorder buffer are executed and results are obtained, the instructions are ready to be retired. When an instruction is retired the result of the instruction is stored to the location specified by the destination operand, and the storage space within the reorder buffer allocated to the instruction is deallocated. This allows new instructions to be dispatched and stored in the reorder buffer.
The oldest instructions in the reorder buffer, i.e. the ones that are first in the original program sequence, are monitored for retirement. In a typical retirement cycle, a plurality of the oldest instructions are monitored for retirement. The number of instructions monitored for retirement is called a retire window. Instructions within the retire window that have executed and the results obtained are retired. In the next retire cycle, the retire window monitors the oldest remaining instructions in the reorder buffer.
The reorder buffer has a fixed number of write ports to store data to a register file. The retire window of the reorder buffer typically monitors as many instructions as there are register file write ports. If two instructions retired during one retire cycle have the same register destination operand, only the data from the "newer instruction" (i.e. later in the original program sequence) is actually stored to the register file. In this situation, one of the register ports is not used.
Failure to fully utilize all the write ports can delay the deallocation of memory space within the reorder buffer. Therefore, the reorder buffer must be larger to prevent the reorder buffer from becoming full and stalling instruction dispatch. What is desired is a reorder buffer that makes maximum utilization of the available write ports.

Apparatus and method for retiring instructions in excess of the number of accessible write ports


A system and method monitors telephone networks and/or data communication networks, especially cellular mobile telephone networks (CeN), and provides good evidence of performance and quality of the services to be delivered by the network. At the same time, the system and method is easy to handle and includes components that require only small spaces and that are effective in use. According to the invention, a method and system (CeNA) includes one or more fixed and/or mobile units (FTU, MTU), herein designated as field units or test units, that enable quality observations and communication with a network operator or operation center (CU).

The rapid, world-wide expansion in cellular networks combined with keener competition among network operators, has meant an ever increasing need for continuous improvement as to quality and accessibility of networks as stated.
Where the network operator is concerned, higher quality and better accessibility must be obtained while at the same time prices of calls and other services should be kept as low as possible. Subscribers expect the operator of the cellular network to be able to offer services of a high quality at a price comparable to that of fixed installed networks.
To meet these requirements, the applicant has developed a system for monitoring cellular networks as stated, namely a system comprising an operator's tool for testing, verification, planning and maintenance, as well as continuous inspection and monitoring of cellular networks
With this system, the operator will be able to verify his planning and restructuring of cells for expanding and enhancing the network, to detect problems in existing networks as seen from the subscriber's point of view, and with speed and efficiency take steps to resolve any problem as stated. Because the system comprises manageable electronic data, it will be possible for the operator to obtain statistical lists to be used in analysing the quality of the network, and also to obtain at desired points in the network and at any time, a clear picture of the immediate and future measures which need to be implemented in order to maintain an optimal network.

System for monitoring telephone networks and/or data communication networks, especially mobile telephone networks


The present invention relates to an oil cooling apparatus for hydrostatic transmissions that includes a cooling main body coupled to a transmission case; an accommodating groove formed in the cooling main body to accommodate oil; a cover unit coupled to the cooling main body to cover the accommodating groove; a supply port configured to supply the oil to the accommodating groove; a discharge port configured to discharge the oil from the accommodating groove; a separating unit coupled to the cooling main body and configured to separate a flow path formed in the accommodating groove into a supply flow path connected to the supply port and a discharge flow path connected to the discharge port; and a hurdle unit coupled to each of an outer wall of the cooling main body and the separating unit, wherein the hurdle units may be formed to protrude from a bottom surface of the cooling main body so that an area of a flow region through which the oil passes is decreased.

A hydrostatic transmission is used to adjust torque, velocity, and the like as needed during operation and traveling processes of a vehicle. The hydrostatic transmission may perform a shift operation of the vehicle by adjusting torque, velocity, and the like of power provided by a power source such as an engine. Oil is injected into the hydrostatic transmission to operate the hydrostatic transmission. The hydrostatic transmission may perform the shift operation of the vehicle using an oil pressure of the oil.
Here, in a process in which the oil passes through the hydrostatic transmission, the oil receives heat from the hydrostatic transmission, and a temperature of the oil rises. Because the temperature of the oil rises, an apparatus for cooling the oil is required.
However, an oil cooling apparatus for hydrostatic transmissions according to the related art requires a separate oil cooler for cooling oil. Accordingly, the oil cooling apparatus for hydrostatic transmissions according to the related art has a problem in that it requires a space for installing a separate oil cooler in a vehicle, which lowers the spatial efficiency and increases the manufacturing cost.

Oil cooling apparatus for hydrostatic transmissions


In one embodiment, a receiver implements a method of demodulating a set of symbols dispersed within a time-frequency grid of a received OFDM signal. The method includes determining which one of two or more demodulators is preferred for use in a given region of the time-frequency grid by evaluating detection statistics generated by the demodulators for the set of symbols. Each demodulator operates according to different demodulation parameters that correspond to different interference assumptions. The method further includes recovering the set of symbols for decoding using whichever demodulator is preferred for each symbol according to the region from which the symbol is recovered. The method may be further extended by updating each demodulator's demodulation parameters using reference and/or data symbols from the region(s) where that demodulator is preferred, and recovering the desired symbols using the updated demodulation parameters. Such updating can be further iterated, for additional demodulation parameter refinement.

Conventional cellular area systems are typically deployed with mobile terminals that have the capability to mitigate interference. Mitigating interference has the effect of improving the signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) measured at the output of the receiver, resulting in better performance. This capability can be used, for example, in detecting transmitted data information or in computing some measure of channel quality information (CQI) that is used for link adaptation and user scheduling.
Interference mitigation can be accomplished by different methods. One approach is to cancel the interference from the received signal. Another is to jointly detect both a desired and an interfering signal, which improves the detection of the desired signal. In both cases, some parameters must be estimated with respect to the interfering signal.
Interference cancellation techniques commonly compute an impairment covariance that is used to cancel interference in interference rejection combining (IRC), generalized Rake (GRAKE), or successive interference cancellation (SIC) receivers. Estimation of an impairment covariance comprises, for example, removing the contribution of the desired signal from the received signal and forming the impairment covariance. Examples of this approach include known reference pilots available for channel estimation, or a detected data stream. When the interference is stationary over many samples in time and/or in frequency, averaging (e.g. filtering, smoothing, etc.) can be used to improve the impairment covariance estimation by lessening the effects of random noise.
If joint detection is used to mitigate interference, parameters used for detecting the desired and interferer signals must be obtained. For example, with coherent demodulation, an estimate of the interferer's channel response might be required along with the desired signal's channel response. These could be obtained if the pilot signals are known for both the desired and interfering signal. Alternatively, if only the desired signal's pilots are known, the interferer channel could be estimated using blind techniques. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,080, for example.
Co-channel interference itself can arise from different sources. For example, in systems using multi-stream transmission, such as multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) approaches, the different streams interfere with each other. However, both streams are considered part of the desired signal transmission to be sorted out at the receiver. Additionally, there is co-channel, inter-cell interference from other cells, which is undesired.
As today's systems transition to packet networks, data transmission may be discontinuous in time. A user's transmission time and duration depends on the amount of data required to be sent as well as the scheduling of the users by the system. The implication of this is the interference environment presented to the base or mobile is also discontinuous. Further, with Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) systems that allow the scheduling of users to take place in both the time and frequency domains, interferer discontinuities may exist in either domain.
The issue of discontinuous interference affects both link adaptation and data detection, and the effect is two-fold. First, when the interference is temporally discontinuous, the estimate of the impairment covariance may not be accurately obtained (e.g. the averaging time required to compute an accurate impairment estimate may be longer than the time the interference is stationary). Temporal discontinuities degrade both the detection quality and the estimation of the SINR used in link adaptation. Second, even in the case where the interferer parameters can be accurately estimated at a certain time, the interference can change between when they are estimated and when the data for the scheduled user is transmitted. Changes in the type or nature of interference results in a mismatch in the selected modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) and leads to detection errors or lower user throughputs.
In an OFDM system, such as LTE, the interference (and thus the SINR) is expected to be localized over the time/frequency dimensions due to the temporal fading and frequency dispersion as well as from the scheduling of users. For example, two users may be scheduled in one LTE sub-frame, such that one user's signal dominates the interference for a portion of the sub-frame, while the other user's signal dominates the interference for another portion of the sub-frame. In addition, there may be overlapping areas and areas where neither user presents interference. Thus, computing parameters for each interferer region should only use the received signal corresponding to that region.
Another example of interferer discontinuities is when an interferer signal is transmitted with different rank assignments, for example, due to the use of different pre-coding schemes. The rank of the interferer signal might be different in different parts of the signal bandwidth, causing interferer discontinuities in frequency.
In some parts of the time-frequency grid, a receiver that does not cancel interference may be preferred. However, in other parts of the grid, a receiver that cancels interference may be preferred. In theory, such operation can be accomplished, for example, by having one receiver that operates under different parameter settings—one for a noise only impairment and another for an impairment that includes interference. In practice, however, the difficulty lies in choosing when and where to use which receiver.
An alternative is an approach that selects between single-user demodulation or two-user (joint) demodulation and is described for a narrow-band TDMA system in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,016,436 and 6,832,080. In these approaches, a determination is made using the transmitted pilot symbols as to which of the two receivers should be used for data detection. Under certain conditions (e.g. when the desired signal to noise ratio is low or there is no interference) single user demodulation is selected. When conditions are favorable, joint detection is used as a means for canceling the interferer transmission. However, the decision about which demodulation technique to use is made using the desired signal's training sequence and prior to data demodulation.
Another alternative is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,440,489 B2 for a spread-spectrum system (e.g. WCDMA). In this approach, a first demodulation is performed on a de-spread signal. A second demodulation is performed either in parallel or in succession and one of the demodulated signals is selected depending on quality measures for the first and second demodulation. One of the detected signals is selected for further decoding.
Such approaches perform demodulation on all of the signal's samples using one of the available demodulators. This can be performed since there is a training or pilot sequence in time that allows for the impairment parameters to be estimated prior to demodulation. For an OFDM system such as LTE, a two-dimensional grid of symbols is transmitted with pilots spaced sparsely throughput this grid. Since the interference is localized within this grid, reliable estimation of the interference parameters becomes more difficult. For example, pilot symbols are spaced six sub-carriers apart in frequency and three, four or seven OFDM symbols apart. Thus, detecting interferer discontinuities using only reference pilots alone is made more difficult by the sparseness of the pilots.

Method and apparatus for interferer parameter estimation using multiple receiver arbitration


In a method for performing a vascular repair operation a tubular endovascular prosthesis member made of a nontoxic biocompatible material is inserted in a collapsed configuration into a blood vessel through an incision therein. Upon insertion, the tubular prosthesis member is expanded to a cylindrical configuration and attached along its upstream and downstream edges to the vessel wall. Where the attachment is implemented via a laser, an optical fiber is inserted into the blood vessel via an angioscopic instrument having a balloon with a mouth attached about a distal end of the angioscopic insertion member so that a distal tip of the insertion member is disposed inside the balloon. The balloon is made of a material transparent to optical radiation, as well as to the wavelength of the laser beam, whereby visualization of the arterial or venous wall and the bonding of the tubular prosthesis member thereto may be implemented through the balloon. The balloon is effective to displace blood from the distal end of the endoscopic insertion member to form a transparent pocket or space, thereby enabling visual inspection of a blood vessel into which the endoscopic instrument has been inserted. Endovascular inspection may alternatively be accomplished by a combined ultrasonic and optical angioscopic instrument.

This invention relates to an endovascular technique and more particularly to a method for repairing a diseased or weakened blood vessel. This invention also relates to an endoscopic diagnostic device which, in a modified form, can be used in a surgical procedure. The endoscopic device is useful specifically, although not exclusively, in endovascular investigations and operations. This invention additionally relates to a surgical tack or staple useful, for example, in endovascular operations.
Where a vein or artery with an aneurysm or other condition has been weakened to the extent that it is in danger of rupture, corrective surgery must be performed. Such surgery conventionally entails either a bypass or a replacement of the weakened or diseased segment. In one technique, the blood vessel is dissected and laid open in the region of the weakness. A tubular prosthesis is then connected to the opened lumens on opposite sides of the dissected section.
Endovascular diagnosis and surgical operations are made difficult by the blood flow through the subject vein or artery. Although optical angioscopic instruments have been used where a vein or artery is tied off, there is alway some leakage into the vascular organ which interferes with effective visualization. Ultrasonic equipment, although useful in presenting images of endovascular structures even in the presence of substantial blood flow, does not provide the detail or wealth of information available via optical monitoring. Accordingly, endovascular surgery has been limited by the difficulty of visually monitoring endovascular structures.

Endoscopic device, prosthesis and method for use in endovascular repair


In a bidirectional semiconductor switch which can be switched on and off, printed conductors which form the main term terminals (1, 2) and the control terminals (3, 4) are applied to a baseplate (9). Applied to the printed conductors, which form the main terminals (1, 2), are at least two reverse-blocking semiconductor components (5a-h) which can be switched on and off. The control electrodes (8a, 8e) and the second main electrodes (7a, 7e) of the semiconductor components (5a-h) are interconnected in such a way that the semiconductor switch has the required bidirectional switching function.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a bidirectional semiconductor switch in the field of power electronics.
2. Discussion of Background
Such a bidirectional semiconductor switch has already been described in German Offenlegungsschrift DE 4,011,509.
In recent years, modern converter concepts have been presented in the field of power electronics for industrial drives (see in this connection, for example, T.A. Lipo, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Vol. 13, No. 2. April 1988, pages 105-117). However, the realisation of these converter circuits (for example, of the matrix converters mentioned in the article by Lipo) requires components which have a bidirectional conductivity and blocking ability. The application of such components, which can be switched on and off in two directions, renders it possible to save the otherwise necessary freewheeling diode and largely to dispense with protective elements.
In the abovementioned Swiss patent (CH 1491/89-8), the bidirectional switching function is achieved by a subassembly which has control electrodes on the front and on the rear. This is a thyristor with bilateral, MOS-controlled short circuits, which guarantee the bidirectional blocking ability and conductivity.
However, a component which has control electrodes on both sides not only places high demands on the production process, but in addition the cooling and the integration of the subassembly into a housing are problematical. Such components are therefore also very expensive.

Bidirectional semiconductor switch with hybrid construction