An omni directional coverage multibeam antenna composed of facets, or antenna modules, that make up a regular polygon of n sides inscribed in a circle of radius r which defines an adjustable composite conical surface. The disclosed antenna modules are independent antenna arrays creating an independent beam. One advantage of such a system is that the radiated wave front associated with such antenna modules is always substantially broadside to the array resulting in limited scan loss effects. Furthermore, the independence of the disclosed antenna modules is important as it allows each module's beam to be either electrically or mechanically steered to affect elevation or azimuthal beam control. Additionally, by employing trapezoidal shaped antenna modules, a minimum radome diameter is achieved that covers this antenna system.

Planar array antennas when imposed to cover multiple directions, suffer from scan loss. Since the projected aperture decreases as the beam is steered away from the broadside position which is normal to the ground surface and centered to the surface itself, it follows that broadside excitation of a planar array yields maximum aperture projection. Accordingly, when a beam from such an antenna is off the normal axis, the projected aperture area decreases causing a scan loss which is a function of cosine having a value of 1 with the argument of zero radians (normal) and having a value of 0 when the argument is .pi./2. ##EQU1##
There are a number of methods of beam steering using matrix type beam forming networks that can be made to adjust parameters as directed from a computer algorithm. This is the basis for adaptive arrays.
When a linear planar array is excited uniformly to produce a broadsided beam projection, the composite aperture distribution resembles a rectangular shape. When this shape is Fourier transformed in space, the resultant pattern is laden with high level side lobes relative to the main lobe. The ##EQU2## function is thus produced in the far-field pattern. In most practical applications these high level side lobes are an undesirable side effect.
Additionally, changes in the environment surrounding a communication array or changes at a neighboring communication array may require adjustment of the radiation pattern of a particular communication array. Specifically, seasonal changes around a base transceiver station (BTS) site can cause changes in propagation losses of the signal radiated from a BTS. For example, during fall and winter deciduous foliage loss can cause a decrease in signal path loss. This can result in unintentional interference into neighboring BTS operating areas as the radiation pattern of the affected BTS will effectively enlarge due to the reduced propagation losses.
Likewise, an anomaly affecting a neighboring BTS may cause an increase in signal path loss, or complete interruption in the signal, therefore necessitating the expansion of the radiation patterns associated with various neighboring BTSes in order to provide coverage in the affected areas.
Previously, crews have had to be dispatched to purposely tilt BTS antennas up or down to minimize interference or provide coverage in neighboring areas. Likewise, crews have again had to be dispatched when the anomaly affecting the signal has dissipated or been resolved. It becomes readily apparent that compensation for such anomalies, even occurring only seasonally, can be quite expensive. Furthermore, as the communication system grows in complexity, more such adjustments have to be made to bring the system back up to full operating capacity.
Accordingly, a need exists in the art for an antenna system which provides for azimuthal beam placement about an array to provide multi-directional coverage without using the aforementioned adaptive techniques.
A further need exists in the art for such an antenna system whereby the beam aperture is relatively constant and broadside to its intended direction without producing undesirable high level side lobes.
A still further need exists in the art for an antenna system which provides for automated control of the various beams comprising a radiation pattern.
These and other objects and desires are achieved by an antenna design which relies on a composite of antennas to provide multiple beams which are automatically, or remotely, adjustable.

Multi-sector pivotal antenna system and method


A radiation detecting apparatus includes: a sensor panel that has a substrate, and has a plurality of pixels each of which has a photoelectric conversion element for converting light into an electric signal, arranged on the substrate; and a scintillator layer arranged on a reverse side of the pixels with respect to the substrate, wherein the scintillator layer contains an activator added in a main ingredient, and has a higher concentration of the activator in a peripheral area than in a center area, in a surface direction of the scintillator layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiation detecting apparatus, a scintillator panel, a radiation detecting system, and a method for forming a scintillator layer by deposition; and particularly relates to the scintillator panel, the radiation detecting apparatus, the radioactive rays detection system, which are used in radiographing used in medical diagnosis equipment and non-destructive inspection equipment, and the method for forming a scintillator layer by deposition. In the present specification, "radiation" shall include corpuscular rays such as X-rays, gamma-rays, and alpha-particles and beta-particles. In addition, the "scintillator" shall be a device that converts incident radiation such as X-rays and gamma-rays to light having a wavelength range that can be sensed by a photoelectric conversion element.
2. Description of the Related Art
A radiation detecting apparatus conventionally used in general radiographing uses a radio-sensitized paper having a scintillator layer which converts X-rays into light, and a radiation film having a photosensitive layer.
However, a digital radiation detecting apparatus has been recently developed which has a scintillator layer and a two-dimensional photodetector including photoelectric conversion elements. The digital radiation detecting apparatus facilitates image processing because the obtained data is digital and the data can be shared among multiple persons, when the data is taken into a networked computer system. In addition, if the image digital data is saved in a magneto-optical disk or the like, the digital radiation detecting apparatus can remarkably reduce the storage space required, compared to the case of saving image data in a film, and has an advantage of facilitating a search for past images. In addition, the digital radiation detecting apparatus can reduce the dosage of exposure to radiation for the patient, because a digital radiation detecting apparatus having characteristics of high sensitivity and high sharpness has been proposed along with the progress of the apparatus.
For instance, International Publication Number WO 98/036290 discloses a digital radiation detecting apparatus that has a scintillator layer which is produced with a vacuum deposition technique and includes crystals of cesium iodide (hereafter referred to as CsI) grown into a columnar shape, connected with a photodetector directly or through a protection film. A thus configured digital radiation detecting apparatus can be made with improved sensitivity and sharpness in comparison with that provided with a scintillator layer having conventional scintillators made of granular crystals assembled together.
In addition, International Publication Number WO 99/066350 discloses a digital radiation detecting apparatus having a configuration of adhesively bonding a CsI surface of a scintillator prepared, for instance, by vapor-depositing CsI on a base plate, to a photodetector (which is not shown in the drawings).
A columnar crystal of CsI or the like, which forms a scintillator layer, has properties of absorbing external moisture and deliquescing. A scintillator layer having absorbed moisture deteriorates in its light emission properties and sharpness. For this reason, the above-described conventional radiation detecting apparatus or scintillator panel has a moisture proof protective film for preventing the entry of external moisture.
In addition, a radiation detecting apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,926 has an outermost layer containing only the activator of Tl formed on a light emission material layer.
However, it has been demanded to further improve a moisture-proof effect. Particularly, radiation detecting apparatus for use in a hostile environment like a high-temperature and high-humidity environment has been required to have an improved moisture-proof effect.

Radiation detecting apparatus, scintillator panel, radiation detecting system, and method for producing scintillator layer


Molded circuit substrates include a conductive layer surrounded by an insulating sidewall. The insulating sidewall further provides a structural component for an electronic module into which the molded circuit substrate is incorporated. Accordingly, the molded circuit substrates can permit better performance, reduce electronic module thickness, and reduce fabrication costs. Methods for fabricating molded circuit substrates can facilitate precise positioning of insulating sidewalls, insulating partitions, electrical contacts and other components.

Electronic modules are often mechanically mounted on printed circuit boards (PCBs) and in various ways. For example, electronic modules can include sidewalls which then are mounted and fixed to the PCBs via adhesive. PCB's also can provide mechanical support for electronic components within the module, and can connect various electronic components electrically using conductive tracks and pads and other features etched from an electrically conductive sheet (e.g., copper) laminated onto an electrically insulating substrate (e.g., glass-reinforced epoxy). Electrical connections also can be incorporated into PCBs composed of a plurality of planar layers, for example, PCBs with an electrically conductive layer clad on each side by electrically insulating layers. Components or contacts on either side of such an assembly can be electrically connected by vias, plated-through holes. Electronic components (e.g., laser diodes) can generate heat which may accumulate within the electronic module as the electrically insulating layers (e.g., glass-reinforced epoxy) within PCBs are also thermally insulating.
In some instances, the accumulation of heat causes the temperature of the electronic module, or portions of the electronic module, to rise to levels sufficient to damage sensitive components within the module. In some instances, the accumulation of heat causes components within the module to become misaligned (e.g., due to thermal expansion of components within the module). These effects may degrade module performance significantly.
The fabrication of vias, incorporated into PCBs, may pose further problems. Vias are often incorporated into PCBs with at least a single electrically conductive layer cladded on each side by electrically insulating layers. Vias then are fabricated by drilling holes through the insulating layers from opposing sides and into the electrically conductive layer where the holes ideally meet. However, misalignments can occur such that the holes do not meet as intended. Moreover, the drilling process can be an expensive and time-consuming fabrication step. Accordingly, the fabrication of electrical connections without the drilling step could provide reductions in cost and improvements in fabrication efficiencies.
Additional problems can arise when electronic modules are fixed mechanically to PCBs and operated at elevated temperatures. For example, when a PCB is fixed to a component (e.g., via adhesive) the difference in thermal expansion coefficients between the insulating layer and the fixed component can cause significant stresses or points of failure in the electronic module during operation. This can be a particular concern for electronic modules requiring stable dimensions during operation such as optoelectronic modules where lenses are often precisely aligned to electronic components.
PCBs may pose other challenges. For example, often the host devices (e.g., smart phones) into which the electronic modules are incorporated are designed and fabricated to be as thin as possible (i.e., ultra-thin). Consequently, the electronic modules incorporated into these ultra-thin host devices must also be as thin as possible. PCBs, however can contribute significantly to the overall thickness of such electronic modules, thereby limiting their compatibility with ultra-thin host devices. Although in some instances PCBs may be fabricated with ultra-thin dimensions, they also may be excessively brittle or otherwise not durable making handling during fabrication difficult. Further, attempts to avoid the use of ultra-thin PCBs by thinning PCBs of more typical thicknesses in situ are not successful due to the presence of vias. The vias can aggravate machining efforts, thereby limiting the extent to which the thickness of the PCBs can be customized.


A toner replenishing apparatus capable of, without increasing a drive torque for rotating the toner replenishing container, scraping toner adhered in a toner replenishing container to reduce the quantity of residual toner that remains unfed from the toner replenishing container, is provided. The toner replenishing apparatus includes a toner replenishing container for replenishing toner stored therein to a developing section by rotation of the toner replenishing container, a magnetic body movably provided in the toner replenishing container, and a magnet disposed closely to an outer peripheral surface of the toner replenishing container and attracting the magnetic body with a magnetic force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner replenishing apparatus for replenishing toner to a developing section for developing an electrostatic image on a surface of a photoreceptor, and an image forming apparatus including the toner replenishing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a toner replenishment method in an image forming apparatus in which an electrostatic image on a surface of a photoreceptor is developed with toner to form an image on a recording medium, a toner replenishing container is firstly filled with toner. Then, the tonner filled in the toner replenishing container is replenished to a toner hopper and is supplied from the toner hopper to the electrostatic image on the surface of the photoreceptor. In the case of such an image forming apparatus, when a user fills the toner replenishing container with toner, sometimes, there is a problem that a user's hand is contaminated because of toner adhered thereto and the like to complicate a toner filling work.
In order to solve such a problem, recently, a method becomes mainstream, that when the toner to be supplied to the electrostatic image on the surface of the photoreceptor becomes insufficient, but it is determined that the toner in the toner replenishing container is exhausted and the toner replenishing container itself is replaced with a new one. In such a toner replenishing container, the toner is aggregated to one another to be solidified due to weight of the toner, resulting that the toner may not be able to be replenished smoothly to the toner hopper.
In order to prevent the toner in such a toner replenishing container from being aggregated to one another, a rotary toner replenishing container is practically in use, in which toner is guided and transported by a spiral projection formed on an inner surface of the toner replenishing container and then replenished to the toner hopper while rotating the toner replenishing container itself. Such a rotary toner replenishing container is able to suppress aggregation of the toner in the toner replenishing container with the simple structure. However, the rotary toner replenishing container has a problem that toner in the toner replenishing container is adhered to an inner wall of the toner replenishing container and remains unfed from the toner replenishing container.
For coping with such a problem, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 2000-147887 discloses a rotary toner replenishing container provided with a spiral scraping member that rotates along an inner wall to scrape toner adhered to the inner wall thereof.
However, in the toner replenishing container disclosed in JP-A 2000-147887, when there remains large quantity of toner in the toner replenishing container, frictional resistance between the spiral scraping member and the toner increases to increase a drive torque for rotating the toner replenishing container, thus posing a problem that wear of a driving component of the toner replenishing container and the scraping member itself is rapidly progressed.

Toner replenishing apparatus and image forming apparatus


An electrical connector has a plurality of insulation displacement connectors (IDCs) grouped together by an injection-molded, plastic bridge. The bridge integrates the IDCs permitting easier handling and assembly with other electrical elements, such as by inserting projections from the IDCs into vias of a printed circuit board. The bridge results in a strengthened IDC group structure and facilitates interaction with an assembly tool, thereby allowing smaller IDCs and diminishing cross-talk. The IDC group may be utilized with a mating IDC cover having resilient members which resiliently supports and shields the IDCs and an attached circuit. The IDC groups may be utilized in fabricating a connector, such as a CAT 6 connector.

IDCs are known and widely used for connecting to and/or terminating wires and cables, e.g., at male and female connectors. Despite their widespread use, it remains an objective to reduce crosstalk at the IDC/wire interface, e.g., at terminals utilizing IDCs. It is a further objective to provide electrical devices that utilize IDCs with a more rigid and regular IDC geometry, as well as facilitating the economical manufacture of IDCs and the electrical apparatus which utilize them. It is a further objective to provide effective insulation shielding for IDC contacts, such that wires and cables can be reliably terminated and used with the IDCs. These demands grow ever more rigorous as data speed and volume through connectors increases, while the overall dimensions of connectors remain constrained by a preference for small form factor and by considerations of backward compatibility.

Insulation displacement connector system and apparatus


A closed loop liquid cooling system for an RF transistor module including a plurality of elongated microchannels connected between a pair of coolant manifolds for conducting liquid coolant beneath one or more transistor dies to dissipate the heat generated thereby, a heat exchanger, a miniature circulating pump located on the module, and passive check valves having tapered passages for controlling the flow of coolant in the loop. The valves are truncated tapered passage microchannel valves having no moving parts and are fabricated so as to be a part of either the circulating pump, the coolant manifolds, or the microchannels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooling systems for semiconductor devices and more particularly to a closed loop microchannel cooling system for relatively high power transistor RF amplifier modules.
2. Description of Related Art
In high power, solid state RF amplifier modules, the maximum output power that can be produced by the module is limited by the power density of the active devices, typically transistors. The limits imposed by other components neighboring on the power producing devices are insignificant.
The power density of a transistor is limited by the allowable maximum transition junction temperature. In silicon based transistors, for example, junction temperatures exceeding 125.degree. C. result in a significant decrease in transistor life. The bulk of the temperature rise between ambient and the transistor junction is within the RF transistor itself. The temperature rises due largely to numerous conduction losses and the thermal resistance of the bonds between the transistor components. The heat generated in a transistor is typically conducted through the ceramic and metallic case enclosing the active material. The density of the active cells in their placement on the semiconductor is therefore largely dictated by thermal constraints.
As a consequence, state of the art electronic packaging frequently utilizes redundant parts. This results in increased system costs, size and weight. For example, in an air cooled solid state transmitter, used, for example, in the ARSR-4 air traffic control radar system currently being manufactured by the assignee of this invention, the RF power transistors utilized therein are designed to operate below their power output capability, and are spaced inches apart from one another in order to keep them cooled to military standard operating temperatures. The number of transistors and related peripheral circuits required in such solid state transmitters is dictated by transistor packaging and conventional heat sinks. Accordingly, higher power RF transistors are being developed and used in such systems to enhance their capabilities and increasing reliability, while at the same time reducing size and costs.
It has been demonstrated that by eliminating the thermal interfaces and extracting the heat directly from the active material, the power density of the transistor can be increased by a factor of 2 or more. Doubling the output power of each transistor halves the number of transistors and circuits required and therefore significantly reduces the cost, size and weight of the transmitter.
This has been accomplished, for example in the above cross referenced related applications, U.S. Ser. No. 08/681,207, entitled "Microchannel Cooling Of High Power Semiconductor Devices", and U.S. Ser. No. 08/970,385, entitled "Closed Loop Liquid Cooling Within RF Modules". There cooling is accomplished by forming small coolant passages, called microchannels, in the base of the active material, and passing the coolant into and out of the transistor case through small passages. A pump is used to circulate cooling liquid through the microchannels. Suction and discharge valves are also associated with the pump and typically are located at the pump or in the coolant lines.

Closed loop liquid cooling for semiconductor RF amplifier modules


A one-piece bushing for placement within a sleeve of a securement bracket and for surrounding a portion of a structure to be retained within the sleeve of the bracket. The bushing has a generally central longitudinal opening complimentary in shape to a cross-sectional profile of a portion of the structure to be situated in the opening and an outside wall complimentary in shape to an inner wall of the sleeve of the bracket. The bushing is formed of a resiliently deformable material that is preferably substantially inert. Of particular applicability is a bushing for a torque arm stabilizer assembly of a vehicle transmission housing in which the bushing has a generally central longitudinal opening complimentary in shape to a cross-sectional profile of a portion of a torque arm to be situated in the opening. Methodology for retrofitting a two-piece bushing assembly with the present one-piece bushing includes removal of existing bushing segments and connector hardware from the bracket sleeve and thereafter positioning the one-piece bushing in the sleeve.

I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a bushing for a structure retained by a bracket, and in particular to a one-piece bushing to be retained within the bracket and securing therein a structure. A method of installing the bushing within the bracket is included.
II. Description of the Prior Art
The retention of a structure by a bracket surrounding a bushing that surrounds a portion of the structure is a typical manner of securing that structure. An example of this arrangement is found in the stabilization of motor vehicle transmission housings. Specifically, a motor vehicle having rear-wheel drive typically has torque arm stabilizer assemblies mounted to its transmission housing such that a respective torque arm extends rearwardly on each side of the transmission along the drive train. These stabilizer assemblies function to inhibit undesirable movement of the transmission housing during driving and the resultant negative effects on handling, performance and premature wear of associated transmission and drive train components.
Mounting of a torque arm to the transmission housing is typically accomplished with a bracket that forms an elongate sleeve within which is a bushing assembly surrounding a portion of the torque arm. The sleeve is formed between an inner bracket member secured to the transmission housing and an outer bracket member removably secured to the inner bracket member. Each of the resulting opposing inner surfaces of the inner and outer bracket members has a rubber bushing component riveted thereto, thereby providing a two-piece bushing with a portion of the torque arm situated therebetween. These bushing components are provided with longitudinal cut-outs to accommodate the cross-sectional profile of the torque arm.
Because the bushing components described above are constructed of a rubber product, they tend to crack, dry out and otherwise degrade over a period of time. Unfortunately, however, bushing components alone presently cannot be replaced because they are not made available. Instead, a vehicle owner is forced to purchase and replace the entire assembly of torque-arm-and-bracket to simply replace the bushing which is, of course, new in the replacement assembly. This is wasteful and costly, and must be repeated again in the future because the replacement bushing components are likewise constructed of a rubber component.
In view of the above concerns, it is apparent that a need is present for a new bushing that can replace a deteriorating bushing without requiring replacement of an entire structural assembly. Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a replacement bushing for a structure wherein the bushing is of one-piece construction complimentarily shaped to receive therein a portion of the structure such as a torque arm to be retained.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a replacement bushing whose outside shape is complimentary to the shape of a retaining bracket.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a replacement bushing constructed of a substantially inert and resiliently deformable material.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide methodology for retrofitting prior-art two-piece bushings with a bushing of one-piece construction.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent throughout the description thereof which now follows.

Torque arm stabilizer assembly for a transmission housing of a vehicle


A solar collector panel is disclosed for heating of air, in which the conventional insulation material on the back panel facing away from the sun is replaced by a spacing between a permeable back panel and a permeable heat absorber means, so that a heat convection airflow through the back panel and into the interior of the solar energy panel against the temperature gradient prevents the convection heat loss in the opposite direction. The back panel also reduces the radiation heat loss from the heat absorber means. Furthermore, in case the flow of air through the solar energy panel is stopped, the convection-insulation will no longer be effective, and a photovoltaic cell panel placed within the solar energy panel and generating electricity from the solar radiation will not be subjected to the damaging high stagnation temperature of a traditionally insulated solar collector panel.

Solar collector panels for heating of water for domestic use or for space heating are well known in the art, but also solar collector panels for heating of air, either to be used directly for ventilation and space heating or as a medium for conveying heat to a heat exchanger is known.
The French patent application FR 2500036 shows a typical, simple solar collector panel comprising a transparent front panel, a heat absorbing back panel which is thermally insulated at the back wall, and a passage between the front panel and the back panel, which has an inlet opening at the bottom for allowing cold air to flow into the passage and an outlet opening at the top for exit of the air heated by passing the back panel. The back wall of the back panel facing away from the front panel is thermally insulated to prevent a heat flow from the heat absorbing back panel and out of the solar collector panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,124 discloses a more sophisticated solar collector panel, in which a perforated heat absorber panel is inserted between the transparent front panel and the thermally insulated back panel. The inlet air flows from the side of the solar collector panel into the space between the front panel and the heat absorber panel, through the perforations at which the air is heated and out from the space between the heat collector panel and the thermally insulated back panel. A much higher heat transfer coefficient between the air and the heat absorber is obtained thereby as compared to the disclosure of FR 2500036.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,657 more variants of solar collector panels are disclosed, using the feature of a permeable heat absorber panel through which the air flows to be heated. It is a common feature of the variants that the back wall of the solar collector panels is thermally insulated to improve the thermal efficiency of the solar panel.
The combination of a solar collector panel for heating of air and a photovoltaic cell panel arranged behind the transparent front panel and in front of the heat collector panel is disclosed in GB 2 214 710. The heat collector plate is thermally insulated towards the exterior and a transparent panel between the photovoltaic cell panel and the heat collector panel separates airflows parallel to the panels to cool the photovoltaic cell panel and to extract heat from the heat collector panel, respectively.

Solar collector panel for heating ventilation air


A belt utility system for carrying up to a large number of objects includes an elongated flexible strap for removably supporting a large number of plurality of receptacles or holders for objects, at least one holder or receptacle for an object, as well as a way of removably attaching the receptacle(s) or holder(s) to the strap. This means of attachment includes a finger-gripping portion for facilitating both the simultaneous gripping of holder(s) or receptacle(s) for objects and the detachment, by the user, by generally lifting with the fingers, of these holder(s) or receptacle(s), in a generally upward direction. The utility system can also include a snap-lock connector connected to the strap and to the receptacle or holder, and a releasing tab or button near or on the gripping portion for releasing the connector portions from each other when pressed by the user's finger substantially at the same time as the user lifts the finger-gripping portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a utility belt system and, more specifically, to a convenient-to-use ergonomic modular/customizable system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Tool bags and/or belt-supported pouches for carrying nails, screws, bolts and other tools are well-known in the industry. Typically, a "tool belt" is a belt having a number of pouches and/or tool holders fixedly or permanently attached to the belt. However, since no two people are alike or perform their tasks in exactly the same way, the preferred locations, sizes and shapes of the pouches and tool holders varies according to the person and the task at hand. Accordingly, there is a need for a tool belt that can be easily modified to suit the individual and the specific task.
Numerous tool bags and tool belts have been proposed that have removable or interchangeable pouches or tool holders. However, these tool bags offer only a limited range of adjustability, and pouches and tool holders can be easily knocked off of the belt, causing the nails, screws, bolts and/or tools to fall and possibly scatter. This is particularly a problem when a tradesperson is working at elevated levels, above other people.
The known tool belts have also exhibited disadvantages in the ways they add, remove or interchange pouches or object-receiving receptacles. Such receptacles have typically been permanently attached to the tool belts. When they have been removable, attaching or detaching them from the tool belt has been inconvenient, awkward and/or difficult, especially when the pouches or receptacles are large, bulky or heavy. With most tool belts, pouches are provided with loops through which the belts extend. With such tool belts, pouches or receptacles can only be removed by opening the belt and sliding that pouch off one or the other end of the belt. Examples of such tool belts are described in U.S. Design Pat. No. D302,489 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,105. Other patents disclose the use of various fasteners, such as snaps, hook and loop tape (e.g., "VELCRO"), hooks and the like. Such fasteners frequently make it to difficult, if not impossible, to detach the pouch, especially with only one hand while the other hand is occupied. The fasteners are typically behind the pouches: they must be released or forcibly separated or pulled apart, by pulling on a pouch in a direction substantially away from the user. These tool belts are neither designed nor intended to facilitate attachment, detachment or exchange of pouches while working or in difficult working environments such as on a ladder or crouching in a tight space.


Improved method and apparatus for hand-held portable illumination. A flashlight and corresponding method are described. The flashlight includes a housing, a plurality of LEDs, and an electrical circuit that selectively applies power from the DC voltage source to the LED units, wherein the flashlight is suitable for handheld portable operation by a user. In one embodiment, the first electrical circuit further includes a control circuit for maintaining a predetermined light output level of the LED units as a charge on a battery varies. In another embodiment, the control circuit maintains an average predetermined light output level of the LED units as the charge on the battery cell varies by changing a pulse width or frequency as the charge on the battery cell varies to maintain a given average light output. Another aspect provides an illumination source that includes a light-emitting diode (LED) housing including one or more LEDs, and a control circuit that selectively applies power from a source of electric power to the LEDs, the control circuit substantially maintaining a light output characteristic of the LEDs as a voltage of the voltage source varies over a range that would otherwise vary the light output characteristic. Still another aspect provides an illumination source including a light-emitting diode (LED) housing including one or more LEDs; and a control circuit that selectively applies power from a source of electric power to the LEDs, thus maintaining or controlling a light output color spectrum of the LEDs.

This invention relates to the field of lighting, and more specifically to a method and apparatus of controlling and powering a solid-state light source such as a light-emitting diode or LED, for a portable battery-powered flashlight.
There is a widespread need for hand-held flashlights and lanterns. One common flashlight includes a two-cell battery for power, an incandescent lamp to emit light, and a simple single-pole switch to connect and disconnect the battery to the lamp. Other flashlights use other numbers of battery cells in order to provide a voltage suitable for various particular conditions. Lanterns often use a fluorescent tube to emit light. Certain keychain fobs use a pair of hearing-aid cells and a red-light light-emitting diode (LED) in order to provide short-range lighting such as might be needed to find a keyhole in the dark.
Battery technology is such that as electrical power is withdrawn from a battery cell, the voltage available across a given current load will decrease. This decreased available voltage across the given load causes reduced light output, gradually dimming the light as the battery charge depletes.
Further, LEDs have voltage, current, and power parameters that must be controlled in order to maximize device life. Commonly, a current-limiting resistor is placed in series with an LED in order that only a portion of the voltage drop from the battery is across the LED and the rest of the voltage drop is across the resistor. This voltage drop and corresponding power loss in the resistor is dissipated as waste heat, which is inefficient for a flashlight which should be designed to emit light.
In addition, it is awkward or difficult to determine the amount of remaining charge in a battery cell, generally requiring removal of the battery from the flashlight in order to measure the remaining charge. In addition, the cost of a separate measurement device can be a negative for this market. Some battery cells today include a built-in liquid-crystal indicator for the charge in the cell, but such a solution requires a separate measurement device/indicator for each battery, and requires removal of the battery from the flashlight in order to perform the measurement and observe the indication of remaining power.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for an L.E.D. flashlight or other LED illumination source. In one embodiment, a flashlight is described. The flashlight includes a flashlight housing suitable for receiving therein and/or mounting thereon at least one DC voltage source such as a battery. The flashlight also includes a light-emitting diode (LED) housing connected to the flashlight housing, the LED housing including a first plurality of LED units- that each emit light and have a reflector for collimating the emitted light forwardly therefrom generally along an LED optical axis, the first plurality of LED units including at least seven individual LED units. The flashlight also includes a first electrical circuit that selectively applies power from the DC voltage source to the LED units, wherein the flashlight is of such compact size and low weight as to be suitable for single-handed portable operation by a user, the flashlight further having a purpose of providing general-purpose illumination.
In one embodiment, the LED optical axes of the first plurality of LED units in the flashlight are substantially parallel to one another. In one such embodiment, the flashlight further includes a second plurality of LED units that each emit light and have a reflector for collimating the emitted light forwardly therefrom generally along an LED optical axis, wherein the LED optical axes of the second plurality of LED units converge or diverge from one another forwardly from the housing.
In another embodiment, an optical spread angle of the first plurality of LED units in the flashlight are substantially equal to one another. In one such embodiment, the flashlight further includes a second plurality of LED units that each emit light and have a reflector for collimating the emitted light forwardly therefrom generally along an LED optical axis, wherein an optical spread angle of the second plurality of LED units are substantially equal to one another, and different than the optical spread angle of the first plurality of LED units.
In yet another embodiment, the LED units are connected in a parallel-series configuration with at least two LED units coupled in parallel to one another and in series with at least one other LED unit, and the DC voltage source includes at least three battery cells connected in series.
In still another embodiment, the first electrical circuit further includes a control circuit for maintaining a predetermined light output level of the LED units as a charge on the battery cell varies. In one such embodiment, the control circuit maintains an average predetermined light output level of the LED units as the charge on the battery cell varies by increasing a pulse width or a pulse frequency as the charge on the battery cell decreases. In another such embodiment, the control circuit maintains an average predetermined light output level of the LED units by measuring a battery voltage and adjusting a pulse width or a pulse frequency or both to maintain the average light output at the predetermined level. In still another such embodiment, the control circuit maintains an average predetermined light output level of the LED units by measuring an average light output and adjusting a pulse width or a pulse frequency or both to maintain the measured average light output at the predetermined level.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a flashlight including: (a) a flashlight housing, the housing being suitable for at least one of receiving therein and mounting thereon at least one DC voltage source that includes at least one battery cell; (b) a light-emitting diode (LED) housing connected to the flashlight housing, the LED housing including one or more first LED units that each emit light and have a reflector for collimating the emitted light forwardly therefrom generally along an LED optical axis; and (c) a first electrical circuit that selectively applies power from the DC voltage source to the LED units, the first electrical circuit further including a control circuit for maintaining a predetermined light output level of the LED units as a charge on the battery cell varies; wherein the flashlight is of such compact size and low weight as to be suitable for single-handed portable operation by a user, the flashlight further having a purpose of providing general-purpose illumination.
In one such embodiment, the first LED units being a first plurality of LED units, wherein the LED optical axes of the first plurality of LED units are substantially parallel to one another. In another such embodiment, the flashlight-further includes a second plurality of LED units that each emit light and have a reflector for collimating the emitted light forwardly therefrom generally along an LED optical axis, wherein the LED optical axes of the second plurality of LED units converge or diverge from one another forwardly from the housing.
In another such embodiment, the first LED units are a first plurality of LED units, wherein an optical spread angle of the first plurality of LED units are substantially equal to one another. In yet another such embodiment, the flashlight further includes a second plurality of LED units that each emit light and have a reflector for collimating the emitted light forwardly therefrom generally along an LED optical axis, wherein an optical spread angle of the second plurality of LED units are substantially equal to one another, and different than the optical spread angle of the first plurality of LED units.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of providing general-purpose illumination of such compact size and low weight as to be suitable for single-handed portable operation by a user, including the steps of: (a) providing one or more first LED units that each emit light and have a reflector for collimating the emitted light forwardly therefrom generally along an LED optical axis; (b) selectively applying power from a DC voltage source to the LED units; and (c) maintaining a predetermined light output level of the LED units as a charge on the battery cell varies by controlling the step (b).
In one embodiment, the step of maintaining maintains an average predetermined light output level of the LED units as the charge on the battery cell varies by increasing a pulse energy or a pulse frequency as the charge on the battery cell decreases. In another embodiment, the step of maintaining maintains an average predetermined light output level of the LED units by measuring a battery voltage and adjusting a pulse width or a pulse frequency or both to maintain the average light output at the predetermined level. In still another embodiment, the step of maintaining maintains an average predetermined light output level of the LED units by measuring a light output and adjusting a pulse energy or a pulse frequency or both to maintain an average light output at the predetermined level.
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides an illumination source, that includes (a) a light-emitting diode (LED) housing including one or more LEDs; and (b) a control circuit that selectively applies power from a source of electric power to the LEDs, the control circuit substantially maintaining a light output characteristic of the LEDs as a voltage of the voltage source varies over a range that would otherwise vary the light output characteristic. In one such embodiment, the light output characteristic that is maintained is light output intensity. In another such embodiment, the control circuit maintains the light output intensity of the LED units as the voltage of the DC voltage source varies by increasing a pulse width, a pulse energy, or a pulse frequency as the voltage of the DC voltage source decreases. In another such embodiment, the control circuit maintains an average predetermined light output level of the LED units by measuring a voltage and adjusting a pulse energy or a pulse frequency or both to maintain the average light output at the predetermined level. In yet another such embodiment, the control circuit maintains an average predetermined light output level of the LED units by measuring an average light output and adjusting a pulse width or a pulse frequency or both to maintain the measured average light output at the predetermined level.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a battery-powered portable flashlight (100) including: a casing (110) suitable to hold a battery; one or more light-emitting devices (LEDs) (150) mounted to the casing; a switch (140) mounted to the casing; and a control circuit (130) coupled to the battery, the LEDs, and the switch, wherein the control circuit drives the LEDs with electrical pulses at a frequency high enough that light produced by the LEDs has an appearance to a human user of being continuous rather than pulsed, and wherein the LEDs have proportion of on-time that increases as remaining battery power decreases. One such embodiment further includes a feedback circuit that controls the pulses so that light intensity produced by the LEDs, as perceived by the human user, is substantially constant across a greater range of battery power or voltage than a corresponding range for which light intensity is equally constant without the feedback circuit. In one such embodiment, the feedback circuit measures a light output of the LEDs. Another such embodiment further includes a battery-voltage-measuring circuit coupled to the control circuit.
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a method for driving battery-powered portable flashlight (100) having a casing (110), a DC power source mounted to the casing, one or more solid-state light-emitting device (LEDs) (150) mounted to the casing, the method including the steps of: receiving input from a user; and based on the received input, generating a series of pulses to drive the LEDs such that the LEDs have proportion of on-time that increases as remaining battery power decreases.
Still another aspect of the present invention provides an illumination source including (a) a light-emitting diode (LED) housing including one or more LEDs; and (b) a control circuit that selectively applies power from a source of electric power to the one or more LEDs, the control circuit maintaining a predetermined light output color spectrum of the one or more LEDs as a voltage of the source of electric power varies. In one such embodiment, the one or more LEDs comprise one or more LEDs having a first characteristic color spectrum output and one or more LEDs having a second characteristic color spectrum output, the first characteristic color spectrum output different from the second characteristic color spectrum output, and the control circuit controls a pulse characteristic in order to control the proportion of light output having the first characteristic color spectrum output to that having the second characteristic color spectrum output. In another such embodiment, the one or more LEDs comprise one or more LEDs having a characteristic color spectrum output that varies based on applied current, and the control circuit controls a pulse current in order to control the characteristic color spectrum output.
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides an illumination source that includes (a) a light-emitting diode (LED) housing including one or more LEDs; and (b) a control circuit that selectively applies power from a source of electric power to the LEDs to adjust a light output color spectrum of the one or more LEDs.


A dead time detector detects when a dead time occurs in a switching regulator comprising a high-side switch and a low-side switch and generates an output signal based on a duration of the dead time. A first circuit generates a first turn-on signal to turn on the high-side switch and a first turn-off signal to turn off the low-side switch based on the output signal in response to a first edge of a pulse width modulated pulse. A second circuit generates a second turn-on signal to turn on the low-side switch and a second turn-off signal to turn off the high-side switch based on the output signal in response to a second edge of the pulse width modulated pulse. A controller generates drive signals to drive the high-side and low-side switches based on the first and second turn-on and turn-off signals.

The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
A switched-mode power supply (SMPS) is an electronic power supply that includes a switching regulator to convert electrical power efficiently. Like other power supplies, the SMPS transfers power from a source (e.g., AC mains) to a load (e.g., a personal computer) by converting voltage and current characteristics of the power supplied by the source. Unlike a linear power supply, pass element(s) of the SMPS continually switch between low-dissipation on and off states and are sparingly in high-dissipation transition states, which minimizes waste of energy. Voltage regulation is achieved by varying a ratio of on-to-off time of the pass element(s). In contrast, a linear power supply regulates output voltage by continually dissipating power in a pass element. Higher power conversion efficiency is therefore an important advantage of the SMPS.


A cooking appliance includes a pot lid having a cross section with a long axis and a short axis orthogonal to each other, a pot body including a limiting boss provided at an upper surface of the pot body and configured to abut against an outer peripheral edge of the pot lid when the pot lid is closed, and a pot lid locking assembly configured to lock the pot lid in a closed state. The pot lid locking assembly includes at least one of a lid locking part disposed at the pot lid or a pot locking part disposed at the pot body.

In the related art, a pot lid of a cooking appliance, such as an oval pressure cooker, has a long axis and a short axis. During operation of a user, it is difficult to properly close the pot lid on the first try, and during use, the user needs to adjust the position of the pot lid multiple times before placing the pot lid on the pot body accurately.

FOSHAN SHUNDE MIDEA ELECTRICAL HEATING APPLIANCES MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


Embodiments of the invention provide apparatuses, systems, and methods with the ability to programmatically capture different types of data and to determine whether the data satisfies one or more thresholds indicative of one or more triggering events, and responsive thereto, to automatically initiate a communication between a user and a positive user contact.

Millions of people worldwide are working to overcome various forms of addiction—such as nicotine addictions, opioid addictions, and alcohol addictions. However, conventional methods are insufficient for providing such assistance. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, solutions to improve such apparatuses, systems, and methods have been realized and connection with embodiments of the present invention.

Programmatically establishing automated communications between computing entities


The present invention realizes pre-fetch based on a high-accuracy prediction. A plurality of address values are registered in advance in a pre-fetch address queue, based on previous memory accesses. If a request address from the processor unit of a request address register matches this address value, a pre-fetch address obtained by adding a block size to the request address is output to a secondary cache as a pre-fetch request. This pre-fetch address is written back into the pre-fetch address queue.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pre-fetching instructions/data of a data processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the processing speed of a computer has been improved by a method for improving the memory access speed by providing a cache memory between a CPU and a main storage device.
Furthermore, since the difference between memory access time and a CPU instruction execution cycle has increased, the further improvement of both a cache memory hit ratio and cache-miss latency is demanded.
For one method of solving such a problem, pre-fetch is used.
Pre-fetch is a method for predicting an instruction or data to be needed in the near future and storing the predicted instructions or data in a cache memory and the like in advance, and can reduce the hit-miss ratio of a cache. However, if unnecessary data is pre-fetched, necessary data may be removed from the cache. Therefore, there is also the probability of reducing its catch-hit ratio. In this case, how accurately the address of an instruction or data to be pre-fetched can be predicted.
Pre-fetch is largely classified into two methods: software application fetch by a pre-fetch instruction inserted by a compiler and the like, and pre-fetch prediction by hardware. For example, for pre-fetch by hardware, a method for pre-fetching a block next to a block for which a cache misses is well known.
As described earlier, in pre-fetching, address prediction is a major problem. In other words, although pre-fetch is necessary, useless pre-fetch must be suppressed.
In the method for pre-fetching a block next to a block for which a cache misses, a block is pre-fetched only when a cache misses. Therefore, if a plurality of blocks are consecutively accessed, it is clear that there is shortage in the number of blocks to be pre-fetched. There is a method for pre-fetching a series of blocks in advance in order to solve this problem. However, in this case, since the size of data to be pre-fetched increases, there is great loss if a prediction fails.
If even when a series of addresses are accessed, there are a series of accesses to different data areas where data is transferred between a plurality of data areas, it is difficult to predict an address simply using the order of request addresses.

Pre-fetch control device, data processing apparatus and pre-fetch control method


In a fuel cap provided with a breather mechanism, a cap openably and closably covers a fuel filler of a fuel tank. The cap includes a breather passage for communication between the inside and the outside of the fuel tank. The breather passage is provided with a breather valve mechanism and a resonator chamber as a silencing mechanism. The breather mechanism is a valve having a spring capable of retaining a pressure within the fuel tank up to a predetermined pressure.

Field
The present invention relates to an improvement in a fuel cap.
Description of the Related Art
Of fuel caps for covering a fuel filler hole, a fuel cap provided with a breather mechanism for providing ventilation between the inside of a fuel tank and the atmosphere is known (see FIG. 4 of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 05-246367 (Patent Document 1), for example).
As shown in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1, a fuel cap (6) provided with a breather mechanism (a number in parentheses represents a reference symbol described in Patent Document 1; the same applies hereinafter) has a breather hole (20) and a first breather valve (13) disposed in the breather hole (20). The breather hole (20) is open until a fuel tank is inclined from a horizontal attitude to a predetermined angle. When the fuel tank is inclined to the predetermined angle or more, the first breather valve (13) closes the breather hole (20) to block communication between the inside of the fuel tank and the atmosphere.
The fuel cap (6) provided with the breather mechanism also has an exhaust hole (24) and a second breather valve (14) disposed in the exhaust hole (24). The second breather valve (14) exhausts a fuel vapor when an internal pressure of the fuel tank becomes a predetermined value or more.
Patent Document 1 describes an invention whose object is to eliminate a squeaking phenomenon. Specifically, an exhaust sound, or a so-called squeaking occurs when the second breather valve (14) is changed from a closed state to an opened state. In Patent Document 1, the first breather valve (13) normally remains open, so that the squeaking is not likely to occur.
However, the breather hole (20) is normally opened, so that a fuel vapor within the fuel tank is often released from the breather hole (20) into the atmosphere. Thus, there is room for an improvement in terms of a load on the environment.

Fuel cap provided with breather mechanism


A wide-angle lens system includes a negative front lens group and a positive rear lens group, in this order from the object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wide-angle lens system suitable for a digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Retrofocus lens systems having a negative lens group and a positive lens group, in this order from the object, have been widely employed as wide-angle lens systems for single-lens reflex cameras which require a relatively long back focal distance with respect to the focal length. Various retrofocus lens systems have been proposed in regard to optical power distribution, lens arrangement and the size arrangement, etc., as shown in, e.g., the following Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications (hereinafter, JUPP):
JUPP No.H06-160706, JUPP No.H09-113800,
JUPP No.2001-13405, JUPP No.2001-330771,
JUPP No.2002-303790 and JUPP No. 2003-121735.

Abstract: The negative front lens group includes a negative first sub-lens group and a positive second sub-lens group, in this order from the object.

Abstract: The positive rear lens group includes cemented lens elements having a positive lens element, a negative lens element and a positive lens element.

Abstract: The wide-angle lens system satisfies the following conditions:−0.8<fla/flb<−0.2  (1)0.7<f/fR<1.1  (2)                wherein        fla designates the focal length of the negative first sub-lens group;        flb designates the focal length of the positive second sub-lens group;        f designates the focal length of the entire wide-angle lens system; and        fR designates the focal length of the positive rear lens group.


Disclosed herein is a system configured to provide a connected focus time experience that spans multiple different devices. The connected focus time experience is enabled via an account the user leverages to log into the multiple different devices. For instance, when the user has configured a focus mode for a focus session on a first device (e.g., a laptop device) into which the user is logged via the account, the account can be then used to identify a second device (e.g., a smartphone device) into which the user is also logged via the account. Consequently, an instruction can be provided to configure the focus mode for the focus session on the second device. The focus mode prevents notifications from being output during the focus session, so user distractions and interruptions can be avoided or limited.

Research has shown that an information worker is typically interrupted by a device notification every three minutes. When one of these device notifications interrupts the information worker at a time when the information worker is focused on a task, the research shows that it can take the information worker up to twenty-five minutes to completely refocus on the task. The source of many of these interruptions is not the device with which the information worker is engaged in order to work on the task (e.g., a laptop device or a desktop device), but rather a secondary device such as a smartphone device, a smartwatch device, or other types of devices that are typically on or close to the information worker throughout the course of a day.
There are conventional tools to help users stay focused on a task. For example, some devices allow for a focus timer (e.g., a "do not disturb" time period) to be implemented. However, these conventional tools are limited because they only work on one device, e.g., the device with which the user is engaged in order to work on the task. These conventional tools fail to implement a coordinated approach for the focus timer across multiple devices. To illustrate the shortcomings, even though the aforementioned focus timer may suppress a notification from an application installed on the device with which the user is engaged in order to work on the task, the same notification may be passed through and displayed via another version of the same application installed on a second user device such as a smartphone device, a smartwatch device, or other type of device that is typically on or close to the user throughout the course of a day. Thus, the user is still interrupted even though the user implemented the focus timer on the device with which the user is engaged in order to work on the task.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.

Connected focus time experience that spans multiple devices


A method for performing communications over a network comprises receiving a user record for a first user, receiving a query from a second user with regard to the first user, and sending, to the second user, as a response to the query, a call-handling profile.

The present invention relates to communication services over a network. More particularly, the present invention relates to supplying various telephone-related services on a network
A significant amount of all personal communication is conducted over a communication network. Such personal communications include voice communication, data communication, etc. Each communication process can be divided into a plurality of stages that are necessary whether the communication is conducted over a wireline or wireless network. The first stage is a procedural stage in which the parties may verify their authority to communicate with each other, and determine whether possible compatible formats exist for their communication.
The second stage is the connection-establishing stage in which a path is established along which signals can flow between users. This path is necessary because to make a telephone call, send and/or receive a facsimile or the like, communications devices serving the calling party and called party must be connected together in some compatible way. The first two stages are closely related in that, to complete the task, it is necessary to have compatible terminals at both ends of the path, and the terminals must be compatible with the network equipment. In the final stage, the users actually communicate, using their knowledge of the mode of communication and the other user""s capabilities.
The telephony services currently available, however, are constrained by the technology used. For example, for users to telephone one another around the world, a numbering plan is maintained in which customer stations are identified by, for example, subscriber codes, exchange codes, area codes, and country codes. This type of communication typically occurs over a wireline circuit-switched network like the Public Switched Telephone Network (xe2x80x9cPSTNxe2x80x9d), or over some wireless network.
The PSTN uses directory services to support features such as toll-free number services, which allow a single dialed number to be mapped to many different telephone numbers based on certain rules or preferences This xe2x80x9csingle number reachxe2x80x9d is achieved by a network switch attempting to set up the call based on the translation of the xe2x80x9cnamexe2x80x9d (e.g., 800 number) to a unique telephone number, but does not allow sufficient flexibility that comes from allowing users to reroute their communications in an easy fashion. For example, to reach the vast majority of PSTN subscribers, a caller needs to know the network logical address (telephone number) of the terminal closest to the subscriber""s current location, e.g. his office phone, home phone, car phone, etc.
Network directory services can provide a convenient way to insulate users from the need to deal with network addresses. The Domain Name System (DNS) is a familiar example of a directory service that translates host names to Internet addresses.
Another method of service, employed in circuit-switched networks, is the use of a Network Control Point (xe2x80x9cNCPxe2x80x9d). The NCP is a physical point accessible by a network where various management and control functions are implemented. An example of a use of the NCP occurs with regard to toll-free calls. The NCP resolves the toll-free number with the business subscriber""s network address. That is, when one calls a toll-free number, a signal is first sent to the NCP where the dialed number is matched and translated to the called party""s logical network address.
In a packet-switched network, a conventional directory service like X.500 is used to permit applications (such as electronic mail) to access either central or distributed information. The X.500 standard for directory services provides the means to consolidate e-mail directory information through central servers situated at strategic points throughout the network. These X.500 servers then exchange directory information so each server can keep all its local mail directory information current. With X.500, any e-mail user can be listed in a central directory that can be accessed using an X.500-compatible user agent.
To alleviate the problems in the prior art, a network directory service is introduced to provide a simple dial-by-name capability that can be used on a network. Specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for performing telephony over a network.
To use these provided services, a caller can place a call using a distinguishing name that uniquely identifies the person they wish to reach. The directory maps a query for a distinguishing name to one or more call appearances, each of which typically represents a terminal at which the user can be reached. Call appearances can also refer to other ways of contacting a user, such as a voice mail server or a secretary. In this way, the directory can support both user mobility (users can be reached at any terminal by updating their directory entry with the address of their present location) and terminal mobility (a user can continue to receive calls to a mobile terminal even if its network address changes). In the PSTN, the xe2x80x9csingle number reachxe2x80x9d capability is achieved by a network switch attempting to set up a call based on the translation of the name to a unique telephone number.
As a context for the present invention, but not the only context, consider a packet-switched network like the Internet offering a variety of services to subscribers. In one embodiment of the present invention, a subscriber in this case can, when subscribing to the service, supply the network directory server with a variety of information, and create a record of information that allows the network directory server to expedite a telephone call between the subscriber and one desiring to place a call to the subscriber. As part of this record, the subscriber is then assigned at least one distinguishing name, which is a unique string that points to or refers to the user record, so that he can be reached by that distinguishing name regardless of his location on the network. Subsequently, when the subscriber moves from one location to another, he can register his existence in the new location with the directory server. Now, when a caller in this example seeks to call the subscriber, all the caller needs to do is place a call to the subscriber using the subscriber""s distinguishing name. When the unique distinguishing name is dialed, the network directory server receives the distinguishing name and returns information on how the called party can be reached.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a user record is received for a first user. A query is then received from a caller or second user whose intention it is to contact, via the network, the first user. In response to the second user""s query, a call-handling profile that corresponds to the first user is sent to the second user, and a media exchange is established based on the call-handling profile. Note that for purposes of the present invention, the phrase xe2x80x9cfirst userxe2x80x9d includes, but is not limited to, service subscriber, terminating party, called party, or callee. Additionally, for purposes of the present invention, the phrase xe2x80x9csecond userxe2x80x9d includes, but is not limited to, a caller or an entity wishing to contact the first user.

Method and apparatus for communication services on a network


A display panel and a display device. The display panel includes a plurality of pixel island regions. Each pixel island region includes effective display regions of at least two pixel units. The distance between the adjacent pixel units in each pixel island region is less than the distance between the adjacent pixel island regions.

Integral imaging display technology is a true three-dimensional (3D) display without any visual-aid equipment (e.g. polarized glasses). The integral imaging display technology utilizes the principle of optical path reversibility, in which, stereoscopic information of a 3D scene is recorded onto an image recording device by a pinhole array or a microlens array, to generate a micro image array, then the micro image array is displayed on a 2D display screen, and a stereoscopic image of the original 3D scene is regenerated by the pinhole array or microlens array. Integral imaging display technology can be viewed directly by naked eyes, and can render a stereoscopic image of full parallax and full true color, and it is one of the main ways in the field of 3D display at present.


The present invention is directed to the cloning, sequencing, expression, and characterization of an immunoreactive ferric binding protein (Fbp) (38-kDa) protein of Ehrlichia canis encoded by a polynucleotide therefor. In particular embodiments, the protein is employed in an immunogenic composition, such as a vaccine. Methods to induce an immune reaction in an individual with compositions of the invention are provided.

Ehrlichia spp. are obligately intracellular gram-negative bacteria that reside in endosomes within hematopoietic cells and infect various hosts including humans, domestic and wild canidae, deer, horses, sheep, cattle, and wild rodents. Each member of the family Anaplasmataceae has its own particular primary target cell tropism. Most species of Ehrlichia are either monocytotropic (e.g. E. canis, E. chaffeensis, and E. muris) or granulocytotropic (e.g. Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and E. ewingii) with the exceptions of Ehrlichia ruminantium, which grows in the endothelial cells of the host, Anaplasma marginale, a red blood cell parasite, and Anaplasma platys, a platelet parasite.
Although Ehrlichiae were described in the early part of the 20th century, they received very little attention because they were considered pathogens of only veterinary importance in the United States until the recent two decades. The renewed interest in Ehrlichia is due to the emergence of ehrlichioses affecting humans. Since 1987, three emerging human ehrlichial pathogens (E. chaffeensis, E. ewingii, and A. phagocytophilum) have been discovered in the United States.
Ehrlichia canis, the prototype species of the genus, is the etiologic agent of canine monocytotropic ehrlichiosis (CME). CME, also known as canine tropical pancytopenia, is a worldwide disease transmitted by the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. The progression of canine ehrlichiosis occurs in three phases: acute, sub-clinical and chronic. The acute phase is characterized by fever, anorexia, depression, lymphadenopathy and mild thrombocytopenia. Dogs typically recover from the acute phase, but become persistently infected carriers of the organism without clinical signs of disease for months or even years. A chronic phase develops in some cases that is characterized by thrombocytopenia, hyperglobulinemia, anorexia, emaciation, and hemorrhage, particularly epistaxis, followed by death. Each year it costs millions of dollars worldwide for treating companion and working dogs infected with E. canis. Ehrlichia canis was isolated from a human recently, and thus may be an emerging public health threat.
One aspect of E. canis biology concerns the need for iron, which is a necessity for survival of nearly all prokaryotes and eukaryotes. For the obligate intracellular bacterium Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the importance of iron for intracellular survival has been demonstrated by inhibition of Ehrlichia proliferation in the presence of the intracytoplasmic iron chelator deferoxamine (Barnewall et al., 1997). Early endosomes containing the bacteria (morulae) upregulate and accumulate the mammalian transferrin receptor (Barnewall et al., 1997), suggesting that the organism has developed specific strategies for iron acquisition. The cytoplasmic vacuole where the Ehrlichia resides is acidic, which may promote the release of free iron into the compartment (Barnewall et al., 1997). An E. chaffeensis protein with homology to known ferric binding proteins has been previously reported (Yu et al., 1999), but the mechanisms of iron acquisition by Ehrlichia spp. are unknown and functional demonstration of iron binding properties of Ehrlichia Fbps has not been experimentally demonstrated. Furthermore, the E. chaffeensis Fbp polypeptide is not immunoreactive.
Iron is involved in many key metabolic functions of the cell, but insoluble Fe(OH)3 (rust) forms at a physiological pH and thus must be stored and transferred via iron binding proteins (Andrews et al., 2003; Mietzner et al., 1998). In eukaryotic systems, extracellular iron-binding proteins include transferrin and lactoferrin, while ferritin binds and sequesters intracellular iron. Protein-bound iron also inhibits the interaction of Fe(II) with O2, preventing the formation of free radicals that are damaging to cells (Andrews et al., 2003; Mietzner et al., 1998). The availability of iron has been demonstrated to increase the virulence of many diverse pathogenic bacteria (Raymond et al., 2003). Limiting the availability of free iron is a mechanism to naturally suppress growth of bacteria. However, under the selective pressure of the limited iron available in the host, pathogenic bacteria have evolved specific iron acquisition mechanisms including iron binding molecules and proteins.
Bacteria commonly utilize siderophores as means of iron mobilization. These molecules are nonproteinaceous iron chelators that are expressed, secreted, and bound by surface receptors that enable the transport of free iron from the environment (Andrews et al., 2003; Mietzner et al., 1998). Another means of iron uptake involves iron acquisition from the host iron binding proteins transferrin and lactoferrin (Andrews et al., 2003; Mietzner et al., 1998). This mechanism, used by many gram-negative pathogens involves a conserved system by which iron is competed away from transferrin or lactoferrin at the outer membrane of the bacterium and the iron is shuttled across the membrane and into the periplasm (Andrews et al., 2003). Mobilization of iron into the cytoplasm involves three proteins that belong to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family, the ferric binding protein (Fbp), a cytoplasmic permease, and an ATP-binding protein (Adhikari et al., 1996; Adhikari et al., 1995; Andrews et al., 2003; Clarke et al., 2001; Mietzner et al., 1998), all encoded by an operon system that is shared among many diverse bacterial species including Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Haemophilus influenzae, Mannheimia (Pasteurella) haemolytica, Serratia marcescens, Salmonella typhimurium, and Yersinia pestis (Adhikari et al., 1996; Adhikari et al., 1995 Angerer et al., 1990; Bearden and Perry, 1999; Bearden et al., 1998; Janakiraman and Slauch, 2000; Kirby et al., 1998). The operon system of Neisseria gonorrhoeae has been demonstrated to be under the control of the iron regulatory element Fur (ferric uptake regulator)(Desai et al., 1996).
Identifying the genetic and antigenic compositions of E. canis is essential for studying the pathogenesis of canine ehrlichiosis and developing an effective vaccine. Although Yu et al. (1999) describe an E. chaffeensis 37-kDa protein that is homologous to the iron (III)-binding periplasmic protein precursor of gram-negative bacteria, the prior art is deficient in the cloning and characterization of immunoreactive gene of Ehrlichia canis. The present invention fulfills this long-standing need and desire in the art by cloning an immunoreactive Fbp of Ehrlichia canis.

Immunoreactive 38-KDA ferric binding protein of


The present embodiments provide methods and apparatuses for use in searching and/or retrieving video data. Some embodiments provide method for use in searching video data, that extract a spatiotemporal representation of at least a portion of a query sequence of video data, produce a query slice image from the spatiotemporal representation of the at least the portion of the query sequence, extract a spatiotemporal representation of at least a portion of candidate video data, produce a candidate slice image from the spatiotemporal representation of the at least the portion of the candidate video data, and determine when the query slice image matches at least a portion of the candidate slice image. In some embodiments, an apparatus is provided for use with video data. The apparatus comprises a memory storing candidate video data and a query sequence, a slice generator and a two-dimensional image generator.

There are many reasons and benefits for searching video content. For example, by searching video content, defined content can be identified, retrieved, skipped, edited, eliminated, and allows other functions to be performed with the identified data. Similarly, the commercial and private applications for searching video content are numerous.
The amount of data associated with video data is typically very large. For example, a frame of video data can contain about 2 Mbytes of data or more. A video often has as many as 30 frames or more per second of play time. This amount of data rapidly becomes extremely large. With such large amounts of data, searching becomes extremely computationally expensive, often slow, and typically not implemented in real time.
Some search techniques suggest ways of reducing the data and searching less than all of the data. These techniques, however, often result in inaccurate results. Further, the selection of which content to search can often by subjective, further resulting in inconsistent results. Therefore, many of these techniques fail to provide accurate and consistent results.

Method and apparatus for use in video searching


A polishing pad is cleaned of Cu CMP by-products, subsequent to planarizing a wafer, to reduce pad-glazing by applying to the polishing pad surface a composition comprising about 0.1 to about 3.0 wt. % of at least one organic compound having one or more amine or amide groups, an acid or a base in an amount sufficient to adjust the pH of the composition to about 5.0 to about 12.0, the remainder water. Embodiments comprise ex situ cleaning of a rotating polishing pad by applying a solution having a pH of about 5.0 to about 12.0 at a flow rate of about 100 to about 600 ml/min. for about 3 to about 20 seconds after polishing a wafer having a Cu-containing surface and then removing the cleaning solution from the polishing pad by high pressure rinsing with water.

Current semiconductor processing typically comprises forming an integrated circuit containing a plurality of conductive patterns on vertically stacked levels connected by vias and insulated by inter-layer dielectrics. As device geometry plunges into the deep sub-micron range, chips comprising five or more levels of metallization are formed.
In manufacturing multi-level semiconductor devices, it is necessary to form each level with a high degree surface planarity, avoiding surface topography, such as bumps or areas of unequal elevation, i.e., surface irregularities. In printing photolithographic patterns having reduced geometry dictated by the increasing demands for miniaturization, a shallow depth of focus is required. The presence of surface irregularities can exceed the depth of focus limitations of conventional photolithographic equipment. Accordingly, it is essential to provide flat planar surfaces in forming levels of a semiconductor device. In order to maintain acceptable yield and device performance, conventional semiconductor methodology involves some type of planarization or leveling technique at suitable points in the manufacturing process.
A conventional planarization technique for eliminating or substantially reducing surface irregularities is CMP wherein abrasive and chemical action is applied to the surface of the wafer undergoing planarization. The polishing pad is employed together with a chemical agent to remove material from the wafer surface.
FIG. 1 is a schematic top plan view of a conventional CMP apparatus 11 comprising a rotatable platen 15 on which is mounted a polishing pad 17 for polishing semiconductor substrate S. The polishing pad 17 can be a conventional slurry-type pad having a plurality of concentric circumferential grooves 19 as illustrated, or a fixed abrasive-type polishing pad.
CMP apparatus 11 further comprises a pivot arm 21, a holder or conditioning head 23 mounted to one end of the pivot arm 21, a pad conditioner 25, such as a pad embedded with diamond crystals, mounted to the underside of the conditioning head 23, a slurry source such as a slurry/rinse arm 27, and a substrate mounting head 29 operatively coupled to platen 15 to urge substrate S against the working surface of polishing pad 17. Pivot arm 21 is operatively coupled to platen 15, and maintains conditioning head 23 against the polishing pad 17 as the pivot arm 21 sweeps back and forth across the radius of polishing pad 17 in an arcing motion. Slurry/rinse arm 27 is stationarily positioned outside the sweep of the pivot arm 21 and the conditioning head 23 coupled thereto.
In operation, the substrate S is placed face down beneath the substrate mounting head 29, and the substrate mounting head 29 presses the substrate S firmly against the polishing pad 17. Slurry is introduced to the polishing pad 17 via slurry/rinse arm 27, and platen 15 rotates as indicated by arrow R1. Pivot arm 21 scans from side to side in an arcing motion as indicated by arrow S1.
When the pad is grooved, then grooves 19 channel the slurry (not shown) between the substrate S and the polishing pad 17. The semi-porous surface of the polishing pad 17 becomes saturated with slurry which, with the downward force of the substrate mounting head 29 and the rotation of the platen 15, abrades and planarizes the surface of the substrate S. The diamond crystals (not shown) embedded in the rotating conditioner 25 continually roughen the surface of the polishing pad 17 to ensure consistent polishing rates. Pad cleaning must be performed frequently to clean polishing residue and compacted slurry from the polishing pad 17.
Conventional pad cleaning techniques employ rinsing wherein the substrate mounting head 29 is removed from contact with the polishing pad 17, the supply of slurry from the slurry/rinse arm 27 is turned off, and a rinsing fluid such as deionized water is supplied via the slurry/rinse arm 27. However, merely rinsing the polishing pad following CMP is often ineffective in removing polishing residues, particularly after CMP of metal films, because polishing by-products stick to the polishing pad.
Conventional polishing pads employed in abrasive slurry processing typically comprise a grooved porous polymeric surface, such as polyurethane, and the abrasive slurry varied in accordance with the particular material undergoing CMP. Basically, the abrasive slurry is impregnated into the pores of the polymeric surface while the grooves convey the abrasive slurry to the wafer undergoing CMP. Another type of polishing pad is a fixed abrasive pad wherein abrasive elements are mounted on a backing. When conducting CMP with a fixed abrasive pad, a chemical agent without abrasive particles is applied to the pad surface.
When conducting CMP on a metal-containing surface, e.g., Cu or a Cu alloy, the working or polishing surface of the polishing pad undergoes changes believed to be caused by, inter alia, polishing by-products resulting from the reaction of metal being removed from the wafer surface, such as Cu, with components of the CMP slurry or chemical agent, e.g., oxidizer, complexing agents and inhibitors. Such by-products typically deposit onto the polishing pad and accumulate causing a colored stain or glazed area. Such a surface exhibits a lower coefficient of friction and, hence, a substantially lower material removal rate by adversely impacting polishing uniformity and increasing polishing time. In addition, such glazing causes scratching of the wafer surface. Conventional approaches to remedy pad glazing include pad conditioning, as with nylon brushes or diamond disks for removing the deposited by-products from the polishing pad surface. However, such a conventional remedial approach to the glazing problem is not particularly effective in completely removing glazing. Pad conditioning with a diamond disk also greatly reduces pad lifetime.
There exists a need for methodology enabling the planarization of a wafer surface containing Cu or Cu alloy with reduced pad glazing. There exists a particular need for methodology enabling CMP of a wafer surface containing Cu or Cu alloys at high production throughput.


A memory controller configured to control a memory device including a plurality of banks. The memory controller may determine whether a number of write commands enqueued in a command queue of the memory controller exceeds a reference value, calculate a level of write power to be consumed by the memory device in response to at least some of the write commands from among the enqueued write commands when the number of enqueued write commands exceeds the reference value, and schedule, based on the calculated level of write power, interleaving commands executing an interleaving operation of the memory device, from among the enqueued write commands.

The inventive concept relates to a memory device, and more particularly, to a memory controller for controlling a memory device and an operating method of the memory controller.
As a non-volatile memory device, resistive memory devices such as a phase-change random access memory (PRAM), a resistive random access memory (RRAM), and a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) have used a variable resistance element that stores data by a change of resistance state as a memory cell. A commonality of materials of the resistive memory devices is that a resistance value varies according to a size and/or direction of a current or voltage, and the materials have a non-volatile characteristic that maintains the resistance value even when the current or voltage is blocked.
In recent years, fields using a large amount of data such as image processing and big data processing have increased, so increasing data processing speed has been important. As a method used to increase the data processing speed of a memory device, a bank interleaving technique controlling data to use a plurality of banks simultaneously is being used. Therefore, the data processing speed may be improved as compared with a case of using a single bank.

Memory controller and operating method thereof


A method of dicing a wafer is disclosed. A wafer with an active surface and a back surface is provided. Prior to dicing the wafer, a removable layer is formed on the back surface of the wafer. The removable layer is attached to a tape, such as a sawing tape. After the wafer is singulated and the adhesion of the removable layer is reduced or removed, the separate chips singulated from the wafer are easily removed from the tape. Because of the removable layer attached on the back surface of the wafer, the cutting stress caused by singulating the wafer will be transferred without concentrated at the back surface of the wafer so as to prevent the wafer from chipping and being warped.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a method of dicing a wafer. More particularly, the present invention is related to a method of dicing a wafer with a removable layer formed thereon for reducing the stress at the wafer so as to prevent the wafer from chipping when the singulating process is performed to dice the wafer.
2. Related Art
In this information explosion age, integrated circuits products are used almost everywhere in our daily life. As fabricating technique continue to improve, electronic products having powerful functions, personalized performance and a higher degree of complexity are produced. Nowadays, most electronic products are relatively light and have a compact body. Hence, in semiconductor production, various types of high-density semiconductor packages have been developed. Flip chip is one of the most commonly used techniques for forming an integrated circuits package. Moreover, compared with a wire-bonding package or a tape automated bonding (TAB) package, a flip-chip package uses a shorter electrical path on average and has a better overall electrical performance. In a flip-chip package, the bonding pads on a chip and the contacts on a substrate are connected together through a plurality of bumps formed on the chip by a conventional bumping process and then an underfill material is filled into the gap between the chip and the substrate to encapsulate the bumps so as to well protect the bumps. In such a manner, the reliability of such flip chip package is enhanced.
As mentioned above, in a conventional assembly packaging process, there is provided a wafer with a back surface and a sawing tape formed on said back surface to fix the wafer onto a carrier for proceeding the process of dicing or singulating the wafer. Afterwards, the wafer is sawed by a blade sawing along the cutting lines on the active surface of the wafer so as to form a plurality of separate chips attached on the sawing tape. However, usually the sawing tape is securely attached to the back surface of the wafer so that it is not easy to remove the separate chips from the sawing tape. In addition, when the sawing blade cuts the wafer along the cutting lines, the blade usually not only cuts the wafer but also the sawing tape. To be noted, the sawing tape is partially cut. Besides, the stress caused by the sawing blade cutting the wafer is transferred to and concentrated at the back surface of the wafer so as to cause the back surface of the wafer to be chipping.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,535, there is disclosed a method of singulating a wafer for preventing the back surface of the wafer from chipping. Therein, firstly, there is provided a first tape attached to the back surface of the wafer and then a singulating process is performed to partially cut the wafer to form a partially separated wafer. Next, there is provided a second tape on the active surface of the partially separated wafer, namely, the second tape is disposed on the active surfaces of the partially separated wafer. Then, the first tape is removed from the back surface of the partially separated wafer and then a grinding process is performed on the back surface of the partially separated wafer until a plurality of individual chips are formed on the second tape. Next, a third tape is provided on the back surfaces of the individual chips and then the second tape is removed so as to perform the processes of picking and placing. However, as it can be seen, there are a lot of tapes wasted and it is easy to cause the wafer damaged. Frankly speaking, chipping is usually found at the edge of the back surface of the wafer. In other words, when the blade cuts the sawing tape at a cutting depth much smaller than the thickness of the sawing tape, namely, the un-cutting portion is close to the interface of the back surface of the wafer and the sawing tape, it is easy to cause the wafer to be chipping.
Furthermore, another singulating process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,162. Therein, a protective film is provided on the back surface of the wafer for regarding as a buffer layer to prevent the wafer from being chipping. However, the protective film is still left on the back surfaces of the individual chips so as to lower the thermal reliability of the individual chips. In addition, such protective film has a higher glutinosity, so it is not easy to separate the wafer into a plurality of individual chips.
Therefore, providing another dicing method to solve the mentioned-above disadvantages is the most important task in this invention.

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc.


The present invention discloses a NOx sensor consisting at least of a pair of the first and the second electrodes formed in touch with an ion conductive solid electrolyte; wherein at least the first electrode is selected from hybrid oxides having perovskite structure expressed by MSnO.sub.3 (M is at least an element selected from Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn and Cd, hybrid oxides having pseudo-perovskite structure expressed by M.sub.2 SnO.sub.4 (M is at least an element selected from Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Mn, Co, Zn and Cd) or a substance containing said hybrid oxides and the second electrode is selected from a noble metal or a electro conductive ceramics which does not have electro conductivity in the atmosphere of NOx and the concentration of NOx in the test gas is detected by the change of the electromotive force between the first and second electrodes.

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sensor to detect NOx concentration in an exhaust gas from combustion furnace and automobile engine, etc.
From the view point of the protection of an environment on the earth, reduction of NOx, especially NO, is required and for the achievement of this requirement, the development of a NOx sensor, which can be applicable to the feed back control of combustion state and NOx removal system or to monitoring oxidation and reduction catalyst of NO, is thought to be essential. A solid electrolyte sensor which detects NOx concentration by the change of electromotive force corresponding to the change of NOx concentration and a semiconductor sensor utilizing the change of the resistance of organic or inorganic semiconductor depending on NOx concentration have been reported as NOx sensors.
For example, the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. Sho 61-184450 and Hei 4-297862 disclose a solid electrolyte sensor using AgI and NASICON as a solid electrolyte and metal nitrate as an electrode. These sensors show relatively good sensitivity for NOx in a temperature range from 100.about.300.degree. C . However, the melting point of AgI used as a solid electrolyte and metal nitrate used as an electrode are low and it was very difficult to use the sensor in a condition exposed to a temperature above 500.degree. C .
Zirconia is used in oxygen sensors as a thermal stable electrolyte at a high temperature. In a NOx sensor using zirconia, it is reported that a good performance is obtained by using mixed salts of Ba(NO.sub.3 ).sub.2 or Ba(NO.sub.3 ).sub.2 with other salts as an electrode. (The 18th Chemical Sensor Meeting, vol.10, p.73.about.76, 1993). However, a long range stability is an issue due to the deliquescence property of Ba(NO.sub.3).sub.2. A sensor using SnO.sub.2, which is stable at a relatively high temperature as an electrode and zirconia as an electrolyte is reported, however, the detectable gas is methane, but not NOx.
A sensor using organic semiconductor phthalocyanine has been disclosed (The Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 62-95456), however, the working temperature is limited by the decomposition temperature of phthalocyanine and it is impossible to mount the sensor directly in an exhaust gas at a high temperature. On the other hand, a relatively stable sensor at a high temperature using an oxide semiconductor has been disclosed. (The Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 1-150849). However, there were issues that the sensitivity is lowered or null above 500.degree. C., where the gas absorption on the surface of the semiconductor does not occur easily, since the semiconductor sensor detects the concentration of the gas through the change of the resistance caused by the absorption of the gas on the surface of the semiconductor.