A reversible thermoelectric converter includes first and second quantum well diodes and an electrical connection between the first and second quantum well diodes without a thermal barrier between them. Each quantum well diode includes first and second electrodes wherein electrons are quantized in discrete energy levels and a dielectric layer providing a potential barrier between the first and second electrodes. When electrons in the first quantum well diode have a higher temperature than the electrons in the second quantum well diode, electric voltage fluctuations resulting from transitions of the electrons between the energy levels in the first quantum well diode are coupled from the first quantum well diode to the second quantum well diode. The reversible thermoelectric converter can be operated for power conversion of thermal energy to electric energy, as a heat pump or a refrigerator, or as an amplifier. A planar array of reversible thermoelectric converter elements provides a desired output voltage and current.

Devices for converting thermal directly to electric energy have been extensively investigated. The most commonly utilized devices have been thermionic converters working from high temperature sources and silicon cells utilizing the input thermal energy of solar radiation. Such devices have limited operating temperature ranges. In addition, the efficiencies for the direct conversion of solar energy to electricity that are required to be competitive with conventionally generated electricity in many U.S. markets over the next few decades have not yet been achieved. These required efficiencies range from the lowest efficiency requirement of 10% module efficiency for flat plate modules to the highest efficiency requirement of 25% module efficiency for concentrated solar energy. These required efficiencies are reported by E. A. DeMeo et al in Proceedings of the 21st Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Photovoltaic Specialists Conference--1990, Kissimmee, May 21-25, 1990 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, 1990), pp. 16-23.
A reversible thermoelectric converter having a high operating efficiency is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,210 issued Jan. 18, 1977 to Yater. The disclosed device comprises a first layer of microcircuit modules for converting thermal energy into electric voltage fluctuations, a second layer of microcircuit modules for receiving the electric voltage fluctuations and a third layer between the first and second layers. The third layer is a thermal barrier, such as a vacuum. Electric voltage fluctuations are capacitively coupled from the first layer across the thermal barrier to the second layers. The first and second layers operate at different temperatures. The microcircuit modules can be Schottky barrier diodes or quantum or tunnel diodes. The reversible thermoelectric converter disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,210 has the potential to achieve efficiencies as high as 90%. The thermal barrier transmits electric voltage fluctuations and prevents cooling, radiation losses and lead conduction losses.
The theoretical basis for the operation of reversible thermoelectric converters is described by J. C. Yater in Physical Review A, August 1979, pages 623-627, J. C. Yater in Physical Review A, July 1982, pages 522-538 and by J. C. Yater in Solar Cells, Vol. 10, August 1983, pages 237-255. These articles describe efficiencies up to 99% of the Carnot cycle efficiency and describe physically realizable diode designs, including thin film, quantum effect and thermionic, that can enable high power output and high efficiency to be achieved. All of the previously disclosed reversible thermoelectric converters known to applicants include a separate thermal barrier between the hot and cold layers of the circuit.
Quantum size effects in thin metal films is described by R. C. Jaklevic et al in Physical Review B, Vol. 12, No. 10, Nov. 15, 1975, pages 4146-4160. Devices involving quantum effects are described by F. Capasso et al in "Quantum Electron Devices", Physics Today, February 1990, pages 74-82. A typical quantum well diode includes a thin dielectric layer between two thin metal layers. Electrons in the metal layers are quantized into discrete energy levels in a direction perpendicular to the metal surface. The dielectric layer forms a potential barrier.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide improved reversible thermoelectric converters.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved reversible thermoelectric converter including a thin film quantum well diode for directly converting thermal energy of hot electrons to electric energy.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide reversible thermoelectric converters with improved efficiency of conversion of solar energy to electrical energy.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide hot electrons for the reversible thermoelectric converter from different heat sources including fossil, nuclear and geothermal heat sources.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide efficient operation of the reversible thermoelectric converter at low temperatures.


A novel gene that can be used to identify male-sterile cytoplasm in plants, for example, of the Cruciferae family, and a method for producing hybrid plants using this gene are provided. This novel cms cytoplasmic gene is valuable in that it can be utilized in the production of hybrid plant seeds. This invention is also useful for rapidly identifying Kosena cms cytoplasm, a novel cytoplasm which exhibits characteristics valuable in plant breeding. In addition, this gene may possibly be used to confer cms onto a broad range of plant species, not limited to those of the Cruciferae family, by its introduction into nuclear or mitochondrial genomes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gene which determines cytoplasmic sterility in plants, such as of the Cruciferae family, as well as a method for producing hybrid plants by utilization of this gene. Specifically, the present invention relates to a gene for cytoplasmic male sterility and a method for producing hybrid plants by utilizing this gene for the purpose of developing new F.sub.1 plant varieties.
2. Description of the Related Art
First filial generations are utilized for many major crop and vegetable plants. First filial generations are characterized by; 1) superior agricultural characteristics resulting from hybrid vigor, 2) homogeneity of harvested products, 3) segregation of genetic characteristics in the subsequent generations, thus protecting the profits of the breeder.
In the Cruciferae family, self-incompatibility is widely used for harvesting F.sub.1 seeds. However, in rapeseed, which does not have a stable self-incompatibility system, there is a demand for systems to generate F.sub.1 seeds using cytoplasmic male sterility instead (hereafter abbreviated as "cms"). At present, techniques for generating F.sub.1 seeds possessing polima cms are being applied. However, because its male sterility characteristic is unstable and flower morphology is poor, which affect the yield of harvest, there is a need for improvement.
Recently, attempts have been made to use Ogura cms derived from Japanese radish in rapeseed in place of polima cms. Male sterility in Ogura cms is stable, and fertility can be restored by a single fertility-restoring gene (hereafter abbreviated as "Rf gene"). The Rf gene of Ogura radish has already been introduced from Japanese radish into rapeseed and it has been ascertained that both the cms and Rf genes of Ogura radish introduced in rapeseed can be put into practical use without problems.
However, cms cytoplasm not only causes pollen sterility, it may also affect other characters of plants. Formerly, one type of maize cytoplasm, T-cms, had been widely used in the generation of F.sub.1 seeds, but it conferred susceptibility to two major plant diseases, sesame leaf bright and yellow leaf bright diseases, as well as susceptibility to damage by Ostrinia nubilalis. In the 1970's, the first filial corn suffered a severe damage due to major outbreaks of sesame leaf bright. Since then it has been recognized that the use of only a single type of cytoplasm for the production of F.sub.1 seeds is very dangerous.
In addition, cms cytoplasm may influence flower morphology. For example, in the case of rapeseed carrying polima cms cytoplasm it is known that large openings may form in the base of the petal through which bees are able to obtain nectar. This circumvents the normal process of pollen transfer, ultimately leading to problems in the yield of seed in polima cms plants. In addition, flower size in Japanese radish carrying Ogura cms cytoplasm is smaller than that in fertile individuals and the volume of secreted nectar is low, which results in infrequent visits by pollinating insects. Thus, Japanese radish carrying Ogura cms cytoplasm also exhibit problems in seed yield. When Japanese radish carrying cms cytoplasm derived from Kosena radish ("Kosena") was tested, it was found that the seed yield was higher than that in plants in which Ogura cms cytoplasm had been used. This suggests that the cms cytoplasm from Kosena is genetically different from that of Ogura. That is, this phenotypic difference appears to be caused by the result of the interaction between cytoplasmic genetic factors, viz. mitochondria and chloroplasts, and nuclear genes. It was thought that by introducing this cytoplasm by crossing or cell fusion into useful crops other than Japanese radish there would be a high probability of obtaining varieties with superior morphological characteristics.
In addition, the negative effects resulting from incompatibility between the nucleus and cytoplasm, which occurs when cms cytoplasm is introduced into heterologous plant species, can be removed to some degree by cell fusion. The cytoplasmic genomes (chloroplasts and mitochondria) in cytoplasmic hybrid plants (cybrids) formed by cell fusion often consist of recombinants derived from both parental genomes. Using this phenomenon, we could select cybrids into which only the cms gene has been introduced. In this process, It was thought that the introduction of cms cytoplasm which does not cause problems with respect to petal or nectar yield would increase chances of obtaining cybrids advantageous for plant breeding.

Gene which determines cytoplasmic sterility and a method of producing hybrid plants using said gene


A fiber optic sensor for use in environments containing darkening agents, e.g., hydrogen. The sensor includes a multicore fiber or a fiber optic cable containing a number of optical signal paths. Each path includes a sensing core segment and one or more transmission core segments. The sensing core segment is configured to (i) produce optical perturbation signals (e.g., Raman or Rayleigh) at one or more locations along the segment, the perturbation signals corresponding to environmental conditions (e.g., temperature) sensed by the segment at a corresponding location, and (ii) allow the perturbation signals to be detected by measurement equipment coupled to the sensor when light signals from a given source excite the path. The transmission core segments in a selected path subject the perturbation signals to little if any further attenuation relative to the attenuation induced in the sensing core segments in reaction to the darkening agents.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fiber optic cables and fibers for sensing environmental conditions such as, but not limited to, hydrogen, temperature, or pressure, at one or more locations along the cables where deployed.
Discussion of the Known Art
Fiber optic cables have been used for years in the oil and gas industries for sensing temperature, pressure, seismic activity, and gas/liquid composition at various depths inside deep boreholes. For example, single mode fibers for use in distributed temperature sensing (DTS) applications are commercially available from OFS Fitel, LLC, Norcross, Ga., as type BF05717, GEO 1310 11 NA photonic fibers, and type F21976, GEOSIL®-SM single-mode fibers. See also U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,936 (Jun. 8, 2010), disclosing a DTS cable including an upper section with electrical copper conductors for producing a controlled amount of heat, and a lower section having steel conductors to produce additional heat.
In a typical temperature sensing system, a light source illuminates a proximal or near end of a sensing cable fiber. As light from the source enters the fiber and propagates away from the source, the fiber generates backscatter signals, such as Rayleigh or Raman scattering, that travel in the opposite direction back toward the source. The backscatter signals contain so-called Stokes and Anti-Stokes components that are detected and processed by commercially available measurement equipment (e.g., Silixa model XT-DTS™). Temperature values at one or more specified locations over the length of the fiber are then determined and displayed by the equipment. See, e.g., F. Suarez et al., Developments in Heat Transfer (InTech 2011), at pages 611-36; and G. Brown, Downhole Temperatures from Optical Fiber, Oilfield Review, v. 20, no. 4 (2009), at pages 34-39.
Accordingly, an optical fiber contained in a temperature sensing cable must perform two functions, namely, (i) generate the backscatter signals in response to the light signals originating from the light source, and (ii) transmit or return the backscatter signals with enough strength so that the measurement equipment can detect the signals adequately to yield reliable temperature measurements. See, e.g., TU Delft (NL), Distributed Temperature Sensing (2015), at www.citg.tudelft.nl/?id=20298&L=1.
For details on incorporating multiple environmental sensing functionalities within a single fiber structure or "multicore" fiber, see X. Sun et al., "A Multicore Optical Fiber For Distributed Sensing", Proc. SPIE 9098, Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications XI, 9098W (Jun. 18, 2014), published online in PDF format at www.ofsoptics.com/oil-gas-distributed-temperature-sensing.html, which is incorporated by reference. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 8,737,792 (May 27, 2014) and U.S. Pat. No. 8,725,001 (May 13, 2014); and P. S. Westbrook et al., "Integrated optical fiber shape sensor modules based on twisted multicore fiber grating arrays," Photonics West (July 2014), all of which are also incorporated by reference.
Problems arise, however, due to the fact that after most sensing fibers are exposed to so-called darkening agents in a sensed environment, the amount of attenuation that the fibers introduce to light signals propagating in them increases substantially and rapidly. Such darkening agents include, for example, high hydrogen partial pressure and ionizing radiation, one or both of which usually exist in deep boreholes and other sensed environments. High temperature (e.g., around 350 deg. C.) in sensed environments is known to accelerate hydrogen darkening, and some temperature increases may accelerate radiation darkening. See, T. Geisler et al., "Radiation performance of low bend-loss optical fiber for gyroscope applications," Position, Location, and Navigation Symposium (May 2014).
Also, most sensing fibers have cores that are doped with germanium (Ge) which makes them particularly susceptible to darkening in reaction to hydrogen. That is, it has been found that the germanium in the fiber core reacts with hydrogen in the environment to produce OH functional groups which, in turn, significantly increase fiber attenuation. See U.S. Pat. No. 8,401,355 (Mar. 19, 2013), incorporated by reference. FIG. 3 of the '355 patent and related text disclose that at 150 deg. C. and one atmosphere H2 pressure, the propagation of light signals through a pure silica core fiber was substantially unaffected. By contrast, the attenuation induced in a sensing fiber with a Ge doped core under the same conditions was as much as 10 dB/km higher than that induced in the pure silica core fiber.
See, OFS, "Producing Oil and Gas," at www.SpecialtyPhotonics.com, and which is incorporated by reference. The hydrogen performance of fibers with pure silica and Ge doped cores was tested after the fibers were exposed to 100 psi pure hydrogen at 280 degrees C. for 350 hours. Results showed that for a multimode fiber having a pure silica core (OFS product GeoSil-MM), attenuation increased by less than 1 dB/km over the Raman band from 1014 to 1114 nm. By contrast, a multimode fiber with a Ge doped core showed an increase in attenuation of 300 dB/km at 1550 nm, and of 100 dB/km at 1060 nm. Further, the attenuation in a single mode fiber with a pure silica core (OFS product GeoSil-SM) increased by not more than 0.05 dB/km at 1550 nm under the same test conditions.
With respect to the effects of radiation on optical fibers including fibers doped with Ge, see E. J. Friebele et al., Development of Radiation-Hard Fiber for IFOGs, Optical Fiber Sensors, OSA Technical Digest (CD), Optical Society of America (2006), at www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OFS-2006-ME2, which is also incorporated by reference.
It will therefore be understood that when darkening agents in the environment act to increase the attenuation of light signals traveling in a sensor fiber, the length of the fiber that remains useful for transmitting signals representing a sensed condition to measurement equipment many kilometers from where the signals originate in the fiber, decreases. Accordingly, there is a need for a distributed environmental sensing optical fiber or cable whose useful length is not adversely affected by darkening agents in the environments where the cable is deployed.

Distributed environmental fiber optic sensor and system


A plumbing installation is provided which includes an outlet box, at least one water supply pipe extending into the box and a torque inhibiting connection between the pipe and a boiler drain valve positioned in the interior of the box. A compression nut is screwed over a male threaded lower shank of the boiler drain valve to compress a ferrule around the upper end of the water supply pipe. A male threaded cylindrical adapter is connected to, and extends downwardly from, the compression nut through a water supply hole in a bottom wall of the outlet box. The adapter surrounds the water supply pipe. A lock nut is screwed over the adapter and squeezes the bottom wall between the compression nut and the lock nut. When the water supply pipe is made of CPVC this installation prevents lateral movement and/or torquing of the pipe which could weaken or fracture chemical welds between a lower end of the CPVC pipe and a CPVC fitting.

The present invention relates to plumbing installations, and more particularly, to the installation of a wall mounted box for enclosing one or more valves which are rigidly mounted to a bottom wall of the box and connected to a CPVC water supply pipe in a manner that inhibits the transmission of torque to the CPVC pipe and its adhesively attached CPCV fitting, the torque resulting from manually turning a handwheel of the valve ON or OFF.
Local governing bodies typically mandate building codes, such as the Uniform Plumbing Code ("UPC"), that incorporate very specific regulations regarding plumbing installations. Such regulations usually specify in detail the installation necessary for enabling the proper connection of a washing machine to the hot and cold water lines and the waste system of a building. One widely used installation for this purpose utilizes a so-called washing machine outlet box. Such a box is typically molded from plastic and is installed in drywall so that it opens outwardly. Sometimes washing machine outlet boxes are made of sheet metal. A vertical drain/waste/vent ("DWV") pipe is coupled to a drain inlet opening in the center of a horizontal bottom wall of the box. The hook-shaped end of the outlet hose of the washing machine is inserted in the drain inlet opening. Hot and cold water supply pipes extend vertically through water supply holes in the bottom wall of the box on either side of the drain inlet opening. These water supply holes typically have a diameter that is substantially larger than the diameter of the water supply pipes so that the pipes are loosely mounted and are free to move laterally. Sometimes elastomeric grommets are seated in the water supply holes in the bottom wall and surround the water supply pipes. Typically a boiler drain valve with a compression type fitting is connected to the upper end of each water supply pipe. Female fittings on the ends of the hot and cold water hoses from the washing machine are screwed over the corresponding male fittings of the valves. The boiler drain valves for the hot and cold water supply can be independently turned ON and OFF by manually rotating valve handwheels.
The boiler drain valves utilized with a conventional washing machine outlet box are typically made of Brass so that they will resist corrosion. Where Copper water pipe is utilized, the end of each pipe extends through a ferrule which is seated inside a male threaded lower shank of the boiler drain valve. A compression nut is screwed tightly over the lower shank to compress the ferrule around the Copper pipe and insure a leak-proof connection. There is no need to secure the boiler drain valves directly to the bottom wall of the outlet box. This is because the Copper pipe is soldered to fittings which can withstand the torque resulting from turning the valves ON and OFF by manual rotation of the handwheels of the valves.
Recently CPVC plastic pipe has been widely utilized in residential construction. The upper ends of CPVC pipe are usually connected to standard boiler drain valves housed in a washing machine outlet box in the same manner as that described above in connection with Copper water pipe. However, in such an installation the lateral force and/or torque on the CPVC pipe which results from rotating the handwheel of a valve can weaken, damage or even break the solvent welded connection between the lower end of the CPVC pipe and a ninety degree angle CPVC fitting. This can in turn lead to water leaks behind the drywall that can result in substantial damage to the building structure. The installation of grommets that fit into the water supply holes in the bottom wall and surround the CPVC water supply pipes does not inhibit the transmission of torque to the pipes, which can damage solvent welded connections to the pipes.
In the past there have been attempts to overcome the foregoing problem of laterally moving and/or torquing of CPVC pipes connected to boiler drain valves in a washing machine outlet box. One approach has utilized a specially fabricated boiler drain valve with an extended male shank with male threads. The male shank can be inserted through the corresponding water supply hole in the bottom wall of the washing machine outlet box and secured thereto with a nut. This is a relatively expensive approach that requires a custom boiler drain valve not readily available to plumbers. Plumbers have screwed a transition fitting over the male shank of the valve in order to connect the CPVC water supply pipe to the valve. However, the transition fitting utilized has female tapered threads and was not intended to be screwed over the straight threads of the male threaded shank of the valve, which is designed for connecting Copper pipe. Therefore the joint between the transition fitting and the specially fabricated boiler drain valve frequently leaks.
Another approach to overcoming the CPVC torquing problem has utilized a standard boiler drain valve whose lower shank is screwed into a female adapter. The female adapter has an extended shank with male threads which can be inserted through the corresponding water supply hole in the bottom wall of the washing machine outlet box and secured thereto with a nut. This approach requires that a sealant be used to insure that the joint between the boiler drain valve and the female adapter is leak-proof. The sealant may be pipe joint compound or TEFLON (Trademark) sealing tape. In either case the application of the sealant adds time and cost to the installation. Furthermore, the female adapter has a lower male shank with straight threads. Once again plumbers have screwed a transition fitting over the male shank of the adapter in order to connect the CPVC water supply pipe to the adapter. However, the transition fitting utilized has female tapered threads and was not intended to be screwed over the straight threads of the male threaded shank of the adapter, which is designed for connecting Copper pipe. Therefore the joint between the transition fitting and the female adapter frequently leaks.
It is also conventional to utilize a molded plastic outlet box to mount a water supply valve in a recessed manner in a kitchen wall for connecting a water supply line to an ice maker of a refrigerator. The typical ice maker outlet box is smaller than the typical washing machine outlet box. The ice maker box encloses only one valve and has no drain. One type of valve frequently utilized in an ice maker outlet box is similar to a boiler drain valve except that instead of a male fitting for connecting a washing machine outlet hose, the valve has a compression type fitting for connecting one-quarter inch Copper or plastic tubing from the ice maker. Presently it is common practice for plumbers to install one-half inch CPVC pipe so that it extends loosely through a hole in the bottom wall of the ice maker outlet box much in the same way that CPVC pipe is conventionally connected to boiler drain valves in a washing machine outlet box. The CPVC water supply pipe is connected to the male threaded lower shank of the valve in the ice maker outlet box, but the valve is not anchored to the bottom wall of the ice maker outlet box. When the handwheel of the valve is turned, the CPVC pipe is torqued, which can weaken or damage its adhesive connection with a CVPC fitting.

Washing machine or ice maker outlet box installation with torque inhibiting water supply connection


In relation to reading of data in a memory, it is an object to provide a semiconductor device mounted with a low power consumption memory. A semiconductor device including a word line, a bit line, and a memory cell electrically connected to the word line and the bit line, further includes a precharge circuit for making the bit line have an electric potential for reading data stored in the memory cell. The precharge circuit is provided for each bit line and connected to the bit line. Further, the precharge circuit is capable of making each bit line have an electric potential for reading the data stored in the memory cell for each bit line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor devices. In particular, the present invention relates to semiconductor devices each mounted with a memory. Further, the present invention relates to electronic devices mounted with the semiconductor devices
2. Description of the Related Art
Regarding a semiconductor device mounted with a memory, the performance of the memory is extremely important because the performance of the semiconductor device depends on it. For example, as to a semiconductor device mounted with a CPU and a memory, commands to be processed by the CPU and data necessary for the processing need to be stored in the memory. Further, processing by the CPU is progressed by sequential reading of the data in the memory. In other words, as to a semiconductor device mounted with a CPU and a memory, in order to achieve higher performance, the CPU needs to be able to handle more complicated processes, and this requires a high-capacity memory. Furthermore, as for a semiconductor device mounted with a memory, the power consumption of the memory accounts for much of the power consumption of the semiconductor device, in many cases.
In Reference 1 (Hiroki Dembo, et al. "RFCPUs on Glass and Plastic Substrates fabricated by TFT Transfer Technology" IEEE, TECHNICAL DIGEST OF INTERNATIONAL ELECTRON DEVICES MEETING, Dec. 5, 2005, pp. 1067-1069), which one of the present inventors co-wrote, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) device (hereinafter referred to as RFID) mounted with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory is disclosed as an example of a semiconductor device mounted with a memory. For such an RFID, performance of achieving both increase in memory capacity and reduction in power consumption, which is difficult to be achieved, is required in order to achieve higher performance.

Semiconductor device and electronic device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The invention is related to video compression systems, and in particular to compression/decompression in digital video systems. The present invention discloses a method for compensating the rounding and truncation error when calculating ½ and ¼ position pixels for motion vector prediction. According to the invention, the rounding/truncation offset is attenuated by properly shifting up or down the result of the calculation of the ½ position pixel values. A method alternating occurrences of converting up and converting down interpolated pixel values to nearest integers in the cases where the pixel values are decimals with fractions of 0.5. In a preferred embodiment, each motion vector is assigned either a first or a second notation, so that converting up or down in a predicted block depends on the assignment of the motion vector corresponding to the prediction block. The present invention is particularly useful in the coding standard H.264/AVC.

Transmission of moving pictures in real-time is employed in several applications like e.g. video conferencing, net meetings, TV broadcasting and video telephony.
However, representing moving pictures requires bulk information as digital video typically is described by representing each pixel in a picture with 8 bits (1 Byte). Such uncompressed video data results in large bit volumes, and can not be transferred over conventional communication networks and transmission lines in real time due to limited bandwidth.
Thus, enabling real time video transmission requires a large extent of data compression. Data compression may, however, compromise with picture quality. Therefore, great efforts have been made to develop compression techniques allowing real time transmission of high quality video over bandwidth limited data connections.
In video compression systems, the main goal is to represent the video information with as little capacity as possible. Capacity is defined with bits, either as a constant value or as bits/time unit. In both cases, the main goal is to reduce the number of bits.
The most common video coding method is described in the MPEG* and H.26* standards, all of which using block based prediction from previously encoded and decoded pictures.
The video data undergo four main processes before transmission, namely prediction, transformation, quantization and entropy coding.
The prediction process significantly reduces the amount of bits required for each picture in a video sequence to be transferred. It takes advantage of the similarity of parts of the sequence with other parts of the sequence. Since the predictor part is known to both encoder and decoder, only the difference has to be transferred. This difference typically requires much less capacity for its representation. The prediction is mainly based on picture content from previously reconstructed pictures where the location of the content is defined by motion vectors.
In a typical video sequence, the content of a present block M would be similar to a corresponding block in a previously decoded picture. If no changes have occurred since the previously decoded picture, the content of M would be equal to a block of the same location in the previously decoded picture. In other cases, an object in the picture may have been moved so that the content of M is more equal to a block of a different location in the previously decoded picture. Such movements are represented by motion vectors (V). As an example, a motion vector of (3; 4) means that the content of M has moved 3 pixels to the left and 4 pixels upwards since the previously decoded picture.
A motion vector associated with a block is determined by executing a motion search. The search is carried out by consecutively comparing the content of the block with blocks in previous pictures of different spatial offsets. The offset relative to the present block associated with the comparison block having the best match compared with the present block, is determined to be the associated motion vector.
In H.262, H.263, MPEG1, MPEG2 the same concept is extended so that motion vectors also can take ½ pixel values. A vector component of 5.5 then imply that the motion is midway between 5 and 6 pixels. More specifically the prediction is obtained by taking the average between the pixel representing a motion of 5 and the pixel representing a motion of 6. This is called a 2-tap filter due to the operation on 2 pixels to obtain prediction of a pixel in between. Motion vectors of this kind are often referred to as having fractional pixel resolution or fractional motion vectors. All filter operations can be defined by an impulse response. The operation of averaging 2 pixels can be expressed with an impulse response of (½, ½). Similarly, averaging over 4 pixels implies an impulse response of (¼,¼,¼,¼).

Method for correcting interpolated pixel values


Williams syndrome (WS) is a developmental disorder that includes poor visuospatial constructive cognition. This syndrome has been studied to identify genes important for human cognitive development. Two families are described which have a partial WS phenotype; affected members have the specific WS cognitive profile and vascular disease, but lack other WS features. Submicroscopic chromosome 7q11.23 deletions cosegregate with this phenotype in both families. DNA sequence analyses of the region affected by the smallest (83.6 kb) deletion revealed two genes, elastin (ELN) and LIM-kinasel (LIMK1). The latter encodes a novel protein kinase with LIM domains and is strongly expressed in the brain. Because ELN mutations cause vascular disease but not cognitive abnormalities, these data implicate LIMK1 hemizygosity in impaired visuospatial constructive cognition.

The publications and other materials used herein to illuminate the background of the invention, and in particular, cases to provide additional details respecting the practice, are incorporated by reference, and for convenience are referenced in the following text by author and are listed alphabetically by author in the appended bibliography.
The ability to visualize an object (or picture) as a set of parts and construct a replica of the object from those parts is known as visuospatial constructive cognition. Neuroanatomical studies in humans and animals suggest that neurons in the posterior parietal cortex are critical for this process (Capruso et al., 1995). This cognitive function is likely mediated by a network of neurons capable of parallel processing. The molecular mechanisms underlying development of these networks, however, are not understood.
Williams syndrome (WS) is a complex developmental disorder that includes a specific cognitive profile (WSCP) characterized by relative strength in language and auditory rote memory and pronounced weakness in visuospatial constructive cognition (Udwin et al., 1987; Morris et al., 1988; Dilts et al., 1990; Bellugi et al., 1994; Mervis and Bertrand, in press; Mervis et al., in press). Additional features of WS include congenital heart and vascular disease, dysmorphic facial features, infantile hypercalcemia, mental retardation, and a characteristic personality. Most individuals with WS have mild or moderate mental retardation (mean IQ ranging from 55-60), but some have borderline normal intelligence or severe mental retardation. The characteristic personality includes excessive friendliness, loquaciousness, oversensitivity to the feelings of others, and extreme anxiety to please. This combination of features results in a remarkable phenotype that is readily distinguished from other disorders involving mental retardation. The incidence of WS is estimated to be 1 in 20,000 live births.
The visuospatial constructive cognitive deficit observed in WS is best demonstrated by tasks involving pattern construction. Performance of these tasks depends on an individual's ability to see an object in terms of a set of parts specified by the researcher and then use those parts to construct a replica of the pictured object. Specifically, individuals are shown a picture of a block design and must construct the corresponding pattern using cubes of varying colors and designs. Individuals with WS typically have difficulty constructing even simple patterns, such as a checkerboard consisting of four cubes. As a result, individuals with WS have marked difficulty in tasks involving the use of a pattern to assemble an object (e.g. building a model or assembling a simple piece of furniture).
Approximately 77% of individuals with WS have clinically apparent supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS), an obstructive vascular disease (Lowery et al., 1995). SVAS can be inherited as part of WS or as an isolated, autosomal dominant trait (Curran et al, 1993; Ewart et al., 1993b; Morris et al., 1993; Ewart et al., 1994). SVAS may be associated with some connective tissue abnormalities seen in WS, but other WS features are not observed. In particular, autosomal dominant SVAS is not associated with impaired visuospatial constructive cognition. Recently, genetic linkage and mutational analyses were used to show that mutations in elastin (ELN) cause autosomal dominant SVAS (Ewart et al., 1993a; Curran et al., 1993; Morris et al., 1993; Ewart et al., 1994). Known SVAS-associated mutations in ELN include a translocation, an intragenic deletion, and missense and nonsense mutations (Curran et al., 1993; Olson et al., 1995; unpublished data).
Because there is a phenotypic link between SVAS and WS, it was hypothesized that mutations involving ELN might also contribute to WS. It was discovered that WS results from submicroscopic deletions of chromosome 7q11.23 (Ewart et al., 1993a). Inherited or de novo deletion of one ELN allele was identified in 239 of 240 WS individuals (Ewart et al., 1993a; Lowery et al., 1995; and our unpublished data). These data indicated that ELN mutations cause isolated, autosomal dominant SVAS and that hemizygosity at the ELN locus is responsible for vascular pathology in WS. ELN hemizygosity may also account for some connective tissue abnormalities observed in individuals with autosomal dominant SVAS or WS, including premature aging of skin, some WS facial features, diverticulosis of the bladder and colon, hoarse voice, hernias and joint abnormalities. ELN mutations, however, do not account for all features of WS and are not the cause of impaired visuospatial constructive cognition. Because genomic deletions responsible for WS extend well beyond the ELN locus (unpublished data), it was hypothesized that WS is a contiguous gene deletion syndrome (Ewart et al., 1993a).
Here is reported the identification and characterization of two families with a partial WS phenotype, consisting of SVAS, some WS facial features, and impaired visuospatial constructive cognition, but lacking other features of this disorder. Affected members of these families harbor smaller chromosomal deletions (83.6 and .about.300 kb) than those identified in individuals with classic WS (>500 kb), an observation that supports the hypothesis that WS is a contiguous gene deletion syndrome (Ewart et al., 1993a; Gilbert-Dussardier et al., 1995). DNA sequence analyses of the 83.6 kb deletion region have revealed, in addition to ELN, LIM-kinasel (LIMK1), a gene which encodes a protein kinase with LIM domains (Mizuno et al., 1994; Bernard et al., 1994). No other genes were identified in the region. Northern and in situ hybridization analyses indicate that LIMK1 is strongly expressed in discrete regions of the brain. Because ELN mutations cause vascular disease but not cognitive abnormalities, these data indicate that LIMK1 hemizygosity contributes to impaired visuospatial constructive cognition in WS.

Diagnosis of Williams syndrome and Williams syndrome cognitive profile by analysis of the presence or absence of a LIM-kinase gene


It is an object to reduce the region of a photoelectric conversion element which light does not reach, to suppress deterioration of power generation efficiency, and to suppress manufacturing cost of a voltage conversion element. The present invention relates to a transmissive photoelectric conversion device which includes a photoelectric conversion element including an n-type semiconductor layer, an intrinsic semiconductor layer, and a p-type semiconductor layer; a voltage conversion element which is overlapped with the photoelectric conversion element and which includes an oxide semiconductor film for a channel formation region; and a conductive element which electrically connects the photoelectric conversion element and the voltage conversion element. The photoelectric conversion element is a solar cell. The voltage conversion element includes a transistor having a channel formation region including an oxide semiconductor film. The voltage conversion element is a DC-DC converter.

1. Field of the Invention
One embodiment of the disclosed invention relates to a photoelectric conversion device and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one of photoelectric conversion elements which directly convert received light into power by a photovoltaic effect to output the power, a solar cell can be given (see Patent Document 1). A solar cell needs no energy conversion from received light into thermal energy or kinetic energy in generating power, which is different from a conventional power generation method.
Further, a photoelectric conversion device which has a solar cell and a converter circuit, which converts direct-current (DC) power generated by the solar cell, provided on a non-light receiving surface of the solar cell or the like has attracted attention as a small or middle-sized solar photovoltaic system or an emergency electric supply unit (see Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3).
As such a converter circuit, a DC-DC converter (direct current—direct current converter), a DC-AC converter (direct current—alternating current converter), or the like can be given, for example (see Patent Document 4 or Patent Document 5)
However, the converter circuit is formed using, for example, a power MOS, IGBT, a Schottky-barrier diode, or the like, so that manufacturing cost is high. Further, it is unfortunately possible that the photoelectric conversion device including the converter circuit cannot be thinner because the converter circuit is thick (see Patent Document 2).
Moreover, the converter circuit needs to be provided with a heat radiation structure to prevent reduction in power conversion efficiency due to a temperature increase (see Patent Document 3). Accordingly, it is difficult to make a photoelectric conversion device including the converter circuit thinner.

Photoelectric conversion device and manufacturing method thereof

SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.


A display unit suspended adjacent to and backlit by a ceiling mounted light fixture, including a plurality of display material panels, each with a peripheral mounting flange. The display unit is mounted with a plurality of slotted openings on the panels which permit attachment of the mounting flange with a suitable mounting member using spring clips.

The present invention relates to advertising and display signs and more particularly to such signs suspended from overhead lighting fixtures.
In many retail establishments, such as food stores, department stores, variety stores, shopping malls and the like, point-of-sale advertising is common. This advertising usually takes the form of a variety of display signs containing visual advertising media located at or adjacent a particular sales area. However, often the lack of space limits the amount of advertising which may be used in a particular location. In an effort to overcome this shortcoming, advertising and display material is hung from the ceiling or light fixtures in an attempt to gain a customer's attention.
Examples of the known prior art are shown in the U.S. Pat. Nos. to Lindsey (156,203), Shurette (4,075,775) Bellkin (4,136,474), Drueck, Jr. (4,290,218), Cobb (4,528,764) and Gross (4,716,671). All of these patents show various embodiments of illuminated overhead signs or advertising displays which are suspended from or mounted adjacent to overhead lighting units which backlight the display material. For example, the patents to Lindsey and Bellkin show display units which are hung from the lighting fixture. The patent to Gross is an advertising cover to fit directly over a fluorescent lighting fixture. The patents to Cobb, Drueck, Jr. and Shurette are display modules which are connected directly to the gridwork of a suspended ceiling adjacent a lighting fixture.
The present invention represents an improved lighting fixture display, which can be attached directly to the suspended ceiling grid adjacent a ceiling mounted lighting fixture or suspended from a fluorescent light tube fixture using an improved mounting system. In the preferred embodiments, the sign is formed of a geometric display portion, including display panels structured to support transparent or translucent display material in a position adjacent the light source in order to backlight the display for viewing purposes. In one preferred embodiment, the display module is triangular in cross-section, and is formed of a pair of side display windows and a pair of end display windows. The upper portion of the display unit includes a peripheral mounting flange which includes at least two slotted openings along each longitudinal side for the purpose of locating and receiving spring-mounted clips which attach the unit directly to the ceiling mounted grid or to a suitable mounting member. The display unit may also include one or two slotted openings along the end edges of the mounting flange which also accommodate mounting spring clips.
Other embodiments of the invention use mounts which are hung over a suspended light fixture which permit the display unit to be either mounted with its longitudinal axis parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fixture. Still another embodiment permits the mounting of the display unit to a flush mounted fluorescent ceiling fixture.
Among the objects of the present invention are the provision of an advertising and/or display unit which is easily hung from an overhead light fixture to provide improved visibility in a commercial sales environment. Another object is the provision of an advertising or display unit which is easily attached or removed from an overhead lighting fixture without requiring permanent installation. Still another object is the provision of an advertising and display unit which makes use of light provided by an overhead light fixture to backlight display material to provide increased visibility to customers without the necessity of an additional light source. Still another object is the provision of an advertising and display unit which may be interchangeably used within ceiling mounted lighting fixtures in a suspended ceiling grid system, or with a ceiling mounted fluorescent light system.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The objectives and advantages of the invention will be realized and obtained by means of the elements, limitations and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate several embodiments of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles thereof.


A steering column may include an outer casing unit in which an inner casing tube that rotatably mounts a steering shaft is received such that the inner casing tube is displaceable and fixable in an axial direction. An energy absorption device operatively disposed between the casing tube and the casing unit may absorb at least some energy in a crash event where the casing tube is telescopically displaced relative to the casing unit. The energy absorption device may include a deformation strip fastened to but spaced apart from the casing tube, fixed in a radial direction by a spacer on the casing tube, to which deformation strip a deformation slide that is connected to the casing unit is disposed. The deformation slide may encompass and jam outer narrow sides of the deformation strip such that the deformation slide deforms the deformation strip in a crash event.

A steering column for a motor vehicle is known from DE 10 2011 015 140 A1, for example. A deformation slide that serves as a brake in the crash event is pulled over the deformation strip which herein is squeezed and deformed. The deformation strip has a raised web which guarantees that the deformation strip is spaced apart from and supported on the casing tube, and in the crash event prevents that the deformation strip flexes and is pushed out of the deformation slide. The configuration of the web on the deformation strip is undesirable since said web compromises the freedom of design in the construction of the deformation strip.
Thus a need exists for a steering column for motor vehicles that may comprise an energy absorption device that provides an alternative support of an deformation strip.

Steering column comprising an energy absorption device for a motor vehicle


A method of extruding a foamed plastic layer into a fabric carrier that relies on the use of dual expanding agents, a dispersed gas generant and thermally expandable micro-spheres. Upon deposit of the foaming melt onto the carrier, the composite textile is passed through a rotating gate wherein the expanding foam is contained between a roller and the carrier. Penetration and engagement of the foaming matrix with the carrier is thereby enhanced. The resulting product is resilient with good compression rebound.

This invention relates to the field of textiles. In particular, it relates to textiles wherein a polymeric xe2x80x9cplasticxe2x80x9d layer is bonded to a fabric substrate, and the plastic layer is in the form of a foamed matrix.
In the production of plastic coated textiles, the product has customarily been made by one of the following alternate procedures:
1) casting a molten plastic layer onto a fabric carrier;
2) bonding a pre-formed plastic layer onto a fabric carrier by calendering and/or use of adhesives; and
3) extruding a molten plastic layer onto a fabric carrier.
When it has been intended to provide a plastic layer that is xe2x80x9cfoamedxe2x80x9d and resilient due to included gas-filled cells or voids, it has been customary to create the expanded plastic matrix in two stages. First a plastic layer containing a blowing agent in a quiescent state is cast onto a fabric carrier. Then the formed composite textile is exposed to heat which causes gas to evolve within the plastic layerxe2x80x94the process of xe2x80x9cblowingxe2x80x9d.
A disadvantage of this latter process is that the level of heat that is required to activate the blowing agent will cause carrier components in many types of fabric carriers to fuse, e.g. polyethylene will fuse at 175xc2x0 F., whereas various types of chemical blowing agents require a temperature in excess of 300xc2x0 F. to create foaming conditions.
Attempts have been made to incorporate a blowing agent into an extruded plastic to form a foamed plastic layer. However, with the use of conventional chemical blowing agents, this process produces often a textile wherein the foamed polymeric layer lacks resistance to crushing and results in a flattened polymeric layer that has almost no or little foam voids left in the structure after crushing. In a standard extrusion procedure, a chilled calendaring roll presses the extruded sheet of a melt into a fabric carrier and sets, and bonds, the plastic layer with the textile. Extruded textiles prepared with typical classic blowing agents have typically lacked the resilience to recover sufficiently from this compression step to provide a satisfactorily foamed textile.
A need exists for a foamed plastic composite textile that is formed on a permeable carrier, e.g. a woven, knitted or non-woven fabric, with a low fusing temperature, while exhibiting good recovery or resilience in response to applied pressure. This invention addresses this need as well as providing other advantages.
The invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. The invention in its broadest and more specific forms will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims which conclude this Specification.
According to one aspect of the invention, a method of producing a foamed sheet textile is provided:
1) extruding a heated, extrudable polymeric melt from a linear extrusion die in the form of a sheet with two faces, the melt containing as expanding agents:
1) a first extrusion activated gas source dispersed within said melt; and
2) thermally expandable micro-spheres having encapsulating shells each containing compressed gas and being dispersed within said melt
2) allowing the expanding agents to commence to expand, with the gas source generating gases to form a compressible foamed matrix in the melt and the micro-capsules expanding into resilient, compression resistant micro-spheres suspended within said foamed matrix, thereby providing a foaming melt;
3) depositing the foaming melt onto the surface of a permeable carrier that is in sheet form and into the surface of which the foaming melt partially penetrates; and
4) allowing the foaming melt so formed to set to provide a resilient, compression-resistant, foamed plastic/polymeric layer that is bonded to the carrier to form the resulting textile.
Preferably, the extrusion melt, upon being laid-down on the permeable carrier, is carried on the carrier through a rotating gate defined by a gap between two rollers, one of the rollers being cooled to set the melt. This establishes a constant height for the foamed layer on the textile. The roller delivering the carrier may be powered, and the second cooled roller may be traction-driven off of the powered roller by end-rims extending from the second roller.
The resulting product of the invention is a textile having a permeable carrier into the surface of which the foamed plastic layer has expanded while still molten and while the expanding agents, and particularly the encapsulated expanding agent, is still expanding. Thus, the boundary surface of the carrier is at least partially embedded within the foamed plastic/polymeric layer. Expansion of the foaming layer both above and within the carrier may continue after the formed textile exits the rotating gate, and particularly while the foaming melt is confined between the carrier and the second of the two rollers for an interval of rotation of the second roller.
By inclusion of thermally expandable micro-spheres in the melt the foamed plastic layer contains inclusions of thermally expanded hollow micro-spheres having encapsulating shells that are resiliently compressible. This enhances the crushability of the textile.
An advantage of this process is that polymers like PVC, polypropylene, polyethylene and other conventional polymers may be used to provide the foamed plastic layer.
Further, a textile may be produced with an integrally-formed skin region present at it""s polymer surface, the skin region containing less voids than the intermediate region of the foamed layer lying between the skin region and the carrier. This is accomplished by cooling the extrusion die through which the melt is extruded and/or cooling the roller that contacts the foaming melt as such melt passes through and beyond the gap of the rotating gate.
An advantage of this process is that a textile can be produced at lower temperatures wherein the carrier would otherwise plastically deform at temperatures above, for example, 300 degrees Fahrenheit, or even 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
To produce the textile, the extruder is fed with a composition suitable for generating a foamed polymer comprising:
1) at least one expandable thermoplastic polymer capable of being extruded;
2) a first thermally activated gas generant dispersed within said polymer; and
3) thermally expandable resiliently compressible micro-spheres, disbursed within said polymer;
said generant and micro-spheres being capable on heating of expanding said polymer.

Method of making an expaned extruded polymeric textile


A paint filling apparatus has a plurality of header portions, and one common manifold portion that is capable of supplying a cleaning liquid to each header portion. One side of each header portion is attachable to and detachable from a paint cartridge, and another side of each header portion is attachable to and detachable from the common manifold portion. Each header portion has a paint supply channel for filling a paint into the paint cartridge. The paint supply channel of each header portion is constructed of a piping member and a paint channel. An end portion of each header portion is linkable in communication with the inside of the paint cartridge, and another end portion thereof is linked in communication with a corresponding one of paint tanks that are provided separately for each of the paint colors. An intermediate portion of each paint supply channel is provided with a paint valve that controls the open-closed state of the upstream side of the paint supply channel.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a technology of a paint filling apparatus that fills a paint into a paint cartridge for use in an electrostatic painting machine. More concretely, the invention relates to a technology for providing an economical and compact paint filling apparatus that is used to fill a paint cartridge with a paint of a color that is arbitrarily selected from a plurality of color paints.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, the painting of bodies of motor vehicles and the like, due to its requirement for high painting quality, employs electrostatic painting machines that are excellent in the efficiency of adhesion of paint to painting surfaces, the smoothness of paint films after the painting process, etc. A widely known example of the electrostatic painting machines is a rotary atomizing head type painting machine. The rotary atomizing head type painting machine is equipped with a rotary atomizing head for atomizing a water base paint, a plurality of paint cartridges that are filled with paints of different colors, etc. To perform painting of an object to be painted, a paint cartridge filled with a paint of a designated color is selected. Then, the paint filled in the paint cartridge is jetted out via rotary atomizing heads, so that paint particles are atomized, and accomplish the painting. When the paint in the paint cartridge runs out, the paint cartridge is attached to a paint filling apparatus, and is thereby replenished with the paint. Thus, the rotary atomizing head type painting machine becomes able to carry out the painting again.
Incidentally, in the paint filling apparatus, it is necessary that a paint arbitrary selected from a plurality of paints of different colors be filled into the paint cartridge. If a connecting portion, between the paint filling apparatus and a paint cartridge (an opening for supplying paint into the paint cartridge) is provided only at one site regardless of the color of paint, the paint loss (an amount of paint that is not filled into the paint cartridge but is discarded) increases. That is, the connecting portion is linked in communication with a selected one of paint supply sources that are provided separately for each of colors of paints, via a supply channel whose intermediate portion has a plurality of branch channels. Therefore, in a construction in which the connecting portion is provided only at one site, when a "color changing operation" regarding the paint in the paint cartridge is performed, the entire region in the supply channel from the paint supply source to the connecting portion needs to be washed, and the amount of paint remaining in the supply channel is discarded as a paint loss.
In order to reduce the paint loss, there has been proposed a technology of a paint filling apparatus equipped with a plurality of paint supply portions that correspond to individual paint colors. An example of such an apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B.
A paint filling apparatus 201 is equipped with a plurality of manifold portions (paint supply portions) 202 for individual colors of paints. Besides, each manifold portion 202 is composed of a body portion 202A, an actuator 202B provided on a lower surface of the body portion 202A, etc. The body portion 202A is provided with a plurality of electromagnetic valves (a trigger valve 203, a paint valve 204, a cleaning liquid valve 205, an air valve 206, a waste liquid valve 207, an extrusion liquid supply valve 208, an extrusion liquid discharge valve 209, etc.). These valves 203, 204, . . . , 209 are connected to intermediate portions of supply channels connected to various supply sources, such as a paint tank, a cleaning liquid tank, an extrusion liquid tank, etc., and to an intermediate portion of a discharge channel connected to a waste liquid tank, etc.
In each common manifold portion 202, an upper surface of the body portion 202A has a support end surface 202a that is attachable to and detachable from a lower surface of a paint cartridge 10. Via the support end surface 202a, the paint cartridge 10 is firmly held on the upper surface of the body portion 202A. Besides, in each common manifold portion 202, the body portion 202A is movable in up-down directions by the actuator 202B.
When the paint cartridge 10 is to be filled with a paint, the paint cartridge 10 is firstly moved in the horizontal direction (the direction of an arrow X shown in FIG. 5A) by a conveyor device 254, and is conveyed to a position over a manifold portion 202 that deals with the selected color paint. When the paint cartridge reaches the position over the manifold portion 202, the body portion 202A of the manifold portion 202 is raised (in the direction of an arrow Y) via the actuator 202B, as shown in FIG. 5B. Then, via the support end surface 202a, the manifold portion 202 and the paint cartridge 10 are linked. After that, via the manifold portion 202, the paint starts to be filled into the paint cartridge 10.
Incidentally, as for paint filling apparatuses equipped with paint supply portions separately for each of colors of paints, various apparatuses other than the foregoing paint filling apparatus 201 have also been proposed (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-176328 (JP-A-2000-176328), Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-96002 (JP-A-2002-96002), and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-200664 (JP-A-4-200664)).
According to the paint filling apparatus equipped with paint supply portions provided separately for each of colors of paints, it is possible to reduce the amount of paint discarded (the amount of paint loss) at the time of changing colors, in comparison with a paint filling apparatus that has only one site of connection with a paint cartridge as described above. In particular, according to the technologies shown in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-176328 (JP-A-2000-176328), Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-96002 (JP-A-2002-96002) or Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-200664 (JP-A-4-200664), it is also possible to shorten the time required for the "color changing operation" as well as reduce the amount of paint discarded (paint loss) at the time of the "color changing operation". However, as for the paint filling apparatus equipped with paint supply portions separately for individual colors of paints, since a plurality of common manifold portions are disposed separately for each of colors of paints, the paint filling apparatus as a whole becomes large in size, requiring a large space for installation. Besides, the overall cost for the paint filling apparatus is considerably high.


The breakout cable is made up of an arrangement of optical fiber ribbon structures. Arranged above and/or below the optical fibers in each of the ribbon structures are strength members which are preferably made of an aramid fiber, such as KEVLAR. The combined optical fibers and strength members are surrounded by a sheath, which is preferably made of a suitable plastic, such as a material selected from the group consisting of polyolefin, PVC, low smoke PVC, EVA, FEP, PVDF, and thermoplastic fluoropolymers, thereby forming the high strength, sheathed optical fiber ribbon structure arrangement. A plurality of these individually sheathed ribbon structures can be stacked to form higher density ribbon bundles, or subunits, which can be further surrounded by sheaths. Similarly, a large numbers of such high density ribbon bundle subunits can be combined within a protective sheath to form cables which can be pulled through risers and plenums in the construction of premises, such as apartment buildings or commercial buildings, or used in appropriate indoor/outdoor applications. Accordingly, even as subunits are broken out of the cables, and as ribbon structures are broken out of the subunits, the optical fibers will still be surrounded by high strength members which will help protect them from breakage.

The present invention relates to cables used for indoor and/or outdoor applications. In particular, the present invention relates to a high density breakout cable used for the cabling or "wiring" of fiber optic cables through a premises or commercial building.
In the wiring of premises, such as apartment and commercial buildings, with optical fiber cables, it is common to use a cabling system in which many cables enter the premises and individual cables are broken out for use in individual premises within the building.
Heretofore, it has been known to use a high density breakout cable system as a means for wiring such premises. The fiber optic cables (called "breakout cables") which were used were typically available in spools which could be pulled through the building in a standard manner. Problems which existed with breakout cables are that they are subjected to a number of different stresses. These include the act of pulling the cables through the premises, e.g., through plenums and risers, which places stress upon the cable system and which can cause breakage or damage to the optical fibers within the cable system. Other stresses include environmental stresses, bending stresses, and others well known to those skilled in the art.

High density riser and plenum breakout cables for indoor and outdoor cable applications


A microfluidic liquid stream configuration system is provided including providing a substrate; forming a first co-planar electrode and a second co-planar electrode on the substrate; applying a dielectric layer, with a controlled surface energy, on the first co-planar electrode and the second co-planar electrode; forming an input reservoir on the first co-planar electrode and a second co-planar electrode; supplying a liquid in the input reservoir for analysis; and imposing an electric field, an electric field gradient, or a combination thereof on the liquid for respectively driving surface charge or dipole moments in the liquid for configuring a liquid stream.

There are clinical and analytical chemistry applications that require precise manipulation of small liquid samples. For example, the analysis of a whole blood specimen may require several manipulations including separation of erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets from plasma; dispensing the plasma to one or more reaction volumes; mixing reagents; incubating plasma and reagent mixtures; and performing optical or electrochemical measurement of the treated samples. In addition, advanced protocols may require separating different plasma proteins.
Depending on the overall system requirements, the analyte or liquid movement may be driven by a pressure or displacement source, capillary forces, electroosmotic forces, thermocapillary forces, magnetohydrodynamic forces, centrifugal forces, acoustic energy, or electrophoresis. In many of these applications, the pumps, power supplies, valves, motors, and other hardware needed to implement a complete system are much larger and more expensive than the microfluidic component.
Several technologies have been developed in an effort to minimize sample volume and integrate more system functions within a single device. In one, droplets are immersed in a second dielectric (e.g., water droplets surrounded by a working fluid with a lower dielectric constant) employing a plurality of segmented planar electrodes arranged on top and bottom of a liquid housing.
In another, planar electrodes are used to move a drop of fluid from one electrode to the other. Forces of electrical origin cause the droplet movement. In some cases, depending on the properties of the liquid in the droplet and surrounding working fluid, and the characteristics of the electrode arrangement and excitation frequency, the net effect may be an observable change in contact angle at the tri-phase contact line between a solid, the droplet, and the working fluid. This contact angle change is termed "electrowetting."
The use of electrical forces has been demonstrated by non-capillary rising of an essentially non-conductive liquid between two metal plates partially immersed in the fluid, one at ground and the other one at a high voltage. As seen in equation (1), the electrical force density on a piece-wise uniform incompressible linear dielectric liquid, fe, is generated by either the presence of a charge density, ρ, driven by an electric field, Ē; or by the action of the gradient of the scalar Ē·Ē (i.e., the square of the electric field magnitude) on a polarizable material with a dielectric constant ∈r relative to the permittivity of free space, ∈0. The first term in (1) is the Coulombic force density and the second term is the Kelvin polarization force density (also known as the dielectrophoretic force density on the liquid).
                              f          e                =                              ρ                                                                                E              _                                +                                    1              2                                                                  ɛ                o                                                          (                                                      ɛ                    r                                    -                  1                                )                                                                ∇                              (                                                      E                    _                                    ·                                      E                    _                                                  )                                                                        (        1        )
For a liquid with spatially uniform properties, the Kelvin polarization force density can only be generated when the geometry of the electrodes establishes an electric field gradient in the liquid. In a conductive liquid with a short dielectric relaxation time compared to the period of the voltage excitation waveform, internal electric fields and electric field gradients are reduced. In the limit of a perfect conductor, the internal field is null. Thus, as the conductivity of the liquid is increased, internal fields are reduced, and charge accumulates at material interface regions. In such cases, Coulombic forces acting on the surface charge at material interfaces are the primary contributors to the electrical force density.
Another technology relies on liquid actuation provided by the Kelvin polarization force (liquid dielectrophoresis). In that case, low to moderate conductivity liquids are handled by modulating the electric field such that the period of the applied voltage oscillations is much smaller than the characteristic relaxation time for the system.
Generally, these technologies require the use of an immiscible working fluid surrounding aqueous droplets (e.g., octyl alcohol and silicon oil, respectively) for best results. Partitioning of chemical constituents from the droplets to the surrounding working fluid is a concern for these two technologies.
In further technologies, co-planar electrode strips covered by a thin dielectric are used as a means for generating a "dielectrophoretic liquid finger" and a string of droplets when the electric field is removed. In these technologies the cross-sectional shape of the finger changed depending on the applied frequency of the field.
Thus, a need still remains for a microfluidic liquid stream configuration system, for biochemical assay analysis, that is capable of dynamically configuring a liquid stream using no moving parts and a minimum of external components. Such system would enable implementing complex biochemical or molecular chemistry analyses in a compact and inexpensive system, making it ideally suitable for point-of-care diagnostics or for home-based diagnostics. Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.

Microfluidic liquid stream configuration system


A booster circuit is provided that inhibits the operation of a foldback cent limited power supply during its turn-on phase so that a load may be power to its full output voltage and at the same time retain foldback current limiting during normal operation so that the benefits of short circuit protection are retained.

1.0 Field of the Invention
The invention relates to power supplies and, more particularly, to a booster circuit for foldback current limited power supply that prevents the foldback current limited power supply from operating during its turn-on phase.
2.0 Description of the Prior Art
Modern power supply engineering design practice requires that provision for short circuit protection be present. Foldback current limiting is a form of control that has the advantage of reducing a short circuit current to considerably less than a predetermined maximum current that can be supplied by the power supply. Power supplies having foldback current limiting and/or current limiting capabilities are well known and some of which are described in the following nine (9) U.S. Patents, all of which are herein incorporated by reference: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,345,554; 3,723,774; 3,753,079; 4,587,476; 4,658,201; 4,660,122; 4,791,544; 5,578,916 and 5,666,044.
The result of foldback current limiting is that the maximum power dissipation of the power supply components, which occurs during short circuit conditions, is reduced. The reduced maximum power dissipation allows for smaller power transistors and heat sinks which translates into reduced power supply size and cost. However, the foldback current limiting technique has its disadvantages.
Power supplies incorporating foldback current limiting cannot attain their rated output voltage when presented with a predominantly constant current load and when this load is any reasonable fraction of the full rated output current of the power supply. Constant current loading is prevalent in the design practice as many analog circuits of the operational amplifier type present this load. Therefore, any design that incorporates a large array of operational amplifiers of this type, and where this array is a predominant portion of the total load of the power supply, and where this load makes efficient use of the power supply by being a reasonable fraction of the maximum power rating of the power supply, needs to incorporate special provisions for dealing with a foldback current limiting. These special provisions may be further described with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 depicts the model operating characteristic of a foldback current limited power supply. FIG. 1 represents a graph of output voltage, V.sub.O, versus output current I.sub.O ; time is not a factor in FIG. 1; it is merely a depiction of the various steady state operating conditions of the foldback current limited power supply. During normal operation, the power supply operates along the portion of the characteristic between points A and B. This is to say that the foldback current limited power supply will regulate the output voltage at a constant predetermined value of V.sub.O for any load current ranging from zero to a maximum rated value denoted as I.sub.MAX in FIG. 1.
If the load develops a fault that tends to draw current in excess of I.sub.MAX, the foldback current limited power supply will sense that its output is at point B and will reduce the output current in a manner illustrated by segment B-C of the characteristic of FIG. 1. The foldback current limited power supply will attain a steady state on characteristic B-C at a point determined by the V versus I characteristic of the fault load. A pure short circuit, i.e., a fault which develops zero voltage drop at any load current will cause the supply to reach and maintain operation at point C also indicated by short-circuit current I.sub.SC. In addition to characterizing the foldback current limited power supply operation during fault conditions, the model curve of FIG. 1 is used to predict the foldback current limited power supply operation during its turn-on phase. The load conditions may be further described with reference to FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 illustrates the characteristics of FIG. 1, but in addition thereto, shows the model operating characteristic with two types of load lines drawn in dashed lines and labeled I and II. In FIG. 2, unlike FIG. 1, time is a factor for the dashed trajectories, that is Type I and II loads, in that it is understood that the load will change in the direction of the arrowheads of the X and Y axes as time proceeds and the voltage across the load increases.
The type I load is characteristics of a predominantly resistive load and lies within the area defined by the operating characteristic O-A-B-C. Type I is the type of load for which the foldback current limited power supply is designed and will not cause turn-on problems as it traverses segment O-F which, as seen in FIG. 2, does not cross the current limit segment C-B. The Type II load is typical of a load which is predominantly constant current. During turn-on, the type II load will attempt to traverse the segment from O to D to E. The power supply foldback limiting will catch the load at point D and maintain the output at the output voltage denoted V.sub.F in FIG. 2. The foldback current limited power supply is now said to be hung at V.sub.F and will not come up to full output voltage V.sub.O at point E which is well within the operating characteristics of the power supply. This hang-up at V.sub.F is then the crux of the problem. It is desired to create corrective means by which the foldback limit operation of the foldback current limited power supply is temporarily suspended during turn-on so that nonlinear loads, that is, those considered to be Type II loads, that are well within the rated operating characteristic of the supply can be powered to the full output voltage, V.sub.O ; and at the same time retain the foldback limiting during normal operation so that the benefits of short circuit protection are retained.

Booster circuit for foldback current limited power supplies

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


In one embodiment, rule-based virtual address translation is performed for accessing data (e.g., reading and/or writing data) typically stored in different manners and/or locations among one or more memories, such as, but not limited to, in packet switching devices. A virtual address is matched against a set of predetermined rules to identify one or more storing description parameters. These storing description parameters determine in which particular memory unit(s) and/or how the data is stored. Thus, different portions of a data structure (e.g., table) can be stored in different memories and/or using different storage techniques. The virtual address is converted to a lookup address based on the identified storing description parameter(s). One or more read or write operations in one or more particular memory units is performed based on the lookup address said converted from the virtual address.

The communications industry is rapidly changing to adjust to emerging technologies and ever increasing customer demand. This customer demand for new applications and increased performance of existing applications is driving communications network and system providers to employ networks and systems having greater speed and capacity. In trying to achieve these goals, a common approach taken by many communications providers is to use packet switching technology.
Forwarding packets by a packet switching device in a network requires reading information stored in forwarding tables, such as forwarding information retrieved based on a destination address and/or other characteristics of a packet. The latency of retrieving this forwarding information typically affects the forwarding rate of a packet switching device. The size of the tables accessible by the packet switching device affects the number of devices or connections that can be handled by the packet switching device.

Rule-based virtual address translation for accessing data


In the case of a stacking column for storing storage articles one on top of the other at mutual intervals on twin-armed ratchet levers, the latter are rotatably mounted on approximately horizontal rotary axles arranged between two wall strips. Each ratchet lever exhibits, on the one hand, a supporting arm for holding the storage article and, on the other hand, a control arm. The two wall strips form an acute angle with a base surface, baseplate or the like. Moreover, the ratchet levers between the two wall strips are arranged successively, laterally offset in the same direction, on the rotary axles.

The invention relates to a stacking column for storing storage articles one on top of the other at mutual intervals on twin-armed ratchet levers, which are rotatably mounted on rotary axles arranged approximately horizontally between two wall strips and exhibit, on the one hand, a supporting arm for holding the storage article and, on the other hand, a control arm.
Stacking columns of this type serve, in particular, to receive flat-shaped loading articles, as arise, for example, in the manufacture of automobile parts. However, there are many other fields of application which are intended to be covered by the present invention.
In German Offenlegungsschrift 38 11 310, a stacking column of this type is described, which relates to the stacking of storage articles of approximately the same shape and size at mutual intervals one on top of the other. For this purpose, there are rotatably mounted on the column, one on top of the other on horizontal rotary axles, twin-armed ratchet levers, which in each case exhibit a supporting arm receiving a storage article and a control arm. They can be pivoted out of a rest position, via a stand-by position, into an operating position and back again. When a storage article is mounted, a ratchet lever located in the stand-by position makes its way into its operating position and, at the same time, a ratchet lever arranged above, as a result of the control arm of the ratchet lever reaching the operating position, makes its way out of its rest position into its stand-by position. Furthermore, the ratchet levers which are located in the operating position are herewith locked against one another in this position. These ratchet levers are alternately laterally offset in relation to one another and are arranged such that they slide past one another.
This stacking column has proved excellent for receiving a flat loading article. However, difficulties arise in particular in the case of a loading article which has high protuberances, so that a loading article arranged above can only be arranged at a distance from this high protuberance. This can apply for example to a trunk compartment lid, which, although it exhibits, on the one hand, a flat and even flow, is drawn downwards, on the other hand, by an apron. This apron produces an angled bending, which makes the edge of the trunk compartment lid rise upwards. If a further panel is then arranged directly above it, then this must maintain a considerable distance due to the angled bending. Accordingly, a space which is offered by the stacking columns is under-utilized.

Stacking column for storing storage articles