A circuit board manufacturing method, including forming a transfer chip, the forming of the transfer chip including, forming a wiring above a first substrate, forming a plurality of first pad electrodes so as to be connected to the wiring and so as to be included in the transfer chip, and joining the transfer chip with a member such that the plurality of first pad electrodes contact the member.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to transferring a pattern of an electrical circuit from one substrate to another substrate, to a display device (electro-optical device) using this technology, and to a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In related art display devices (electro-optical devices) in which pixels are driven by thin-film transistors (TFTs), such as a TFT-driven liquid crystal display (LCD), a TFT-driven organic electroluminescent display device, a TFT-driven light-emitting diode (LED) display device, and a TFT-driven electrophoretic display device, TFTs are part of the overall device. In most cases, the remaining significant part of the device includes lines, a support substrate, etc. In manufacturing such a display device (TFT-driven display device), when TFTs, lines and a support substrate are integrally formed in the same processes, an advanced and complicated manufacturing process of producing TFTs is necessary. As a result, the manufacturing cost becomes generally high. In contrast, such an advanced and complicated manufacturing process is unnecessary to produce lines and a support substrate, and the manufacturing cost is thus low. If TFTs are produced separately from lines and a support substrate and then arranged at necessary positions, the manufacturing cost of a TFT-driven display device can be reduced.
To satisfy such a demand, a transfer method is developed including: forming a to-be-transferred layer including elements, such as TFTs, on a transfer source substrate, the to-be-transferred layer being separated from the transfer source substrate by an ablation layer; joining the transfer source substrate including these layers to a transfer destination substrate; and irradiating the ablation layer with light to cause ablation, thereby removing the transfer source substrate from the ablation layer to form elements at desired positions on the transfer destination substrate. Such a transfer method is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-125931. Using the above-described transfer method, TFTs are arranged only at necessary positions. Averaging the cost of all the components, the overall manufacturing cost of this TFT-driven display device is reduced.

Method of manufacturing circuit board including transfer chip having a plurality of first pad electrodes connected to wiring


A spool comprises: a hub sandwiched between two flanges. At least one of the flanges includes at least one smoothly curving arcuate fiber groove on a side facing the hub. The fiber groove extends substantially to the outer edge of said flange. The groove is situated at a shallow angle θ relative to the tangent line to the periphery of the flange, the angle θ being no more than 15 degrees.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to spools for holding optical fiber, and particularly to spools for holding dispersion compensating fiber.
2. Technical Background
Optical signals transmitted in an optical fiber transmission system typically constitute a series of pulses. Although, within each channel, the pulses are usually centered at a single nominal wavelength, each pulse is actually composed of different spectral components. These spectral components propagate through transmission or typical amplification fibers at different speeds (due to a phenomena referred to as chromatic dispersion). This can result in spectral components of one pulse arriving at a receiver at the same time as the succeeding pulse, thereby degrading the signal to noise ratio. Thus, optical fiber communication systems utilize dispersion compensating modules ("DCM"), to correct for chromatic dispersion. A typical dispersion compensating module includes a housing with one or more spools 10 of dispersion compensating fiber (DCF). This dispersion compensating fiber offsets the chromatic dispersion produced in the transmission and/or amplification fiber. This approach is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,456,773 and is illustrated in FIG. 1.
A typical spool 10 of DCF is shown in FIG. 2 and includes a cylindrical hub 12, two flanges 14, 14′, a cover plate 16 and a protective casing 18. The casing 18 covers the fiber and is situated between the flanges. The DCF is wound around the hub 12 between the two flanges 14, 14′ and is protected by the casing 18. The dispersion compensating fiber typically enters into the spool via the underlay groove 15 provided on the internal surface of one of the flanges and exits the spool via the fiber exit or fiber reverse groove 20, provided on the external surface of one of the flanges. The underlay groove 15 is utilized to get the DCF to the hub 12, so as to enable the startup of the winding process. The underlay groove 15 is tangential to the outer diameter of the flange in order to minimize fiber bending. However, this ties the geometry of the underlay groove to the required form factor (i.e., overall size and shape of the package).
After winding is completed, the dispersion compensating fiber exits the spool 10 via the fiber groove 20. In order to protect this fiber a cover plate 16 is then fitted over the external surface (the surface not in contact with the hub 12) of the flange 14′ (and the dispersion compensating fiber contained within the fiber groove 20). In order to minimize fiber bending, and in order to maximize mechanical reliability and life span of DCF, the fiber groove 20 is positioned to allow the DCF to exit substantially tangentially to the radius of the flange. In non-round packages, a mandrel in the box typically reverses the direction of the exiting fiber to align it with fiber entry orientation. In a round package this is done by the reversing fiber groove 20, so that both entering fiber and exiting fiber points in the same direction.
The dispersion fiber containing spools have to be custom made for each customer because each customer requires a different size spool. For example, because the fiber underlay and fiber grooves terminate tangentially to the radius of the flange, the flanges can not be cut down to a smaller size. Thus, features of the plain flange 14, the grooved flange 14′ and the casing 18 are dependent on the required form factor.
The hubs of the spools are typically molded for different thicknesses. The molded parts are then machined to different sizes to maximize the fiber holding capacity for a given form factor. Because the form factor is customer dependent, a standard size hub can not be used. This further increases the cost of the DCM spools.
In addition, if the thermally induced expansion of the hub exceeds a certain value, the DCM turns dark (i.e., stops functioning). Thus, because wound DCF is sensitive to temperature induced stress and has a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), the hubs are usually made from materials with low CTE, for example Macor™, Invar™, or Covar™. During temperature fluctuations, this allows the wound DCF to expand at about the same rate as the hub, minimizing fiber stretching. Macor™ is a glass ceramic with CTE which is similar to that of the DCF. However, it is a very expensive material. Invar™ and Covar™ have a higher CTE than Macor, and are also very expensive.

Spool having a universal flange and method of making same


Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods, and computer program products for dynamic analysis and detection of transformed transient data in a distributed system network. The system is structured for validating, determining and evaluating temporal data transformations associated with technology resource components across iterations of technology applications for maintaining backward compatibility. The system comprises an execution module structured for executing technology resource components in a plurality of testing technology environments concurrently. The system further comprises an analysis module structured for evaluating iterations of a first technology resource component by comparing the transformed first testing output with the transformed second testing output to determine modifications to the first iteration of the first technology resource component in the second iteration of the first technology resource component that succeeds the first iteration.

Distributed network environments provide a variety of user technology resource components applications (e.g., front-end technology applications, client facing technology applications, web services, etc.) to users. However, this requires operative and compatible interaction between back-end technology resource components (e.g., back-end systems) and user technology resource components, because user applications typically require network data can to be transmitted from the back-end technology resource components. Here, the back-end technology resource components may be required to fetch current network data from other entity systems (e.g., third-party systems, vendor applications, etc.), e.g., through web services, Application programming interfaces (APIs), batch processes, etc. However, the technology resource components perpetually undergo transformations or iterations over time (e.g., monthly), e.g., due to production release cycles, for offering enhancements to the features, etc. However, these temporal transformations/iterations of the technology resource components may inherently cause the operative and compatible interaction and data transfers between back-end technology resource components (e.g., back-end systems) and user technology resource components to be redundant, thereby resulting in undesirable critical defects and adverse inevitable backward compatibility issues. For instance, the temporal transformations/iterations of the technology resource components may cause the data retrieval and/or transmission from back-end technology resource components to be incorrect or different, and may require additional data parameters to be fetched back-end technology resource components differently. Accordingly, a need exists for dynamic analysis and detection of transformed transient data in a distributed system network to mitigate the deleterious effects of temporal data transformations associated with technology resource components across iterations of technology applications.

Electronic system for dynamic analysis and detection of transformed transient data in a distributed system network


A method of enhancing an image comprises determining whether brightness values have changed in an output screen of documents that include a text and an image, with respect to a pixel located in a predetermined edge detection region; calculating binarization data values based on each pixel brightness values of a plurality of windows that are formed by applying different samplings to the detected region, when the brightness values are changed in excess of a predetermined threshold Tha, and determining a connectivity of the calculated binarization data values with respect to each of a plurality of windows; estimating the pixel to be edge pixel when the binarization data values have a connectivity; and determining finally the estimated pixel to be an edge pixel when a number of pixels estimated as an edge is in excess of a predetermined fixed value THd, and if not, determining the estimated edge pixel as not being an edge pixel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of, and a device for enhancing an image that obtains improved quality output when a printer prints a document printed with respect to an image input from an image scanning device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of, and a device for enhancing an image that distinguishes an actual edge of a text region from an edge of an image region to emphasize the actual edge of the text region.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image enhancement apparatus operates to ensure that a given image is converted to the extent that a human can easily discern. An example of a general image enhancement apparatus and method thereof is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-2002-0059531 (the '531 Korean Patent), the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, which discloses a method and device for enhancing the quality of a text and image document. The '531 Korean Patent device mainly comprises a classification unit, a post-process unit, an emphasis unit.
The classification unit of the '531 Korean Patent uses saturation, slope information, and the number of connecting element number to estimate pixels to be processed as either 'T', 'I' and 'U' pixels. The post-process unit corrects errors in classified information to determine 'T' or 'I' pixels. The emphasis unit emphasizes a present pixel from the classified 'T' information to obtain an improved image.
The above-described conventional method compares the average values of the mask and brightness value of each pixel from a single window mask to extract a binary value and calculate a connecting element value N. Because the conventional method uses only a single window to calculate a connecting element value N, characteristics around the target pixel can not be fully reflected. Accordingly, edge detection accuracy may be decreased or the requirements for memory and calculation increased, especially for documents that are output based on a low line per inch (LPI) requirement, such as a newspaper having characteristics around the observed pixel similar to a letter.
The conventional method computes the binary data on the basis of average values in a window mask. The number of pixels having the binarization data value of 1 is not regular. Therefore, the possibility of mis-classification increases between a text edge and a halftone image edge, when the edge is configured diagonally.

Method of and device for image enhancement


The disclosure provides an approach for performing a write to a storage system, the write having reduced latency due to parallelism of sub-steps of the write, and due to calculating a partial rather than a full checksum. The mechanism of the write has low file corruption of files on the storage system, due to journaling of the checksum.

Computing devices write data to storage. The process of writing data to storage does not occur atomically, but rather, in several steps. For example, the steps of writing data to a file may include updating file metadata within the file index node (inode), updating file metadata within the file pointer blocks, and writing data to storage blocks associated with the file. The lack of atomicity in writing data to storage creates issues with storage systems.
If a system crash occurs during the write process, a file on the storage can become corrupted. Systems exist to guard against file corruption. In one system, both file metadata and file data are written to a journal. Then, metadata and file data are written to storage, one after the other. If a system crash occurs during writing, the metadata and file data are rewritten to storage after the crash. In this system, the chance of file corruption is removed, but the latency of a write is high because each write to storage requires an additional write to a journal.
In a second system, file metadata is journaled before a write of data to storage. If a crash occurs after file metadata is journaled but before the data is written, then after the crash, the file becomes corrupted because the metadata is written to storage but the data relating to the metadata has not been written. This second system has lower latency, but the chance of file corruption is high.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments without specific recitation.

Enabling parallel IO's with partial checksum on imbricated journal slots


A system and method for cleaning and inspecting ring frames is disclosed here. In one embodiment, a ring frame processing system includes: a cleaning station configured to remove a first tape on a first surface of a ring frame using a first blade, clean first adhesive residues from the first tape on the first surface of the ring frame using a first wheel brush, and remove second adhesive residues from a second tape on a second surface of the ring frame using a second blade; and an inspection station, wherein the inspection station comprises an automated optical inspection system configured to determine the cleanness of the first and second surfaces of the ring frame after cleaning.

A wafer dicing process is typically conducted to separate dies from a semiconductor wafer following various manufacturing processes. During dicing, semiconductor wafers are first mounted, with their active sides up, onto a dicing tape cut to size and fixed to a ring frame. The ring frame and the dicing tape secure the wafer during the dicing process and keep the dies aligned before they are extracted by die-handling equipment for the next manufacturing step, e.g., packaging. Furthermore, semiconductor wafers fixed on ring frames are labeled using barcode tapes on ring frames. Therefore, tapes and tape residues from dicing tapes and barcode tapes need to be removed from ring frames before they can be used again for a next batch of water dicing.
Traditionally, tapes and tape residues are removed based on a chemical method using acid and alcohol. This technique is not environmental-friendly (e.g., generating large amount of acid waste) and not techno-economically feasible (e.g., large amounts of chemicals are needed). After cleaning, ring frames are inspected manually by a human using an optical instrument to determine the presence of residues in the form of particles. When tape residues are detected as a result of such "manual" inspection, the ring frame is generally removed for re-cleaning before it can be re-used. Such a manual inspection disadvantageously causes various issues. For example, a time-resource trade-off leads to a trade-off between an inspection resolution and a sampling rate, e.g., a high sampling rate (i.e., a high throughput of the inspection) is typically subjected to a low inspection resolution, and vice versa.
Therefore, a method and system that can effectively clean ring frames and can automatically determine the cleanness of the ring frames at high resolution is needed. Despite this long felt need, no suitable systems meeting these requirements are available.

System and method for ring frame cleaning and inspection

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


In an AC link type boosting device, DC terminals of two voltage inverters are connected each other in series in additive polarity and plural AC terminals of each of the voltage inverters are connected to a transformer. The two voltage type inverters are AC linked to each other via the transformer. An external voltage applied between the DC terminals of the AC link type booster is divided by the voltage-type inverters.

In electric automobiles, the load on electrically driven devices such as a motor varies considerably and frequently at startup and during acceleration, deceleration and hill climbing. Therefore, batteries mounted in the electric automobiles for driving electrically driven devices are apt to have smaller capacity and shorter life in comparison with those used under constant load.
In order to overcome these disadvantages, Patent Document 1 to be described below proposes a power supply device for use in electric automobiles, which is formed by combination of a battery for main power supply, and a battery or capacitor for auxiliary power supply, so that the auxiliary power supply bears the substantial, rapid and frequent variation in the load on the electrically driven device, whereby the variation in the load on the battery for main power supply is minimized.
The power supply system as described above is capable of collecting kinetic energy generated by the electrically driven device during deceleration and braking, in the auxiliary power supply as electric power, and supplying the collected electric power to the electrically driven device if required. The operation to collect electric power from the electrically driven device into the auxiliary power supply is referred to as a regeneration mode, and the operation to supply electric power from the auxiliary power supply to the electrically driven device is referred to as a motoring mode. A power supply system performing these operations is referred to as a hybrid power supply system. An electric automobile having such a hybrid power supply system mounted thereon is referred to as a hybrid vehicle.
FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a typical conventional hybrid power supply system for use in electric automobiles.
In FIG. 12, a hybrid power supply system 1 is formed by a main power supply 10, an electrically driven device 20, and an auxiliary power supply 30.
The main power supply 10 is composed of an engine 11, an electric generator 12, and an inverter 13. The electrically driven device 20 is composed of an inverter 21 and a motor 22. The inverter 13 and the inverter 21 are connected to each other through a positive line 14 and a negative line 15. A voltage V0 is applied between the positive line 14 and the negative line 15. In the following description, the section formed of the main power supply 10, the electrically driven device 20, and the positive and negative lines 14, 15 will be referred to simply as the main power supply 10 unless there is danger of misunderstanding.
The auxiliary power supply 30 is composed of a bidirectional boosting chopper 31 and an energy accumulation device 32 (hereafter, referred as the battery 32). The term "bidirectional" as used in the present invention means that electric power is reversibly transmitted from the auxiliary power supply 30 to the main power supply 10, or from the main power supply 10 to the auxiliary power supply 30, through the positive and negative lines 14, 15.
The bidirectional boosting chopper 31 is composed of two semiconductor switching elements S1, S2 and an inductor 35 having an inductance L. The semiconductor switching elements S1, S2 are each formed by an IGBT and an antiparallel diode connected in parallel as an internal or external element. For convenience of following description, the IGBT is denoted by Tr, and the antiparallel diode is denoted by D. For example, the reference symbol Tr1 means the IGBT of the semiconductor switching element S1, and D1 means the antiparallel diode of the semiconductor switching element S1.
The semiconductor switching elements S1, S2 are connected in series at a connecting point a, and one end of the inductor 35 is connected to the connecting point a. A negative terminal b of the semiconductor switching element S1 is connected to the negative line 15, and a positive terminal c of the semiconductor switching element S2 is connected to the positive line 14. The positive terminal of the battery 32 is connected to the other end of the inductor 35, and the negative terminal of the battery 32 is connected to the negative line 15. This means that the battery 32 and the main power supply 10 are connected in parallel while polarities thereof being matched.
The bidirectional boosting chopper 31 temporarily accumulates electric power of the battery 32 in the inductor 35, and the accumulated electric power can be transmitted to the main power supply 10. Conversely, the electric power in the main power supply 10 can be transmitted to the battery 32.
In electric automobiles, the voltage V0 in the main power supply 10 is generally maintained at a high voltage around 600V. On the other hand, the voltage V1 of the battery 32 in the auxiliary power supply 30 is a low voltage around 300V. Maximum current flowing through the bidirectional boosting chopper 31 is of about 600 A (when the battery voltage is 300V, the transmission electric power is 120 kW, and the ripple rate is 50%).
According to the hybrid power supply system 1 as described above, in the regeneration mode, the kinetic energy of the main power supply 10 can be converted to low-voltage electric power and charged in the battery 32 of the auxiliary power supply 30. In the motoring mode, the electric power accumulated in the battery 32 of the auxiliary power supply 30 can be converted to high-voltage electric power and supplied to the main power supply 10.
This means that, according to the hybrid power supply system 1, even if the load on the electrically driven device 20 varies considerably, rapidly, and frequently, electric power can be supplied from the auxiliary power supply 30 to supplement the electric power capacity of the main power supply 10. This makes it possible to drive the electrically driven device 20 efficiently in a constant high voltage range.
However, the hybrid power supply system 1 has four problems as described below.
(1) High Element Voltage Rating
The semiconductor switching elements S1, S2 used in the bidirectional boosting chopper 31 have high voltage rating. When the main power supply 10 has a voltage V0 of about 600V, the semiconductor switching elements S1, S2 should have a rating of 1200V to ensure safety.
(2) High Element Current Rating
Electric current (with a peak value of about 600 A) from the battery 32 flows through the respective IGBTs and antiparallel diodes of the semiconductor switching elements S1, S2 of the bidirectional boosting chopper 31. Therefore, the semiconductor switching elements S1, S2 are required to have a high current rating of about 600 A. This makes the size of the inductor 35 large.
(3) High Electric Power Loss
Turn-on power loss and reverse recovery loss of the antiparallel diode will occur since employed is hard switching in which the IGBT of one of the semiconductor switch elements S1, S2 used in the bidirectional boosting chopper 31 is turned on in the condition where the antiparallel diode of the other semiconductor switching element is conductive. Further, the semiconductor switch elements with a high voltage rating will suffer high conduction power loss and high switching power loss, causing deterioration of the electric power conversion efficiency, also due to the high voltage in the inverter circuit.
(4) Difficulty in Size Reduction and Cost Reduction
The electric current flowing through the inductor 35 is direct current, which uses only a half of the B-H curve of an iron core. Further, since the direct current flowing through the inductor 35 is excitation current itself, a core gap is required. This requires increase of the core cross-sectional area in order to obtain high inductance.
Cores with a large core cross-sectional area are expensive and difficult to reduce the size or weight. In order to solve this problem, hybrid power supply systems are known in which magnetic parts are AC-driven.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a hybrid power supply system employing an AC link bidirectional DC-DC converter.
In FIG. 13, a hybrid power supply system 2 is formed by a main power supply 10 (with a voltage V0 of about 600V) and an auxiliary power supply 40. The auxiliary power supply 40 is composed of an AC link bidirectional DC-DC converter 44 in which an inverter 41 and an inverter 42 are linked to each other by a transformer 43 (herein with a winding ratio of 1:2), and an energy accumulation device 46 (hereafter explained as the capacitor 46 with a rated voltage V1 of 300V).
The inverter 41 comprises four semiconductor switching elements S1, S1, S2, S2. The semiconductor switching elements are each formed by an IGBT and an antiparallel diode like those in FIG. 12.
The semiconductor switching element pair (S1, S2) located on the left side of the inverter 41 in FIG. 13 are connected in series to each other. The positive terminal of the semiconductor switching element S1 being connected to the positive terminal of the capacitor 46, and the negative terminal of the semiconductor switching element S2 is connected to the negative terminal of the capacitor 46.
On the other hand, the semiconductor switching element pair (S2, S1) located on the right side are connected in series to each other. The positive terminal of the semiconductor switching element S2 is connected to the positive terminal of the capacitor 46, and the negative terminal of the semiconductor switching element S1 is connected to the negative terminal of the capacitor 46.
The semiconductor switching element pair (S1, S1) and the semiconductor switching element pair (S2, S2) are turned on and off alternately.
Like the inverter 41, the inverter 42 comprises four semiconductor switching elements S21, S21, S22, S22. The semiconductor switching elements are each formed by an IGBT and an antiparallel diode like those in FIG. 12.
The semiconductor switching element pair (S21, S22) located on the left side in FIG. 13 are connected in series to each other. The positive terminal of the semiconductor switching element S21 is connected to the positive terminal of the main power supply 10, and the negative terminal of the semiconductor switching element S22 is connected to the negative terminal of the main power supply 10.
On the other hand, the semiconductor switching element pair (S22, S21) on the right side are connected in series to each other. The positive terminal of the semiconductor switching element S22 is connected to the positive terminal of the main power supply 10, and the negative terminal of the semiconductor switching element S21 is connected to the negative terminal of the main power supply 10.
The semiconductor switching element pair (S21, S21) and the semiconductor switching element pair (S22, S22) are turned on and off alternately.
As shown in FIG. 13, an AC terminal d1 and an AC terminal d2 of the inverter 41 are connected to each other through a coil 44 of a transformer 43 having a winding ratio of 1:2, and an AC terminal e1 and an AC terminal e2 of the inverter 42 are connected to other through a coil 45 of the transformer 43.
The transformer 43, having a leakage inductance of a fixed value L, transmits the electric power temporarily accumulated in the leakage inductance L to the auxiliary power supply 40 or the main power supply 10 by high speed switching control of the inverters.
More specifically, in the motoring mode (when electric power is transmitted from the capacitor 46 to the main power supply 10), the inverter 41 assumes a leading phase with respect to the inverter 42. At the same time, the inverter 41 transmits electric power with a high voltage that is about twice as high as the voltage V1 to the main power supply 10 through the transformer 43.
In the regeneration mode (when electric power is transmitted from the main power supply 10 to the capacitor 46) the inverter 41 assumes a delay phase with respect to the inverter 42. At the same time, the main power supply 10 transfers electric power with a low voltage that is about a half of the voltage V0 to the capacitor 46 through the transformer 43.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open NO. 11-146566

AC link bidirectional DC-DC converter, hybrid power supply system using the same and hybrid vehicle


A method for analyzing skin response waveform information obtained by measuring skin impedance with a voltage of a predetermined frequency. A current value at the start of polarization caused by the application of the voltage is determined, followed by determining a current value after a predetermined amount of time from the start of the polarization. A current value after termination of the polarization (value NT) is then determined and the difference between the current value at the start of the polarization and after the predetermined amount of time from the start of the polarization (value A) is determined. The difference between the current value after the predetermined amount of time from the start of the polarization and the value NT (value B) is determined, followed by analyzing the skin response waveform information using the ratios A/B, B/A and the value NT.

Noninvasive means to evaluate functional conditions of a whole body such as functionality of autonomic nerves and internal organs by measuring meridians in Oriental medicine, what is provisionally called AMI (Apparatus for Measuring the Function of the Meridians and Their Corresponding Internal Organs) is being developed. One example is an apparatus for processing route-organ functional information described in Patent No. 1634716 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-59730).
Also, a research on evaluation of medicinal effects of Chinese medicines using the skin impedance (AMI) method (Tamiko Ohkura, et al.) has been reported in "Journal of Traditional Medicines (Wakan-Iyakugaku-Zasshi) 15,264, 1998."
Conventional apparatus for measuring response waveforms of a body according to the skin impedance (AMI) method use a different electrode and an indifferent electrode. As shown in FIG. 21, a different electrode 11 is attached to one of 28 "Seiketsu" measurement points (see FIG. 20) on a body 10, and an indifferent electrode 12 is attached to either wrist. A weak, single rectangular low voltage pulse is applied, and its output is supplied to an apparatus for measuring response waveforms 13 to be amplified. Then, a response waveform I is retrieved from an output terminal 15. In FIG. 21, reference numeral 14 denotes a charger.
As shown in FIG. 22, a parameter BP corresponding to the flow of "Qi", a parameter IQ for defense functionality (integral value), and a parameter AP associated with autonomic nerves are defined based on a response waveform Iw measured with the skin impedance (AMI) method. In this regard, a report entitled "Synchronous phenomenon of Qigong in measurement of meridians" has been made (see Journal of Mind-Body Science (Jintai-Kagaku) 2-(1): 19 to 29, 1993). The report describes a phenomenon that the value of the parameter AP increases with tension of the sympathetic nerves and decreases when the parasympathetic nerves or the vagus nerves are dominant.
Also, an apparatus for performing a diagnosis on a body that measures a surface potential of a body and performs a diagnosis on the body based on the measured surface potential has been disclosed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-38437).
By reviewing these prior techniques, the inventor has found the fact as follows. The response waveform Iw measured with the skin impedance (AMI) method shown in FIG. 22 involves the phenomenon that the value of the parameter AP increases with tension of the sympathetic nerves and decreases when the parasympathetic nerves or the vagus nerves are dominant. All of the above techniques define the waveform Iw with the above mentioned three parameters, and in particular define BP as a value at a single point before polarization. Therefore, BP has instability and a low precision and varies greatly due to personal differences and conditions of the measuring environment (especially seasonal variation). Furthermore, since IQ depends on the value of BP and affects the integral value, it has a low precision and may not always reflect the body correctly.
The object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for analyzing response waveform information capable of being applied to uses such as a diagnosis on a body.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a diagnostic apparatus for a body capable of performing a diagnosis on a body based on the analysis of the response waveform information.
The above and other objects of the present invention, as well as its novel features will be apparent from the description herein and the appended drawings.

Method and apparatus for analyzing bioelectrical response waveform information, and diagnostic apparatus thereof


A method and system for customizing a wireless device's user-interface is provided. During activation of the wireless device for service, the wireless carrier will use an identifier of the wireless device (such as an electronic serial number) as a basis to correlate the device with a vendor of the device and in turn to select a customization package that defines a user-interface corresponding with the vendor. For instance, the user interface can have color schemes, graphics, sounds and other attributes that are similar to the color schemes, graphics, sounds and other attributes that the vendor uses to promote the vendor's services or products. The wireless carrier will then send the customization package (or a pointer to the customization package) to the device, over the air in an activation response message for instance. And the device will responsively adopt the selected user interface as a base user interface.

Cellular wireless, like other forms of wireless communication, is an increasingly popular means of personal communication in the modern world. Consumers use cellular wireless networks for the exchange of voice and data over cellular telephones, PDAs, cellular telephone modems and other devices. In principle, a user can communicate over the Internet or call anyone over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) from any place inside the coverage area of the cellular wireless network.
In a typical cellular wireless system, an area is divided geographically into a number of cell sites, each defined by a radio frequency (RF) radiation pattern from a respective base transceiver station (BTS) tower. Each BTS in a cell is in turn coupled with a base station controller (BSC). And the BSC is then coupled to or functionally integrated with a switch (e.g., a mobile switching center (MSC)) and/or gateway (e.g., a packet data serving node (PDSN)) that provides connectivity with a transport network such as the PSTN or a public or private IP network (e.g., the Internet).
When a wireless device, such as a cellular phone or a Personal Digital Assistant ("PDA") is positioned in a cell, the wireless device may communicate via an RF air interface with the BTS of the cell. A communication can thus be established between the wireless device and another entity on the transport network, via the air interface, the BTS, the BSC and the switch or gateway.
Before a wireless device can engage in cellular or packet-data communication, the wireless device must be activated for both services within a service provider's network. Activation can be carried out at the point of sale, such as at a retail store where the user buys the wireless device and subscribes to service. In that scenario, a sales technician may collect subscriber billing information such as name, address and credit card number, and establish an account for the user of the device. The service provider may then assign a Mobile Identification Number (MIN), username and other activation data to the device and record that data in connection with the user's account, and the technician may program that data into the device for later use.
Alternatively, the activation process can be carried out over the air. An Over-The-Air Service Provisioning (OTASP) feature gives wireless service providers the ability to provision a wireless device remotely over the air interface instead of activating the devices at the point of sale. OTASP also allows providers to then modify an activated device's network parameters over the air, directly from the network.
To activate an OTASP-capable wireless device, a user makes a call to a service provider's customer service center, usually by dialing a service-provider-specific feature code and appropriate supplementary digits. The feature code results in the establishment of a voice call between the user and the service provider's customer service center. Subscriber billing information, such as a credit card number or mailing address, may be obtained before the customer service center starts the OTASP procedure.
Once the call to the customer service center is established, the wireless device's Electronic Serial Number (ESN) is supplied to the service provider's network. Then, an entity in the service provider's network will upload some Number Assignment Module (NAM) parameters from the wireless device. The NAM is a set of MIN and IMSI-related parameters that are stored in the wireless device's memory and used for mobile identification. The customer service center may also request that the wireless device upload other configuration parameters, such as mobile protocol and software versions, and any preferred roaming lists, if available. Then, if required, the service provider's network and the wireless device will exchange Authentication Key Generation parameters and generate an A-key. The A-key is used as a secure input during the mobile authentication process. After the A-key has been successfully generated, a Shared Secret Data (SSD) update procedure is performed. The purpose of the SSD update is to synchronize the SSD value stored in both the wireless device and an authentication center in the service provider's network. Like the A-key, the SSD value is used during the authentication process.
If the wireless device fails authentication, the wireless device may be denied service by the service provider, and the activation process will be terminated. If the wireless device is successfully authenticated by the customer service center, the service representative will perform the following: (i) assign a MIN to the wireless device; (ii) determine subscriber service needs; (iii) create a subscriber profile record in the service provider network's activation data base; and (iv) assign other NAM parameters needed by the wireless device.
Then, the service provider's network will transmit the required NAM parameters to the wireless device over the air interface. Thus, if the activation is successful, the wireless device or a signal received from the service provider's network may provide validity feedback to the user indicating that activation was completed successfully. If activation was completed successfully, cellular service can then begin for the wireless device.
In addition, a wireless device that is capable of engaging in packet-data communication (e.g., IP communication) may have a username and password that the device can use to gain packet network connectivity and to engage in packet-data communication. Typically, the username will be assigned by the wireless carrier and will be programmed into the wireless device. The username may take the form of a Network Access Identifier (NAI), and the password may be a predefined hash based on the device's unique ESN.
When such a wireless device seeks to gain packet network connectivity, typically after the device first acquires RF connectivity, the device may programmatically send into the carrier's network a message that carries the device's username and password, among other information. An authentication server or other entity in the carrier's network may then validate the username/password (e.g., ensuring that the password is correct, and ensuring that the username is not already in use on the network) and, upon successful validation, may assign an IP address for the device to use. The device may then commence packet data communication via the carrier's network.

Method and system for customizing a wireless device's user-interface based on which vendor distributed the wireless device


Provided is a highly versatile casting mold in which weight and manufacturing cost can be reduced, and whereby flash can be suppressed. A plate-shaped base part having a flat attachment face to which a back face of a fixed-cavity mold is attached is provided to a fixed mold constituting a casting mold. A portion of the base part in contact with the back face of the fixed-cavity mold has an attachment part body for supporting the fixed-cavity mold, and a pressure increasing means for increasing the pressure imparted to the fixed-cavity mold via the attachment part body in a state in which the mold is closed.

One known type of casting die assembly is made up from a fixed die and a movable die, each having a thick die block with a recess defined therein, and a cavity die that is fitted in the recess (see FIG. 5 of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 61-226159). The casting die assembly is highly costly to manufacture because it is necessary to bore the recess highly precisely. The casting die assembly also is problematic in that it is heavy, since the die block with the recess defined therein is thick. Further, the casting die assembly is not versatile in use, due to the fact that the cavity die and the recess must be complementary in shape to each other.
To solve the aforementioned problems, there has been proposed a casting die assembly including dies, each of which has a flat attachment surface on which the rear surface of a cavity die is mounted (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 61-226159). Since the dies of the proposed casting die assembly do not require a recess for a cavity die to be fitted therein, the casting die assembly is relatively low in cost and weight, and is highly versatile in use.


An electronic device is provided according to the present application. The electronic device includes a housing provided with a sliding groove. A protrusion extending towards an inner side of the sliding groove is provided at an upper edge of the sliding groove, a slidable elastic strip is slidably cooperated between the protrusion and the bottom of the sliding groove. The slidable elastic strip includes two slidable components and an elastic component, and the two slidable components are fixedly connected to two ends of the elastic component, respectively. The housing is provided with at least two locking structures which are detachably connected to the two slidable components, respectively, and are configured to allow the elastic component to slide out of the sliding groove to form a convex structure perpendicular to the housing in a case that the slidable components are immobilized to the locking structure. The structure in the present application is simple and convenient to use.

A supporter of a related electronic device is generally a protective sleeve structure or an individual frame structure. However, regardless of the protective sleeve or the individual frame structure of the electronic device, the volume of the electronic device is increased, causing an inconvenient usage to users. Further, such additional protective sleeve or individual frame structure can cause radio frequency interference to the electronic device, and adversely affect the appearance of the electronic device.
Therefore, a new type of electronic device is required to be developed.

Electronic device and protective housing of the electronic device


A controlled flow filling system is used with a flowable product filling apparatus. The filling system includes a first, upstream V-track valve in series with a second, downstream umbrella valve to provide a substantially paraboloid liquid flow profile of the fluid while filling an associated container. The filling system is configured such that a substantial portion of the pressure drop associated with the flowing fluid occurs at the V-track valve cone to reduce spraying and loss of the fluid product at the umbrella valve. The filling system is used in a filling apparatus that uses pumps or a pressured gas blanket to provide motive force to drive the fluid through the apparatus.

Various types of filling apparatus are known in the art. In one common use, such an apparatus is used to fill containers with a flowable product, such as milk, juice and the like. As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, such a flowable product can be liquid, dried, granulated or powered products, as well as a combination of such solid (e.g., dried, granulated or powdered) and liquid materials.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that filling must be done in a controlled, metered manner in order to assure that the proper quantity in weight or volume is added to each container. Moreover, in order to prevent spilling or splashing of the flowable product, a controlled, and controllable, end of the filling cycle is desirable. It has been observed that when the end of the filling cycle is controlled, the final amount of product in the container is more readily controlled and filling the container with the desired amount can be achieved.
A typical filling apparatus includes a tank or reservoir for storage of the flowable product, such as storage of milk. One or more filling trains receive milk from the storage tank and pump the milk into respective containers through a filling valve and nozzle arrangement.
Various types of valves are known in the art. One type of valve that is commonly used at the apparatus discharge to the container is referred to as an "umbrella valve". The umbrella valve includes a body having a generally round fluid passage therethrough contiguous with an expanding, conical-shaped valve opening. A valve plug has a conical-shaped plug body that is complementary to the valve opening. A valve stem extends from the top of the conical plug, through the fluid passage. The valve plug is actuated by, for example, a mechanical actuator or a pneumatic cylinder operably connected to the stem to move the plug between the opened and closed positions.
The umbrella valve is so-called because of the flow profile of the fluid exiting the valve. That is, when fluid flows through a passage formed between the conical-shaped plug and body, it exits the valve and flows in a paraboloid shape, much like water flowing off of an umbrella.
One drawback to the umbrella valve arrangement that has been observed is that there is often spraying of the liquid from the passage between the body and plug. This is due to a large pressure drop at the umbrella valve plug edge with resulting fluid spray. It will, of course, be recognized that such a spray is undesirable, in that it can fall onto the outside of the container and the surfaces of the filling apparatus. In addition, such spraying can cause foaming of the product as it is filling the container, which is also an undesired effect.
Accordingly, there continues to be a need for an umbrella valve arrangement, in which the flow of material through the valve is controlled, resulting in a more controlled and predictable umbrella-like flow profile, and a controllable end of filling flow profile.


A clapper assembly includes circular strikers which can be individually rotated so that a new portion of the surface of the striker is presented in the direction of the clapper stroke. A pair of opposing plates located at the end of the clapper bar retain circular, donut-shaped striking elements. Each striker is secured between the plates by a retaining screw through the axis of the striking element. By loosening the screws, the individual strikers may be rotated. Thus, when a portion of the striker becomes worn, it may be loosened and manually rotated to a new position so that a fresh unused area is presented. In addition, the entire clapper assembly may be rotated so that strikers of different compressibility can be interchanged.

Musical handbells may be individually adjusted to produce different types of sounds by rotating the clapper head. Handbells with this type of clapper have a rotatable head which includes striking elements of different compressibility arranged around the periphery of a round head. By rotating a head to a different position, active striking elements are changed from one to another. As different elements are selected, the sound of the bell can be varied from a sharper sound, when the striking element is made of a hard, less compressible material, to a softer sound if the active striking element is softer, i.e., more compressible.
The problem with the prior art adjustable clapper assemblies is that the striking elements wear out quickly and need to be replaced. Because the individual elements have only a very small available surface area, the strikers need to be replaced frequently, especially in larger bells where the striking force is greater. This requires disassembly of the clapper head and installing a new striker element.
Patent references which illustrate this type of adjustable clapper assembly include U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,535 issued to Hayward; U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,400 issued to Keenan et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,253,574 issued to Malta. These references disclose rotatable clapper heads capable of presenting striking areas of different compressibility to produce different sound characteristics. However, there is no provision for utilizing different areas of one striking element of the same compressibility to extend wear so that replacement of the striker elements will not be required as frequently.

Rotatable striking elements for a handbell


A tracking attachment (10) adapted and operable to facilitate measuring the alignment characteristics of the rear suspension of a vehicle, including tracking (thrust angle), offset, toe-in and toe-out, and length characteristics. The tracking attachment (10) broadly comprises an adjustment component (12); a bar component (14); one or more target components (16); an alignment component (18); one or more attachment components (20); a centering component (22); and a locking component (24).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices and methods for measuring one or more alignment characteristics of a rear suspension of a vehicle, such as tracking (thrust angle), offset, toe-in and toe-out, and length characteristics.
2. Background of the Invention
Tracking problems can arise in vehicles as a result of Diamond damage or misalignment of the rear wheels. methods of checking tracking include, for example, attaching surveyor's string to a frame, suspension, or other component behind a rear tire; pulling the string across the tire, such that the string is just touching the outer front surface of the tire (i.e., such that the string is substantially parallel with the outer surface of the tire); extending the string to a point further forward on the vehicle, such as the cowl area, and measuring the distance between the string and the frame at that point. This procedure is then repeated on the opposite side of the vehicle. If the two measurements are not equal then adjustments may be required. Also, for each side of the vehicle, while the string is pulled across and parallel to the outer surface of the tire, the tire can be rotated to check for run-out, i.e., variation in the tire or a bent wheel. A similar but more sophisticated method uses a laser plane on the tire rather than surveyor's string to establish a straight line parallel to the outer surface of the tire.
Methods for measuring offset include measuring the distance between the center of the wheel and a point further forward on the frame, such as the frame's centerline. This procedure is then repeated on the opposite side of the vehicle. If the two measurements are not equal then adjustments may be required
Other methods for determining these and other alignment characteristics suffer from a number of problems and disadvantages, including, for example, that they can be cumbersome, inconvenient, or time-consuming to employ and that they can result in significant inaccuracy.


Methods of producing olefins, bifunctional molecules, and 7-tetradecene are provided. In some embodiments, the methods comprise subjecting a omega-7-olefinic fatty acid or derivative thereof to metathesis transformation, wherein the omega-7-olefinic fatty acid or derivative thereof was produced in a genetically engineered microorganism.

Olefin cross metathesis is an established catalytic process for the breaking and formation of carbon-carbon bonds between olefinic groups of two separate molecules. In a simple system using two different olefin starting materials, six products are formed:

Metathesis chemistry is established and used industrially in the petrochemical industry. Catalysts for these processes include, for example, Grubbs catalysts. Recently, it has been shown that a subset of the Grubbs catalysts can be useful for transforming natural oils, such as those from vegetable or animal sources, to higher value derivatives, such as terminal olefins and bi-functional molecules including diacids, diesters, and omega unsaturated acids and esters. A drawback to this approach, however, is the complexity of the mixture of products that result from the reaction, and the poor yield of the desired product, resulting in challenging recovery and isolation processes, and ultimately more expensive products.
The source of the complexity arises from the natural complexity of natural oils. Natural oils are predominantly composed of a diverse mixture of triacylglycerides (TAGs). TAGs are composed of three fatty acids each esterified to one of the three hydroxyl groups of a glycerol molecule. In each TAG, each of the three fatty acids can vary in structure, having variable chain lengths and level and location of unsaturation. Most common vegetable oils have chain lengths in the C12-C22 range, and each fatty acid moiety may contain three or more olefinic bonds. As each olefinic bond is reactive with the other olefinic bonds in the mixture, metathesis produces a tremendous number of products when natural oils are used as a starting material. Indeed, there is an exponential increase in the number of products with each additional olefin in the mixture.
Thus, a less complex and more specific set of olefinic reactants would result in a less diverse more specific set of products, and would be a much more cost effective way to make a particular desired olefin.

Metathesis transformations of microbially-produced fatty acids and fatty acid derivatives


Electrical connector includes an insulative body, first and second terminals, shielding housing, and adhesive. The insulative body has a tongue piece and a base having first and second positioning grooves. Each of the first terminals has a first positioning part received in the insulative body, a first electrical contact part exposed from the tongue piece, and a first bonding part accommodated in a corresponding one of the first positioning grooves and protruding from the base. Each of the second terminals has a second positioning part received in the base, a second electrical contact part exposed from the tongue piece, and a second bonding part accommodated in a corresponding one of the second positioning grooves and protruding from the base. Adhesive is injected into the first and second positioning grooves to encapsulate the first bonding parts in the first positioning grooves and the second bonding parts in the second positioning grooves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors, and, more particularly to an electrical connector for electrically connecting a peripheral device to an electronic product.
2. Description of Related Art
As the electronic products develop rapidly, Universal Serial Bus (USB) type of interface is becoming one of the most popular connectors nowadays. More specifically, most peripheral products of computers are provided with USB connector for data transfer.
Since USB 2.0 introduced by USB-IF has been widely used in various electronic products, USB-IF has introduced even higher speed USB. 3.0, which is not only compatible with US.2.0 connector, but also provides a data transfer rate as high as 5 Gbps. With this specification, more computer devices, which were originally designed to be built in the computers, can be connected as an external peripheral device via an interface.
Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic view of a conventional electrical connector 1000 is shown. The electrical connector comprises an insulative body 10, a plurality of terminals 11, and a housing 12. The terminals 11 penetrate the insulative body 10. The housing 12 receives the insulative body 10. The insulative body 10 has a carrier seat 101 extending from the backside of the insulative body 10, and a bump 102 positioned on the carrier seat 101. However, it is difficult to fabricate the assembly of the bump 102 and hard to implement in an automatic process. Therefore, the efficiency for fabrication is diminished. Moreover, the more the accessories, the process of assembly will be even more complicated, causing the fabricating cost to be undesirably increased.
The present invention provides an electrical connector that, unlike conventional technology, can save the assembly cost for assemble the electrical connector and assembly module, and to provide better positioning for the terminals as well.


A wind turbine has a nacelle frame and a first hoist substantially permanently mounted on the frame. The method comprises the processes of hoisting a second, more powerful hoist and crane on the frame with the first hoist; removably mounting the second hoist and the crane on the nacelle frame; hoisting a winch using the second hoist and the crane on the frame, and removably mounting the winch on said frame; performing operations involving handling heavy parts employing said winch; and removing and lowering said winch, crane, and second hoist from the frame.

Heavy parts in a wind turbine, such as a generator, a gearbox, or a transformer, are typically handled by terrestrial and marine cranes. Such cranes are large and bulky, so that they are not sufficiently efficient for lowering the parts from the nacelle frame of the wind turbine and hoisting them back to the nacelle frame. Such cranes are expensive so that only a small number of the cranes are available for each wind turbine having parts to be handled. As a consequence, transportation of the cranes to the site where the wind turbine is operating is usually required with the resulting added cost of transportation apart from crane renting.
Attempts for overcoming such problems have been proposed consisting in providing a crane on the nacelle frame. The crane mounted on the frame, however, is difficult to be secured thereto and to become balanced when handling a heavy part of the wind turbine, such as the generator.
Other solutions, such as that in EP1577550, have been proposed in which a winch is provided on the nacelle frame of the wind turbine. In the foregoing patent, a freely supported winch is provided on a carriage in a nacelle frame for lowering heavy parts from and raising them to the wind turbine by means of a cable. The winch used for this purpose is capital intensive since it must be quite heavy and cumbersome for withstanding the high loads in use.
International Patent Publication No. WO 02/34664 describes a solution in which a permanently mounted small, relatively inexpensive crane is used to lift a larger temporary crane that is used for heavy lifting, and International Patent Publication No. 2006/01322 describes a solution in which a self-raising crane is used. Neither of these solutions have been widely adopted because, although they solve the cost issue to some degree, they lose the flexibility of the prior art terrestrial and marine cranes. That is, they are able to effectively handle only the heavy objects that are located close to the crane position, and their position cannot easily be changed.
Thus, there remains a need for a system for handling heavy parts of wind turbines that is cost effective and, at the same time, retains the flexibility of the prior art large terrestrial and marine cranes.

Method and system for performing operations on a wind turbine


A safety grab bar, such as may be used in a shower or a tub enclosure, comprises an inner liner, preferably formed of an extruded metal, and an outer overlying layer, preferably formed of a polymeric material such as plastic. The inner and outer liner mate together with a tongue and groove arrangement to prevent relative rotation between them. The inner liner and the outer overlying layer define the grab bar portion, and terminate at each end in a female receptacle, adapted to receive a male portion of a mounting bracket. The mounting bracket smoothly curves to complete a 90° turn, in order mount into a wall of the shower or bath enclosure. The male and female mating portions are flush at their outer dimensions to provide a smooth, unbroken profile. The male and female portions also include tongue and groove mating surface to prevent rotation of the grab bar within the mounting bracket.

The present invention relates generally to a grab bar for use in a bath or shower, and more particularly to a grab bar of field-adjustable length to permit orientation of the grab bar at the discretion of the user.
Each year, many people are injured in falls in the shower or bathtub. These injuries range from slight bruises to broken bones and even death. The injured range in age from young children to elderly people and the injuries are often caused by slipping or simply losing balance. Elderly people are far more likely to fall in the bathtub than are young people and are far more susceptible to serious injury.
For these reasons, many hotels and motels install some sort of support bar on a wall near a shower so people using the shower have a hand hold when entering or exiting the shower or tub. Such grab bars are also commonly installed adjacent to or within bath and shower enclosures in hospitals and rest homes, and even in many residences to help to guard against someone slipping and falling in the shower or bath.
While these support bars work well for some people entering or exiting the shower or tub, they are not always located in the most advantageous position at the most advantageous orientation. For example, in order to provide proper support, the grab bar must be secured mounted into studs or other strong support on the wall, and often standard length grab or support bars do not properly align with studs underlying the walls of the shower or bath. Further, one may find it more convenient to orient the grab bar at an angle relative to the floor of the shower or bath, in order to accommodate the needs of the user. The most common support bars in use today are constructed of a single piece of metal which has been bent to achieve a predetermined length which length cannot be modified to suit the application.
Therefore, there is a need for a grab bar that is located for easy access by someone entering or exiting a tub and that may be easily adjusted upon installation to accommodate the needs of the user. The present invention is directed to filling this need in the art.
Still further, the support bars presently in use often present sharp corners or exposed ends of the grab bar, which in themselves present a safety hazard. Such an aspect is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,344 to Guenther. Even certain grab bars which seek to eliminate such exposed ends or corners too often present uneven surfaces or irregularities in silhouette or profile, which can injure the user. Thus, there also remain a need for a grab bar suitable for installation in a shower or bath which presents a smooth, unbroken profile to eliminate this potential source of injury to the user. The present invention provides such a smooth profile.


A circuit control device controlling a switching circuit which has a semiconductor switching element, having a main controller, a drive signal output portion and an obtaining portion. The main controller outputs a drive control signal. The drive signal output portion receives the drive control signal and outputs a drive signal to the switching element, the switching element acting on the basis of the drive signal. The obtaining portion obtains circuit information on status of the switching circuit in synchronization with the drive control signal.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates a circuit control device that controls a switching circuit.
2. Related Art
In a switching circuit (for example, an inverter) having a semiconductor switching element, malfunction can occur owing to various causes such as fault of the semiconductor switching element. Specifically, for example, spuriously firing an IGBT as the semiconductor switching element can cause a breakdown of the gate to occur. Accordingly, configurations for facilitating determining the above-described causes of occurrence of circuit malfunction have been set forth. In the configurations, a memory for storing data such as on operating status within a predetermined period from past to present is provided (refer to for example, Patent literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H06-14558).
In the above-described prior art, writing the data to the memory, however, is stopped, when occurrence of a malfunction is detected. Accordingly, data after the detection of the malfunction cannot be obtained, so that there has been a case where the cause of occurrence of the malfunction cannot be determined.


An adjustable chair includes a base, a seat, a back and a chair control for pivotally connecting the back to the base for movement between an upright position and an inclined position. The seat is pivoted to the base at a front end. The seat is also connected to the base by a plurality of locking plates. A spring clamp normally holds the plates in a locked position. The clamp permits pivotal adjustment of the seat with respect to the base. A cable actuated back stop or lock includes a lever pivoted to the back. When in the operative position, the lever contacts the locking plates connected to the seat to limit or prevent tilting of the back with respect to the seat.

The present invention relates to office furniture and, more particularly, to adjustable chairs.
A wide variety of chairs are available which are principally adapted to the office environment. Such chairs include adjustable features to adapt them to the particular user and the task involved. The users of the chairs may, of course, vary significantly in physical characteristics. Such chairs may permit the chair back to tilt with respect to the seat and the base. Vertical height adjustment of the seat may be provided. The chair back may be vertically adjustable with respect to the seat. In addition, provision may be made for adjusting the seat position relative to the base and/or relative to the back. Examples of prior task oriented, adjustable chairs including some of these features may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,678 entitled CHAIR BACK HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM, which issued on Apr. 16, 1991 to DeKraker; U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,454 entitled WEIGHT-ACTUATED CHAIR CONTROL, which issued on Oct. 23, 1984 to Faiks and U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,094 entitled WORKING CHAIR, which issued on Apr. 15, 1980 to Bjerknes et al.
The chair may also include a stop mechanism to limit tilting motion of the chair back with respect to the base or the seat. The stop mechanism may provide a variable stop which results in a variety of maximum tilt positions. In the alternative, the mechanism may lock the seat back in an upright position and/or in a variety of different angular positions and, hence, prevent all tilting action. Examples of chairs including variable stop or lock mechanisms may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,142 entitled VARIABLE BACK STOP, which issued on Jan. 19, 1988 to Holdredge; U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,795 entitled VARIABLE BACK ADJUSTER FOR CHAIRS, which issued on Jan. 22, 1985 to Roossien and U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,206 entitled SYNCHROTILT CHAIR CONTROL, which issued on Jun. 28, 1984 to Faiks et al.
A need exists for an improved adjustable chair which achieves seat and back angular adjustment as well as locking of the back in a cost effective and reliable manner.


A voltage regulator may include one or more features for generating high PSRR. For example, source follower devices may be included in the voltage regulator for providing current sources for the output voltage nodes. The source followers may be sensitive to power supply noise at the gate terminal. Filters are included on the gate terminals to filter the power supply noise, thus reducing the noise at the gate terminals. As another example, the voltage regulator may employ current sources on the output voltage nodes which produce current inversely proportional to the current drawn by the load. In one embodiment, the voltage regulator may include a power control circuit used to provide overvoltage protection during power up. The power control circuit provides a voltage during power up, and ceases providing the voltage after a time interval so that the circuit may operate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of voltage regulators, and particularly to a voltage regulator employed within a phase locked loop (PLL).
2. Description of the Related Art
Voltage regulators are used in a variety of systems to provide a regulated voltage to other circuits in the system. Generally, it is desirable to provide a stable regulated voltage in the face of a wide variety of loads, operating frequencies, etc.
A measure of the effectiveness of a voltage regulator is its power supply rejection ratio (PSRR), which measures the amount of noise present on the power supply to the voltage regulator which is transmitted to the regulated voltage. A high PSRR is indicative of a low amount of transmission of noise, and a low PSRR is indicative of a high amount of noise transmission. A high PSRR, particularly across a wide range of operating frequencies of the devices being supplied by the voltage regulator, is difficult to achieve.
For example, voltage regulators have been used in the past to power PLL circuitry. However, PSRRs of voltage regulators used in PLLs have been limited. For example, PSRRs greater than 25 dB may not been achieved in voltage regulators used in PLLs.

High bandwidth, high PSRR, low dropout voltage regulator


A semiconductor device manufacturing method includes forming grooves in a surface of a semiconductor substrate, stacking a plurality of semiconductor chips in each area of the semiconductor substrate surrounded by the grooves to form stacked bodies, forming a first sealing resin layer that covers spaces between the plurality of semiconductor chips and lateral sides of the stacked bodies, separating the semiconductor substrate to singulate the stacked bodies, mounting the stacked bodies on a wiring substrate, forming a second sealing resin layer that seals the stacked bodies on the wiring substrate, separating the wiring substrate to singulate a portion of the wiring substrate with a single stacked body thereon, and grinding a portion of the semiconductor substrate in a thickness direction from a side of the semiconductor substrate opposite to the stacked bodies, after forming the first sealing resin layer and before singulating the wiring substrate.

Asa result of advances in communication and information processing technology, the demand for further miniaturized, and faster, semiconductor devices continues. A packaged semiconductor device has been developed in response to this demand. In the packaged semiconductor device, the length of the wiring between components is shortened by using stacked semiconductor chips to increase the operation frequency (speed) of the device and improve the mounting area efficiency (number of semiconductor device elements per unit area is increased).
For example, in a semiconductor NAND flash memory, a three dimensional mounting structure is proposed to enable reduced package size and higher speed response, in which a memory controller and a memory chip are stacked on the same wiring substrate. The three dimensional mounting structure includes, for example, a stacked layer structure using Through Silicon Vias (TSV).
In the manufacture of a semiconductor device according to a stacked layer structure of the TSV method, a plurality of semiconductor chips are stacked on a metal plate such as a lead frame, the semiconductor chips are electrically connected to each other using through electrodes (TSVs) penetrating the semiconductor chips to form a stacked body, and an underfill resin is used to seal the semiconductor chips. Thereafter, a plurality of the stacked bodies are adhered to a wiring substrate, and the stacked bodies are located adjacent to, but electrically isolated from one another, on the wiring substrate. Thereafter, a sealing resin is located on the stacked bodies and adjacent areas of the wiring substrate to seal the stacked bodies from the local environment. After forming external connection terminals on the wiring substrate, the wiring substrate is separated by dicing, such as with a dicing saw, into individual substrates, each having a stacked body of semiconductor chips thereon.
In the sealing process for providing the underfill resin, a sealing material outflow preventing body is provided on the metal plate in order to limit the spreading of the underfill resin used to seal a stacked body to the area of an adjacent stacked body, and the spacing between adjacent stacked bodies required to accommodate the material outflow preventing bodies results in wasted space between adjacent stacked bodies. Further, in the three dimensional mounting structure of stacked bodies, a semiconductor device easily gets thick. In order to reduce the size of a resulting semiconductor device, for example, the surface area of the substrate used to form the stacked body has to be reduced and at the same time, the resulting semiconductor device has to be thinned.

Semiconductor device manufacturing method and semiconductor device


A greasable bearing assembly may include an outer ring, an inner ring disposed within, and concentric with, the outer ring, and a plurality of balls disposed between the outer ring and the inner ring. A greasable seal may be disposed adjacent the outer ring and the inner ring, the greasable seal further comprising a toroidal shape comprising an outer face and an inner face. An outer ring-shaped surface may extend from the outer face to the inner face. An inner ring-shaped surface may extends from the outer face to the inner face. An intake opening may be disposed through the greasable seal and extend from the outer ring-shaped surface to the inner face. A securing member may be formed as a lip at the inner face to mateably couple between the inner ring and the outer ring.

A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls disposed between concentric rings or bearing races to maintain the separation between the races. The balls or rolling-elements provide for relative movement between the concentric races to support radial and axial loads while reducing rotational friction between the races by the rolling or rotation of the balls, which provides for a lower coefficient of friction than if the two races were to rotate by sliding against each other.
FIG. 1A shows a cut-away perspective view of a bearing, ball bearing, roller bearing, or greasable bearing 10. The ball bearing 10 comprises an inner ring or inner race 12 that comprises an inner surface and an outer surface opposite the inner surface. While the bearing 10 will sometimes be referred to as a ball bearing for convenience, and not by way of limitation, a person of ordinary skill will appreciate that the ball bearing can be a roller bearing or other similar or suitable bearing. The inner ring 12 may be made of metal, including steel, aluminum, titanium, brass, as well as ceramic, or other suitable strong and durable material. The inner surface of the inner ring 12 defines an inner diameter or bore Di that can receive a shaft or rotational element, or a piece about which rotation is desired. The outer surface of the inner ring 12 further comprises an inner groove, track, or ring ball race 14. The inner groove 14 is bordered by inner shoulders 16. The inner surface of the inner ring 12 comprises bore corners 12, which can be rounded and connect the inner diameter Di to a face 19 of the ball bearing 10. The inner ring 12 is nested within, concentric with, and shares a center with an outer ring or outer race 18.
The outer ring or outer race 18 comprises an inner surface and an outer surface opposite the inner surface. The outer ring 18 may be made of metal, including steel, aluminum, titanium, brass, or other suitable strong and durable material. The outer surface of the outer ring 18 comprises outer diameter corners 24. The outer surface of the outer ring 18 further defines an outer diameter Do that determines the areas into which the ball bearing 10 may be disposed. The inner surface of the outer ring 18 may comprise an outer groove, track, or ring ball race 20. The outer groove 20 may be bordered by outer shoulders 22. The outer groove 20 aligns with the inner groove 14 for receiving balls 28.
The balls, spheres, or rollers 28 may be seated within both the inner groove 14 and the outer groove 20 when the inner ring 12 is nested within the outer ring 18. While the balls may be spherical in shape or form, they need not be, and referred to as balls for convenience, and not by way of limitation. Balls or rollers 28, may in some instance, be cylindrical or rounded in a first direction and not rounded, curved, or designed to roll in a second or additional direction. In any event, the balls 28 may be made of metal, including steel, aluminum, titanium, brass, or other suitable strong and durable material, that may be the same material or a different material than the inner ring 12, the outer ring 18, or both. The balls 28 may be held in place with a desired space or separation between and among the balls 28 by the cage, retainer, or separator 26.
The cage 26 may be disposed or nested between, and concentric with, the inner ring 12 and the outer ring 18. As such, the cage 26 may be smaller than the outer ring 18 and larger than the inner ring 12. The cage 26 may be made of metal, including steel, aluminum, titanium, brass, or other suitable strong and durable material, including plastic, ceramic, fiber, such as fiber glass or carbon fiber, or other suitable material, which may be the same or different than the material(s) of the inner ring 12, the outer ring 18, and the balls 28. The cage 26 may comprise any desirable number of openings 27 (as shown, e.g., in FIG. 1B) within the cage 26 sized, adapted, or configured to receive the balls 28. The cage 26 may provide a desired spacing and maintain a desired position of the balls 28 within the inner groove 14 and the outer groove 20. The openings may also allow for the balls 28 to rotate, spin, and move relative to the cage 26 within the inner groove 14 and the outer groove 20, to facilitate the movement and rotation of the inner ring 12 and the outer ring 18 without sliding, with reduced friction, or both.
FIG. 1B shows an exploded view of a ball bearing 10 similar to what was shown in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1B shows another variation of the cage 26 for holding balls 28. FIG. 1B also shows ball bearing 10 can be a sealed bearing in which a first shield 32 is disposed at, near, or adjacent the face 19 of the bearing to cover and protect the cage 26 and the balls 28 from foreign debris. A second shield 34 is disposed at, near, or adjacent a face of the ball bearing 10 opposite the face 19 of the bearing to cover and protect the cage 26 and the balls 28 from foreign debris. Foreign debris entering the ball bearing 10 can damage or impede the relative movement of the inner ring 12, the outer ring 18, and the rolling of the balls 28.
Additionally, a lubricant, such as grease or oil, may be disposed within the bearing 10 to reduce friction and promote movement by being in contact with the inner ring 12, the outer ring 18, and the balls 28, as well as between and among the spaces formed therebetween. Not all bearings are sealed, e.g., inside an engine where the bearing is immersed in oil, where the oil acts as the lubricant, and the bearing need not be separately sealed as the engine or other environment is sealed to prevent debris from damaging the bearing.
When a bearing is not in oil and is subject to foreign debris, sealed bearings are often used to prevent foreign debris from getting into the bearing. After a time, the lubricant or grease within the bearing 10 may begin to lose effectiveness and need to be replaced. Ball bearings have conventionally been disassembled, or have shields 32 and 34 removed, to have the bearing 10 repacked with grease to ensure proper lubrication to support desired performance and extend the life of the parts and bearings being used. Repacking a bearing with new grease may involve removing one or more of the shields 32, 34, such as by using a pick or razor knife. The old grease can be removed and new grease added. The one or more shields 32, 34 can then be replaced. In other instances, new grease can be added without removing the covers or shields 32, 34, such as by using an injector needle.


An information display apparatus comprising goggles and a terminal and having a dot density so high as to be capable of reproducing textual information is disclosed, in which the goggles include light sources, a fixed mirror and a rotary mirror arranged in such a manner as to satisfy predetermined conditions, and the data transmitted from the terminal are reproduced as an image.

The present invention relates to a hand-held display apparatus for displaying image information using light sources.
A new information distribution system forms a background for developing this information display apparatus. The new information distribution system is one in which image information contained in a newspaper page produced by a newspaper publishing company (center station) is distributed to homes in various areas throughout a country using a satellite link. The most significant feature of the information distribution system is that the "paper" which has hitherto been a record medium for newspaper information and the like is replaced by electrical data from the beginning of distribution to realize what is called a paperless distribution system. At the same time, fresh newspaper information can be distributed over the whole country by taking advantage of simultaneity and broadcasting which are the greatest merits of the satellite communication.
Since the newspaper information handled by this information distribution system is configured of textual information such as titles, articles and advertisements on the one hand, and figure information such as photographs and illustrations, however, presentation of the newspaper information as dot images involves a vast number of dots. A high dot density is therefore required of display terminals for reproducing the newspaper information. The information display apparatus include, for example, a cold cathode-ray tube (CRT) and a liquid crystal display (LCD). An attempt to display the newspaper information on a CRT or an LCD undesirably increases the size of the apparatus under the circumstances.
In view of this situation, a system using an LED as described in JP-A-2-42476 has recently been closely watched. This is a system in which arbitrary information is emitted in the form of light as linear information from a linear array of LEDs, which linear information is sequentially deflected by a rotary or an oscillational mirror thereby to reproduce the newspaper information. Such a disclosure, however, fails to refer to the case in which a given LED array linearly arranged is visually recognized but suggests a system comprising two LED arrays, one each for the right and left eyes. The visual recognition with the right and left eyes is disclosed in JP-A-4-307590. Specifically, an array of light sources is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the viewer's face, the light emitted by the array of light sources is sequentially reflected in lateral direction by a rotary mirror, and the output light deflected by the rotary mirror is further deflected by a pair of fixed mirrors, one each on right and left sides, for deflecting the light toward the right and left eyes of the viewer. The above-mentioned publication also discloses the technique in which the output of the information display apparatus is deflected in time division by the rotary mirror thereby to display an image corresponding to the right and left eyes.
With the above-mentioned conventional system in which LEDs are visually recognized by right and left eyes, however, an LED array, a magnification lens and a rotary mirror are required to be arranged in a straight line, so that the information display apparatus is undesirably located considerably forward of the viewer. The LED array is also required to be arranged longitudinally of the viewer's face. Further, in the above-mentioned conventional system in which time-division requirement is met by a rotary mirror, displaying an image for the right and left eyes requires a period of time twice as long as normally required, and the displayed image is generally subjected to flickers. In other words, the conventional information display apparatuses are restricted by the size of the existing display elements when a certain degree of dot density is demanded. To meet such a demand, therefore, it is necessary either increase the system size or to employ a complicated structure.

Binocular display goggles with a one dimensional light source array scanned to form image of high dot density data


A process for the encapsulation of liquid particles within nanometer thick polymer shells utilizes an interfacial free radical alternating copolymerization process. Encapsulating a liquid material includes providing a mixture comprising the liquid material to be encapsulated, a hydrophobic monomer in a non-polar solution and a hydrophilic monomer in a polar solution. The liquid material is compatible in either the polar solution or the non-polar solution. The polar solution and the non-polar solution are not miscible in each other. The mixture is homogenized to form an emulsion, and then polymerized by an initiator which initiates an interfacial free radical alternating copolymerization process. The copolymerization process is optimally constrained to proceed only at the hydrophobic and hydrophilic interface thus forming a polymer around the liquid material.

This invention relates to the formation of liquid core capsules utilizing interfacial polymerization. More particularly, this invention relates to the encapsulation of liquid particles within nanometer thick polymer shells utilizing an interfacial free radical alternating copolymerization process.
Liquid-core capsules have wide-ranging applications in the high efficiency encapsulation and controlled delivery of drugs, dyes, enzymes, and many other biological substrates. These important applications have driven the rapid development of innovative techniques, based on layer-by-layer assembly, shell polymerization of particles and dendrimers followed by core-removal, microphase separation of core-shell latexes, and vesicles, to confine polymerization or assembly of encapsulants at the interface.
Interfacial polymerizations based on the reactions of amines and acid chlorides, lactide diols and diketene acetals, isocyanates and alcohols, isocyanates and amines, or urea and formaldehyde have been used to form liquid-core polymer capsules. As it stands however, monomers for these polymerizations react immediately upon contact and/or hydrolyze when finely dispersed in water. Thus, capsules smaller than 1 micron are difficult to prepare reliably. Moreover, the chemistry of these step polymerizations intrinsically requires two different chemical functionalities. Choices for a third functionality, e.g., acidic/basic or charged groups to allow for pH/ionic strength control of shell permeability without interfering with the polymerization, are thus very limited.
In traditional free-radical interfacial polymerizations, a macromer solution, which is a polymerizable pre-polymer, that optionally contains a co-catalyst, is applied to a material. The macromer is then polymerized with a free radical initiator that is adsorbed onto the surface of the material to be coated while the non-adsorbed initiator is rinsed off by a rinsing solution or by application of a macromer solution. One example of interfacial polymerization is the Microcapsule Interfacial Polymerization Method. Biological materials can be encapsulated as described above with reference to suspension polymerization, but utilizing interfacial polymerization to form the membrane on the surface of the biological material or microcapsule. This involves coating the biological material or microcapsule with a photoinitiator, suspending the biological material or microcapsules in the macromer solution, and immediately polymerizing the mixture, for example, by irradiating. A thin polymer coat, of less than 50 microns thickness can be formed around the biological materials or the microcapsule since the photoinitiator is present only at the microcapsule surface and is given insufficient time to diffuse far into the macromer solution.
In most cases, the initiator, such as a dye, will penetrate into the interior of the biological material or the microcapsule, as well as adsorbing to the surface. When macromer solution, optionally containing a cocatalyst such as triethanolamine, is applied to the surface and exposed to an initiating agent such as laser light, all the essential components of the reaction are present only at and just inside the interface of the biological material or microcapsule and macromer solution. Hence, polymerization and gelation (if multifunctional macromer is used), which typically occurs within about 100 msec, initially takes place only at the interface, just beneath it, and just beyond it. If left for longer periods of time, initiator starts diffusing from the inner core of the microsphere into the solution; similarly, macromers start diffusing inside the core and a thicker layer of polymer is formed.
Another example of an interfacial polymerization technique is the Direct Interfacial Polymerization Method, which promotes the formation of a membrane directly onto the surface of materials of interest that include, for example, cells and tissue. In this process, the material is directly coated with initiator, excess initiator is removed, the macromer solution is applied to the tissue and then polymerized.
Although encapsulation of materials through the use of interfacial polymerization exists, there is a need for a direct approach to preparing liquid-core capsules capable of controlling the shell thickness using interfacial free radical alternating copolymerization.

Liquid core capsules and methods of synthesis thereof through interfacial polymerization


A low profile trailer hitch includes a frame for attachment to a vehicle and a draw bar pivotally attached to the frame that includes upper and lower substantially similar curved plates, a stationary stop plate and a plurality of apertures for extending stop pins through both the upper and lower plates. The draw bar has a first towing position wherein the draw bar abuts against the stationary stop plate of the frame with a trailer coupling end of the draw bar extending outwardly away from a bumper of a vehicle upon which the hitch is mounted. The draw bar may be pivoted to a storage position with the coupling end disposed at a location substantially adjacent or within a periphery of the bumper and captured in the storage position by stop pins extending through the upper and lower plates.

The present application relates to attachment and holding apparatus, and in particular, to a trailer or tow hitch mounted on a vehicle, and furthermore to such a hitch that has a drawbar that is movable to a lateral position near the vehicle bumper when the hitch is not in use.
Vehicle hitches or tow bars that are permanently mounted either rearward or forward of a vehicle are often problematic when not in use as such towing devices extend a distance from the vehicle bumper, presenting challenges when backing up, parking, and the like. It is known in the art to provide towing devices that are designed such that they may be pivoted upwardly and stored on the vehicle when not in use. However, such devices may be unwieldy and cumbersome for a single operator to move, hold and lock into place. Also, such devices, even in a stored position may be in the way when accessing the vehicle. Therefore, it is desirable to provide for a trailer or tow hitch permanently mountable on a vehicle but also easily movable to an out-of-the-way, non-towing or storage position.