In an opening control device that controls the opening of an access panel door, a movable member of a detecting portion, which is pushed in by a main door that is in a closed state, is brought into direct abutment with a connection lever to move the connection lever, wherein the connection lever connects a drive lever, which is linked to operate with an opening operation of the door, and a driven lever, which releases the locking by locking portions, wherein the connection lever has a displacement area which includes a connecting position and in which maintains the connection of the drive lever with the driven lever, the connection lever is moved toward a disconnecting position within the displacement area when the movable member staying in a protruding position and is moved to the disconnecting position as the movable member is pushed into the pushed-in position.

In a vehicle such as a motor vehicle, for example, double doors are sometimes adopted as a side door, for example. In the side door adopting the double doors, when a main door (a door for a front seat) is closed, an access panel door (a door for a rear seat) is fastened engagingly in a door frame and is locked in a closed state. The access panel door can be opened only when the main door is open, and the main door is configured to be opened in advance of the access panel door (for example, refer to PTLs 1, 2).
An access panel door described in PTL 1 includes a latch device which locks the access panel door in a closed state and a connecting unit which transmits an operation performed on an opening handle for opening the access panel door to the latch device to release the locking of the access panel door by the latch device.
The connecting unit has an opening lever which is connected to the opening handle, a release lever which is connected to the latch device, an operation lever which is placed at an abutment portion of the access panel door with the main door to be operated in association with the opening and closing of the main door, and a lock lever which is connected to the operation lever via a connecting member such as a rod or a cable.
The lock lever which is connected to the operation lever via the connecting member is linked with the operation lever which is operated in association with the opening and closing of the main door so as to connect the opening lever and the release lever together in the event of the main door being kept open and to release the connection of the opening lever with the release lever in the event of the main door being kept closed.
In the event of the main door being kept closed, the operation performed on the opening handle is not transmitted to the latch device, whereby the locking of the access panel door by the latch device is maintained. Only in the event of the main door being kept open, the operation performed on the opening handle is transmitted to the latch device, whereby the locking of the access panel door by the latch device is released, allowing the access panel door to be opened.
An access panel door described in PTL 2 also includes a latch device which locks the access panel door in a closed state and a latch switching device which transmits an operation performed on an opening handle for opening the access panel door to the latch device to release the locking of the access panel door by the latch device.
The latch switching device has a base lever which is connected to the opening handle, a latch lever which is connected to the latch device, a detection lever which is placed at an abutment portion of the access panel door with a main door to be operated in association with the opening and closing of the main door and a middle member with which the detection lever is brought into direct abutment.
The middle member with which the detection lever is brought into direct abutment is interlocked with the detection lever which is operated in association with the opening and closing of the main door and is configured so as to connect the base lever with the latch lever in the event of the main door being kept open and to release the connection of the base lever with the latch lever in the event of the main door being kept closed.
In the event of the main door being kept closed, the operation performed on the opening handle is not transmitted to the latch device, whereby the locking of the access panel door by the latch device is maintained. Only in the event of the main door being kept open, the operation performed on the opening handle is transmitted to the latch device, whereby the locking of the access panel door by the latch device is released, allowing the access panel door to be opened.


Variable-length packets transmitted over a serial link do not have packet-start fields or unique symbols to mark the beginning of each packet. Instead, a length field indicates the packet's length, allowing the end of the packet to be located. Packets also do not have sequence numbers. When an error is detected, the receiver sends a control symbol over a reverse channel to signal the transmitter. The control symbol never occurs in a normal packet. Packet buffers in the transmitter and receiver have read and write pointers and also have de-allocation pointers that are synchronized between receiver and transmitter. As packets are error checked, the receiver advances its de-allocation pointer and updates the transmitter's de-allocation pointer, allowing the packets to be discarded from the transmitter's buffer only after the receiver finishes error checking. The transmitter re-transmits packets from its buffer starting from the de-allocation pointer when its receives the control symbol.

Serial communications links are widely used in electronic systems. Data may be serially transmitted over a wire or a differential pair of wires between a transmitter and a receiver. The data may be arranged into packets of data to facilitate management. Packets can include a checksum such as a cyclical-redundancy-check (CRC) that allow for error detection. Packets with errors can be re-transmitted. Such error recovery allows for random bit errors and provides for more robust communications or higher speeds.
FIG. 1 shows fixed-length packets. Each packet 10 contains a fixed number of bits. The fixed packet size facilitates locating the start of each packet. A bit counter may be used to count off X bits and indicate the start of the next packet.
However, if an error occurs such as a dropped bit, all downstream data may be corrupted since the start of the following packets cannot be determined. Also, fixed-size packets are undesirable since they can be inefficient. Data from various sources may not exactly fit into the fixed packet size. For example, the packet may be larger than the data that needs to be sent from one source, and it may be undesirable to have one packet carry data from two or more sources.
FIG. 2 shows variable-size packets with framing bits to mark packet locations. A special framing symbol or packet-start field 12 may be used to mark the start of each new packet. The framing symbol is a bit sequence that is never found in data payload 16 or other fields in a packet, such as sequence numbers 14. Thus when the bit stream matches the framing symbol, packet-start field 12 is detected.
When an error occurs, the next packet may begin unexpectedly. Since packet-start field 12 is a unique sequence of bits, when this unique bit sequence is detected, reception of the next packet must begin and reception of the prior packet must end. The prior packet can later be re-transmitted by sending the packet's sequence number 14 to the transmitter in a re-transmit request.
Using packet-start field 12 provides a fairly robust communications protocol. Unfortunately, packet-start field 12 increases the protocol's overhead, since the number of data bits in data payload 16 that may be sent for a period of time is reduced by the size of packet-start fields 12 that are sent. Also, sequence numbers further reduce the available bandwidth for data payload 16. Thus bandwidth efficiency is reduced because of packet-start field 12.
A go-back-N protocol may be used. When an error is detected, the receiver requests that the prior N packets be re-transmitted, where N is a predetermined number. A sliding window buffer of the last N packets may be kept by the transmitter to be re-transmitted when a go-back-N request is received from the receiver, such as in a not-acknowledgement (NACK) packet. However, the data bandwidth is still reduced because each packet includes a special unique frame-start symbol in packet-start field 12. Various other schemes and flow-control are known.
What is desired is a packet communications protocol that uses variable-size packets but does not have packet-start field 12. A packet-based communications system that does not have special control symbol to mark the start of each packet is desirable. A packet communicator that allows for error recovery without sequence numbers or packet-start fields is desirable.

Error recovery of variable-length packets without sequence numbers or special symbols used for synchronizing transmit retry-buffer pointer


Light emitting molecules and organic light emitting devices comprising such light emitting molecules are described. In one embodiment, a light emitting molecule comprises an anchoring group and a charge transport group having a first end and a second end. The first end of the charge transport group is bonded to the anchoring group. The charge transport group is configured to provide transport of electrical energy, and the transport of electrical energy is substantially one-dimensional. The light emitting molecule also comprises a light emissive group bonded to the second end of the charge transport group and a charge transfer group bonded to the light emissive group.

Organic light emitting diodes and devices (OLEDs) have begun to attract great interest for a number of applications. For example, attempts have been made to incorporate organic light emitting diodes in display devices. Organic light emitting diode devices can potentially offer a number of advantages over other types of display technologies. In particular, compared with certain types of display technologies, organic light emitting diode devices have the potential to offer lower manufacturing costs, reduced energy requirements, and improved visual characteristics.
However, existing organic light emitting devices often suffer from a number of problems. Existing organic light emitting diode devices are typically formed by depositing multiple organic layers on a substrate. The requirement of multiple organic layers can result in added weight and additional manufacturing costs. Also, the organic layers are sometimes formed from amorphous or randomly oriented polymeric materials. As a result of such random orientation, electrical conductivity of the organic layers can be inadequate, and charged species can travel in three dimensions relatively great distances along the randomly oriented polymeric materials before reaching a fluorescent or phosphorescent species that can emit light. At the same time, such random orientation can lead to the formation of "micro-wells" that can act as capacitors to further lower the electrical conductivity of the organic layers. To produce light having a desired brightness, a greater electric field density is sometimes applied to the organic layers, which electric field density can lead to thermal breakdown or instability of the organic layers. In addition, as the material draws in more current to achieve emission, UV light is emitted by the OLED material that can react with oxygen from absorbed moisture, causing radicals to form, which radicals react with the OLED material, effectively cross-linking the material, and may remove the OLED material from the surface.
U.S. Patents which illustrate various approaches to OLEDs and image display devices include e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,656,608 to Kita et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,885 to Chou; U.S. Pat. No. 5,677,545 to Shi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,811,833 to Thompson; U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,550 to Papadimitrakopoulos; U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,930 to Thompson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,303 to Bawendi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,391,426 to Bawendi et al; U.S. Pat. No. 6,406,804 to Higashi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,455 to Thompson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,458,475 to Adachi et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2001/0005021A1 to Fukuyama et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2002/0042174 to Kunugi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,700 to S. R. Forrest et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,714 to Shen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,870 to C. W. Tang et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,393 to M. E. Thompson et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,630 to Burrows et al.
References which describe various approaches to conductive organic molecules are: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2002/0064683 to Okada et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,142 to Bolton et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,096 to Liu et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,479,240 to Kayyem et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,430,511 to Tour et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,700 to Ellenbogen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,227 to Ellenbogen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,169,291 to Metzger et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,273 to Kayyem et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,327 to Keen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,265 to Ono et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,811 to Sakurai et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,878 to Geddes et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,451 to Ueyama et al; Liu, et al. Synthetic Metals, 122 (2001) 177-179; Ramachandran, et al., Science, 300 (2003) 1413-1416; Blum, et al. AppI. Phys. Lett. 82 (2003) 3322-3324; Nitzan, et al., Science 300 (2003), 1384-1389.
It is against this background that a need arose to develop the light emitting molecules and organic light emitting devices described herein.

Light emitting molecules and organic light emitting devices including light emitting molecules


A system for monitoring the communication with a connected Internet of Things (IoT) device is provided. The system includes a first computing device including a least one processor in communication with at least one memory device. The at least one memory device stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor cause the at least one processor to execute an IoT device communication application. The IoT device communication application monitors the IoT device. The instructions also cause the at least one processor to store IoT device data including a current location of the IoT device, determine an optimal communication path between the IoT device communication application and the IoT device based on the IoT device data, and transfer execution of the IoT device communication application to a second computing device based on the optimal communication path.

The field of the disclosure relates generally to the security of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and more particularly, to systems and methods for protecting data and communications provided to and by IoT devices.
The emerging IoT environment includes end-user devices (i.e., the "things" in the IoT) ranging from sensors to home utilities to medical devices. This environment not only inherits all the known and troublesome security problems present in the Internet, but also augments these problems in additional manners. One such problem is that the human users of these devices are not consistent in enforcing the security of their devices. This problem is expanding as the task of ensuring the security of a single telephone or personal computer is constantly growing, let alone ensuring the security of all of an individual's IoT devices. The absence of a single root-of-trust Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) renders the task of ensuring the security of a typical mobile phone extraordinarily difficult, given the proliferation of a multitude of obscure root-key certificates.
In addition, other factors that make the maintenance of the security of IoT devices very hard, if not outright impossible, for most human users is the necessity to maintain (securely) and remember various passwords, including the password for accessing the device, properly administering software updates, and otherwise having specialized device security knowledge that requires years of specialized development and training. Furthermore, in some cases, the individual IoT devices may have malicious code pre-installed on the device.
The consequences of a security failure to the end users can easily be a matter of life or death (as in cases of implanted medical devices or vehicles), not to mention loss of privacy or financial losses because of identity theft. The owners of the things/devices are not the only ones who will suffer such consequences. When the access to a device is stolen, just as it happens today with personal computers, the device itself becomes a vector for spreading viruses and conducting denial of service attacks that potentially can have catastrophic effect on other principals, including, but not limited to the service providers who offer the IoT services and the network operators who host such service providers.

Systems and methods for internet of things security environment


An apparatus for warming consumable liquids and for controllably maintaining the elevated temperature of the liquid that includes a housing having an upper portion, a tapered lower portion and a side wall defining a tapered receiving chamber for receiving the container containing the consumable liquid. Disposed within the housing in close proximity to the tapered receiving chamber is an electric heater for heating the receiving chamber. Operably associated with the electric heater is a controller that includes an electrical circuit for energizing the electric heater and for controllably maintaining the electric heater at a selected one of a plurality of elevated temperatures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to warmers for warming consumable liquids, such as coffee, and for controllably maintaining the elevated temperature of the liquid. More particularly, the invention concerns a warmer for warming consumable liquids and for maintaining the temperature of the liquid at one of three temperatures selected by the user.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Beverages such as coffee, tea and the like are best enjoyed when consumed hot. When such beverages are served in a conventional drinking cup they tend to cool relatively rapidly. This is particularly true when the beverage is served in a paper drinking cup of the character used in many drive-through restaurants.
Devices of several different designs have been suggested in the past for warming consumable liquids and for maintaining the elevated temperature of the liquid. Exemplary of one such device is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,585 to Dam. The invention described in the Dam patent comprises a beverage cup and cup holder system. The Dam beverage cup includes a sleeve, a liner and a base that includes a plate, a heating element and a pair of spring terminals. The base further includes a contact ring and a contact disk. The cup holder, which is adapted to mate with the base of the beverage cup, has recessed land areas which lie below a plane of the support for the beverage cup and are electrically isolated from each other. The cup holder includes spring contacts which extend into the recessed land areas and are adapted to receive connections from an external source of electrical current. The beverage cup, when filled with a hot beverage, is placed into the cup holder. As the beverage cup is placed into the cup holder, the contact disk and contact ring automatically align with the recessed land areas and make contact with the spring contacts. The heating element of the device maintains a beverage at a desirable equilibrium temperature for an extended period of time.
Another prior art device past for warming consumable liquids is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,664 issued to Peace. The Peace invention provides a receptacle having a thermally nonconductive exterior to retain the heat of liquids, and a durable heat-conductive interior portion to reside in heat-conductive relation with a source of warming heat, so as to impart heat to the contents of the receptacle. The receptacle of the Peace device comprises a heat-conductive liner including a bottom portion and an upwardly extending wall portion, and a heat-insulating sleeve surrounding the wall portion of the liner, the bottom portion of the liner being exposed for direct contact with a heat source. The nonconductive sleeve surrounding the wall portion of the conductive liner has an open bottom which terminates a short distance below the bottom portion of the liner in surrounding yet spaced-apart relation to the bottom portion, in order to isolate the sleeve from the heat source.


Systems and methods conducive to the formation of one or more alkene hydrocarbons using a methane source and an oxidant in an oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) reaction are provided. One or more vessels each containing one or more catalyst beds containing one or more catalysts each having similar or differing chemical composition or physical form may be used. The one or more catalyst beds may be operated under a variety of conditions. At least a portion of the catalyst beds may be operated under substantially adiabatic conditions. At least a portion of the catalyst beds may be operated under substantially isothermal conditions.

Technical Field
This invention is generally related to vessels and processes useful in an oxidative coupling of methane ("OCM") reaction.
Description of the Related Art
Alkene hydrocarbons are also referred to as 'olefins' within the petrochemical industry and can include any unsaturated hydrocarbon compound containing at least one carbon-to-carbon double bond. Alkenes are used widely within the chemical industry for their general reactivity and ability to polymerize or oligomerize into longer chain hydrocarbon products such as synthetic fuels. Although alkenes are naturally occurring their demand far exceeds the natural supply. Consequently, the vast majority of alkenes are produced via thermal or catalytic cracking of longer chain mixed hydrocarbons such as crude oil or light ends such as napthas. An increasing worldwide demand for longer chain hydrocarbon oils, lubricants and fuels places a demand on hydrocarbon cracking operations to optimize or maximize the formation of longer chain hydrocarbons requiring minimal post-cracking processing to provide such high-demand products. As such, the production of shorter chain alkenes, such as ethylene (IUPAC designation "ethene") using steam or catalytic cracking is in economic tension with the production of generally more valuable longer chain hydrocarbons. Shorter chain alkenes are typically produced using gaseous or liquid light hydrocarbons which are steam cracked at temperatures of 750° C. to 950° C. The cracked gas contains multiple alkene hydrocarbons, including ethylene, and is immediately quenched to halt the numerous secondary (olefin-consuming) free radical reactions within the off-gas. The various alkenes can then be separated from the remaining quenched cracked gas via distillation.
Natural gas is a naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbon gases including methane and containing up to about twenty percent concentration of higher hydrocarbons such as ethane and small quantities of impurities such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. With hundreds of years and trillions of cubic feet of proven, unextracted, natural gas reserves, natural gas potentially provides a rich source of hydrocarbons. Unfortunately, natural gas, or more specifically the methane found in natural gas is expensive to transport for extended distances except by pipeline. Even with the use of pipelines, methane requires significant capital investment in the pipeline itself and incurs significant operational expense in the recompression stations needed to maintain a reasonable pipeline flow. However, restricting transport to pipelines essentially relegates such methane sources to the role of a regional supply, meaning that unless a local demand exists for the methane, the natural gas supply is "stranded"—available for extraction but without a local demand making the extraction economically attractive and practical.
Historically methane has been converted to longer chain hydrocarbons through steam reforming to provide a synthesis gas ("syn-gas"), containing a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which is then used as a feedstock to a Fischer-Tropsch process which converts the carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons (often referred to as a "gas-to-liquids" or "GTL" process) that include synthetic lubrication oils and synthetic fuels. While periodically used on a widespread basis, for example by Germany during World War II, the popularity of the Fischer-Tropsch process is hampered by high capital costs associated with the construction of the process, and the high operation and maintenance costs associated with the ongoing operation of the process. However, even with Fischer-Tropsch, the ability to convert methane to short chain alkenes such as ethylene is extremely limited.
Ethylene is widely used in chemical industry, and historically the worldwide production of ethylene has exceeded that of any other organic compound. Ethylene is used in a wide variety of industrial reactions, including: polymerization, oxidation, halogenation and hydrohalogenation, alkylation, hydration, oligomerization, and hydroformylation. Within the United States and Europe, approximately 30% of the ethylene produced is used in the manufacture of three chemical compounds—ethylene oxide which is used as a precursor in the production of ethylene glycol; ethylene dichloride which is used as a precursor in the production of polyvinylchloride; and ethylbenzene which is used as an intermediate in the production of styrene and polystyrene. Significant quantities of ethylene (approx. 60% of total use) are consumed in the production of various forms of polymerized ethylene, or "polyethylene."
The oxidative coupling of methane ("OCM") reaction promotes the formation of alkene hydrocarbons such as ethylene using an exothermic reaction of methane and oxygen over one or more catalysts according to the following equation:2CH4+O2C2H4+2H2OThe reaction is exothermic (ΔH=−67 kcal/mole) and historically was conducted at very high temperatures of from about 750° C. to about 950° C. to provide a C2 (ethane+ethylene) yield reported to be in the range of 15%-25%. Despite intensive efforts to develop catalysts for the OCM process over the last 30 years, there exists a need for an economic and reliable direct conversion of methane to higher molecular weight hydrocarbons.
The value associated with ethylene production is significant, estimated in excess of $150 billion (US) per year. Used as an intermediate and a raw material feedstock throughout the petrochemical industry, the current ethylene production process via steam cracking consumes greater quantities of energy than nearly all other commodity chemical processes, consumes valuable fractions recovered from crude oil, and is one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions in the chemical industry.

Oxidative coupling of methane systems and methods


A multiple band electrically small compact planar microstrip antenna at VHF and UHF frequencies is provided that permits both a considerably abbreviated antenna length and significantly high efficiency antenna performance. The multiple band electrically small compact planar microstrip antenna advantageously positions a narrow radiating strip and a group of unequally dimensioned radiating members on a microstrip dielectric substrate that is stacked on a ground plane. The unequally dimensioned, or unlike, radiating members are separated by at least one gap and cause the antenna to resonate at a number of different frequencies instead of a single frequency as the prior art microstrip antenna. The multiple band electrically small compact planar microstrip antenna also innovatively filters unwanted signals at other frequencies because of the narrowband nature of each band. The preferred embodiment is a dual band electrically small compact planar microstrip antenna with two unlike radiating members separated by a single gap. This invention also encompasses methods for providing substantial reduction in antenna size at the VHF and UHF frequencies with multiple band electrically small planar microstrip antennas.

Microstrip antennas with a lightweight, low profile, low cost and planar structure have been replacing bulky antennas. The length of a rectangular microstrip antenna is about a half wavelength within the dielectric medium under a radiating patch. A half wavelength is still relatively large at UHF and VHF frequencies and these frequencies also impose size limitations that can result in bulky and cumbersome antenna structures. However, microstrip antennas, particularly the electrically small microstrip antennas, have a rather narrow bandwidth. This narrow bandwidth has been tolerated because most modern communications systems generally only need a few distinct frequencies, e.g. one to transmit and one to receive, rather than a continuous spectrum of operating frequency. The disadvantages, drawbacks, limitations and shortcomings of conventionally-sized narrow-band microstrip antennas have created a long-felt need for more compact multiple band antenna structures at lower frequencies that are also low-cost, rugged and conformal in nature. Up until now, it has not been possible to employ planar microstrip antennas without the disadvantages, limitations and shortcomings associated with antenna length and size.
Aside from the need for compact multiple band antenna structures, the prior art narrowband microstrip antennas have suffered from a number of other problems. One continuing problem with prior art narrowband microstrip antennas is unwanted antenna length of a half wavelength length within the dielectric medium, and they also suffer from other size-related drawbacks and disadvantages such as excessive cost and cumbersomeness. Thus there has been a long-felt and unsatisfied need for a multiple band electrically small microstrip antenna for the VHF and UHF frequencies.
The present invention makes it possible to fulfill the need for a significantly reduced antenna length and an electrically small multi-band antenna without suffering from the disadvantages, shortcomings and limitations of lengthy, costly and cumbersome conventional microstrip antennas.

Dual band electrically small microstrip antenna

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


A sound production controller can include a horn device that performs a vibrating operation at a predetermined resonance frequency in response to a predetermined operation to produce a warning sound, an input section which receives a sound production command signal outputted in response to execution of a function that requires sound production in the vehicle other than the predetermined operation, and a sound production controller which, if the input section receives the sound production command, provides a high-frequency signal having a frequency higher than the predetermined resonance frequency to the horn device to cause the horn device to produce a sound.

Many vehicles have been equipped with a keyless entry system that allows a driver to remotely instruct a vehicle to lock or unlock the doors of the vehicle as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-206567, for example. With this system, when the driver uses a remote controller to lock or unlock the doors of the vehicle, a horn or beeper provided in the vehicle is sounded to allow the driver to verify that the doors have actually locked or unlocked.
However, the conventional keyless entry system has a problem that because the horn or beeper is specifically provided for producing a sound when keyless entry is performed, the number of components increases.
Thus, there is an need in the art for a sound production controller capable of producing sound when a keyless entry function is executed without the need of a dedicated sound production apparatus.


A mother substrate for an organic light-emitting display device includes a base substrate, a plurality of display areas arranged in an array on the base substrate, the array having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns that are perpendicular to the plurality of rows. The mother substrate further includes a plurality of first dummy patterns formed between the plurality of rows of display areas, and a plurality of second dummy patterns formed between the plurality of columns of display areas. The plurality of first dummy patterns are spaced apart from each other by a plurality of cut portions.

1. Field
The described technology generally relates to a mother substrate for organic light-emitting display device and a method of manufacturing an organic light-emitting display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic light-emitting display devices are self-emissive and include a hole injection electrode and an electron injection electrode, and an organic emission layer (organic EML) formed therebetween. A hole injected from the hole injection electrode and an electrode injected from the electron injection electrode are combined in the organic EML to generate an exiton, and light is emitted when the exiton falls from an excited state to a ground state.
Organic light-emitting display devices do not require a separate light source, are capable of operating with a low voltage, can be lightweight and slim, and are expected to become a next generation display device due to its high quality characteristics such as its wide viewing angle, high contrast, and fast response time.

Mother substrate for organic light-emitting display device and method of manufacturing organic light-emitting display device


A test automation system for performing functional tests of a software program. The system includes a plurality of test functions each configured to test a discrete component of the software program. a user-defined test specification associated with the program provides state definitions that specify a desired test approach for each type of test procedure to be performed on the program. A test engine creates all test cases appropriate for a user-selected test type and controls the software program, applying the test functions and state definitions in accordance with the test specification. All test-specific and software program-specific data are located in the user-defined test functions and specifications while all generic test system processing resides in the test engine. The test specifications are preferably implemented in modifiable text files to maintain concurrency with an evolving software program. The test engine creates all possible permutations and combinations for performing a desired test. These test specification includes such items as the states that the software program may possess, the test functions required to transfer between one state and other possible states, information pertaining to the values that specific inputs may have, etc. During operation, the test engine generates test histories indicating the results of the test performed in accordance with one of the test specifications. The contents of the test histories include determination made by the test functions executed in accordance with an associated test specification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to software verification and, more particularly, to the automated testing of software.
2. Related Art
Newly developed software programs must be thoroughly tested in order to eliminate as many "bugs" or errors as possible before the software is released for widespread public use. Several different methods for testing software programs have been developed. One conventional approach, generally referred to as beta testing, involves distributing the program, typically under a non-disclosure agreement, to a group of users who use the program for a period of time and report any errors which are encountered to the software developer. Although this type of testing is commonly used in the software industry, it is often found to be very time consuming, adversely affecting the scheduled release of products incorporating the software program. In addition, beta testing can be extremely difficult to control, particularly when a large number of users are provided the beta version of the software. Furthermore, due to the non-systematic use of the program, there is no guarantee that every error, or even most errors, will be identified with this approach, even under circumstances where a large number of users are using the software.
Another conventional method for verifying and testing software programs involves the use of automated software testing techniques alone or in combination with beta testing. Automatic testing generally consists of dynamically verifying that a program is consistent with a detailed specification of its behavior. Automatic test techniques generally include what is commonly referred to as basis path test and range test techniques. Basis path testing involves determining the possible paths which the software program may follow. A path is a sequential list of program state transitions. The state transitions are executed to verify specific paths through the program. Range testing involves verifying that the program can successfully perform certain functions that depend upon inputs to the program. The software is repeatedly executed while the inputs are set to one or more values within a specified range. The values can be numerical ranges or other ranges such as string lengths.
A drawback to conventional automated software testing techniques include performing path testing randomly or on only certain paths which are likely to be executed during typical program operations. Likewise, conventional automated range testing techniques often test a limited number of numerical values within and outside of the specified range of a given input. These approaches to testing software are often based upon a cost/benefit analysis: the cost associated with test and verification as compared with the probability that more extensive testing will uncover errors that would be problematic for the end user. This risk analysis results in the incomplete testing of the software program, particularly as the cost for the manual creation and subsequent maintenance of test procedures for each software program increases.
Typically, conventional automated software test techniques include the development of multiple test procedures, each directed towards the verification of a particular software program. A drawback to these test systems is that the software programs are often a collection of modules, subroutines or other components that perform smaller or simpler subtasks. Oftentimes, these smaller functional programming components are also included in, called or referenced by other, larger programs as well. As a result, procedures for verifying these common features are often found in the multiple test procedures. There are a number of drawbacks resulting from this redundancy. First, improvements made to one test procedure must often be incorporated into other test procedures as well, further increasing the cost of maintaining the automated test system. Such changes may be due to, for example, modifications resulting from prior software testing, specification changes, etc. Under such conditions, test procedures become invalid and unusable until the modifications are completed. This interdependency of test procedures overburdens the software test process, extending the time required to release a new software product.
Another drawback to conventional software test techniques is that they are directed towards the coverage of internal components or elements associated with the software, such as statements, branches or dataflow chains. Creation of such test procedures generally requires access to the source code of the software program. However, such access is not always possible because the program source code is frequently subject to copyright or trade secret protection. In addition, such software test techniques require an intimate knowledge of the software program, oftentimes requiring the software developers themselves to create the test procedures. This prevents the assignment of such tasks to less costly and more available personnel. Also, the testing of the internal components or elements may be unnecessary, and therefore wasteful. This is because there are many more possible paths to test of the internal components than necessary to insure that the functional requirements are satisfied.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for thoroughly and efficiently testing software programs. The system should be capable of being easily and quickly modified to accommodate changes in the software program. The system should include the ability to automatically determine the requisite tests necessary to meet user-specified criteria. Furthermore, such an automated test system should test software according to its external characteristics and functional specifications and not require access to, or an intimate knowledge of, the software program.

System and method for automatically testing software programs


System and method for controlling one or more light emitting diodes. For example, the system includes a bleeder configured to receive a rectified voltage generated by a rectifying bridge, and a dimmer detector configured to receive an input voltage generated by a voltage divider, determine whether or not the rectified voltage is associated with a TRIAC dimmer, and output a control signal to the bleeder. The voltage divider is configured to receive the rectified voltage, and the input voltage indicates a magnitude of the rectified voltage.

Certain embodiments of the present invention are directed to circuits. More particularly, some embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for bleeder control. Merely by way of example, some embodiments of the invention have been applied to light emitting diodes (LEDs). But it would be recognized that the invention has a much broader range of applicability.
With development in the light-emitting diode (LED) lighting market, many LED manufacturers have placed LED lighting products at an important position in market development. LED lighting products often need dimmer technology to provide consumers with a unique visual experience. Since Triode for Alternating Current (TRIAC) dimmers have been widely used in conventional lighting systems such as incandescent lighting systems, the TRIAC dimmers are also increasingly being used in LED lighting systems.
Conventionally, the TRIAC dimmers usually are designed primarily for incandescent lights with pure resistive loads and low luminous efficiency. Such characteristics of incandescent lights often help to meet the requirements of TRIAC dimmers in holding currents. Therefore, the TRIAC dimmers usually are suitable for light dimming when used with incandescent lights.
However, when the TRIAC dimmers are used with more efficient LEDs, it is often difficult to meet the requirements of TRIAC dimmers in holding currents due to the reduced input power needed to achieve equivalent illumination to that of incandescent lights. Therefore, conventional LED lighting systems often utilize bleeder units to provide compensation in order to satisfy the requirements of TRIAC dimmers in holding currents.
FIG. 1 is an exemplary circuit diagram showing a conventional LED lighting system using a TRIAC dimmer. As shown in FIG. 1, the main control unit of the LED lighting system 100 includes a constant current (CC) unit U1 and a bleeder unit U2. The constant current unit U1 controls constant current output of the LED lighting system 100. The bleeder unit U2 provides a bleeder current of a certain magnitude to maintain the TRIAC dimmer's normal operation and to prevent the TRIAC dimmer from malfunctioning due to insufficient current supply.
The operation process of the LED lighting system 100 as shown in FIG. 1 is as follows: after the system 100 is powered on, an AC input voltage (e.g., VAC) is received by the TRIAC dimmer and rectified by a full-wave rectifier BD1 to generate a rectified voltage (e.g., VIN); the constant current unit U1 generates a constant current for the LED lighting system 100, and the constant current flows through the LED into the constant current unit U1; using the TRIAC dimmer, the rectified voltage (e.g., VIN) received by the anode of the LED usually has a waveform of an AC signal that has been clipped and rectified. As an example, when the waveform of the AC signal is clipped by the TRIAC dimmer or when the rectified voltage (e.g., VIN) is relatively small in magnitude within an AC cycle, the LED does not conduct current because of the insufficient voltage and does not have a current that flows through, causing the TRIAC dimmer to malfunction. Therefore, the bleeder unit U2 often is needed to generate a sufficient bleeder current in the LED lighting system 100 to maintain the TRIAC dimmer in normal operation.
From the perspective of system power, the input power of the LED lighting system 100 includes mainly the LED power and the bleeder power:Pin=Pled+Pbleeder  (Equation 1)where Pin represents the input power of the system 100, Pled represents the power consumed by the LED, and Pbleeder represents the power consumed by the bleeder unit U2.
Hence it is highly desirable to improve the techniques related to LED lighting systems.

Systems and methods for bleeder control related to lighting emitting diodes

On-Bright Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.


The invention concerns membrane electrolyzers suitable for processes such as water or hydrogen halides electrolysis, as well as electrochemical generators fed with gases containing hydrogen and oxygen for direct conversion into electric energy. These apparatuses generally consist of a filter-press assembly of conductive bipolar plates (2), electrodes (4), sealing gaskets (5) membranes (6) and internal longitudinal ducts for feeding the reactants and withdrawing the products and residual reactants. The invention is directed to the method for repairing said electrolyzers or generators when an elementary cell is malfunctioning. This method comprises making at least two perforations in the peripheral area of the bipolar plates (2) and/or gaskets (5) of the malfunctioning cell to reach distribution channels (9, 11) which connect the compartments containing the electrodes (4) with said longitudinal ducts. A sealing means (agent) is then injected through the perforations (12) in order to form suitable occlusions (14, 15) in the distributions channels (9, 11) and in the perforations (12) respectively. To facilitate the perforation procedure, the bipolar plate (2) and/or the gaskets (5) may be provided with blind aid-holes in the peripheral area. Upon sealing the distribution channels (9, 11) and the perforations (12), the bipolar plates (2) delimiting the malfunctioning cell are externally short-circuited and the electrolyzer or generator is ready for operation.

Known in the art are electrolysis or power generation processes carried out in filter-press structures comprising an arrangement of electrochemical cells. The typical elementary electrochemical cell suitable for said processes usually has a reduced thickness in order to minimize the energy consumption. Typically the elementary cell is delimited by two conductive plates enclosing a couple of peripheral sealing gaskets, an ion exchange membrane, a couple of electrodes and a couple of current collectors/distributors. The plates and/or gaskets have holes connecting the anodic and cathodic compartments by means of distribution channels. A multiplicity of elementary cells is generally assembled in a filter-press arrangement to form an electrolyzer or electric current generator. Therefore the electrolyzer or generator is made of a series of bipolar plates, gaskets, membranes, electrodes and current collectors/distributors. In particular the alignment of the holes in the plates and gaskets forms longitudinal ducts which are connected to suitable nozzles positioned at one or both ends of the electrolyzer or generator. The reactants and the reaction products, in some cases mixed with the residual reactants, are fed or withdrawn through these nozzles and ducts. Distribution channels permit feeding the reactants to each elementary cell and withdrawing the products and residual reactants therefrom. An assembly of elementary cells as above is described in the European patent application No. EP 0629015 A1 by the same applicant. These assemblies, typically having a series electrical connection, are put out of operation even if only one of the elementary cells is malfunctioning, that is to say if even only one of the electrodes (for example if the electrocatalytic activity is scarce) or only one of the collectors (for example due to increased electrical resistance caused by improper composition or mechanical characteristics) do not properly work or if holes are present in the membrane. This last occurrence is particularly dangerous as it may lead to mixing of incompatible reactants or products, as it is the case in electric current generators where a hole in a membrane causes mixing of oxygen and hydrogen with the consequent ignition of the mixture caused by the electrocatalytic material applied to the electrodes. Therefore the method for externally short-circuiting a malfunctioning cell, as described in the European patent application No. EP 0629015 A1, solves only partially the problem as it allows the electric current to by-pass the malfunctioning cell but does not eliminate possible inconveniences connected with the mixing of the reactants and/or products in case of damages to the membrane. In fact, reactants and products are in any case present in the elementary cell containing the damaged membrane due to the connection between the cell and the longitudinal feed and withdrawal ducts through the distribution channels. As a consequence, a damaged membrane not only hinders operation of the electrolyzer or generator, as it happens when the electrodes or the current collectors/distributors are defective, but also poses safety problems. In the case of damaged membranes, an efficient repairing method is not found in the prior art. Therefore, it would be necessary to disassemble the electrolyzer or generator, or at least open the same in correspondence of the malfunctioning cell, to remove and replace the damaged membrane. This procedure is extremely delicate as further damages are often caused to elementary cells initially free from defects. Further, from the operating point of view, this procedure is time consuming and therefore economically disadvantageous.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by disclosing an efficient method for repairing malfunctioning elementary cells which permits to restore the best operating conditions of an electrolyzer or electric current generator without any need for opening and replacing the damaged or defective parts.

Method for excluding a malfunctioning elementary cell in a membrane electrolyzer or electrochemical generator


An apparatus for use with a masonry block. The apparatus includes a body part that is at least substantially planar, has a perimeter, has a front surface and an opposed rear surface. The apparatus also includes a ¼ block stop part extending from the front surface and a ½ block stop part extending from the rear surface, the body part being dimensioned and the stop parts being positioned and dimensioned such that, when the body part is operatively positioned in a first configuration with the ¼ block stop part abutting the block, the perimeter of the body part can be used to mark the block for a ¼ block cut and when the body part is operatively positioned in a second configuration with the ½ block stop part abutting the block, the perimeter of the body part can be used to mark the block for a ½ block cut.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of masonry.
2. Prior Art
Although blocks of varied sizes, i.e. ½ blocks, ¼ blocks, etc., are widely available, it is commonplace for masons to cut bricks in the field. This reduces their need to transport and inventory specialized bricks.


Methods and compositions are provided for performing high fidelity polymerase chain reactions. In the subject methods, primer extension products are produced with a low error frequency rate through the use of at least one of unequal concentrations of dNTPs or a melting point reducing agent. Also provided are kits and reagent mixtures for use in the subject methods. The subject invention finds use in a variety of applications, particularly in applications where high fidelity PCR is desired.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method that is finding ever increasing use in the molecular biology and fields related thereto. The method of PCR was first described in the mid-1980s. See Mullis et al., Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. (1986) 51:263, Saiki et al., Science (1985) 230:1350; and Mullis & Faloona, Methods Enzymol. (1987) 155:335. PCR finds use in a variety of applications, including the generation of probes for DNA of both known and unknown nucleic acid sequences, the generation of cDNA libraries, DNA sequencing, analysis of mutations, chromosome crawling, and the like.
Generally, PCR results in the amplification of a segment of DNA that lies between two regions of known sequence. In PCR, two oligonucleotides are used as primers for a series of synthetic reactions that are enzymatically catalyzed by a DNA polymerase. The primers are complementary to regions on opposite strands of the DNA and flank the region of DNA to be amplified. The template DNA is first denatured by heating the DNA in the presence of an excess of primer and the dNTPs. The mixture is then cooled to provide for primer annealing and extension. The cycle of denaturation, annealing and synthesis is repeated a plurality of times, which results in the production of an amplified amount of template DNA.
One limitation of PCR methods is a lack of fidelity, i.e. misincorporation of base pairs during the synthesis step. While for certain applications mispairing of bases may not pose a serious problem, for other applications low fidelity renders PCR practically useless. While methods have been developed which provide for improved fidelity, such improvements typically are concomitant with a decrease in efficiency.
Thus, there is a continued need for the development of improved methods of PCR, where the development of PCR methods which provide both high fidelity and efficiency is of particular interest.
Relevant Literature
The polymerase chain reaction is reviewed in Sambrook, Fritsch & Maniatis, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1989) Chapter 14. Other references reviewing PCR include: Ling et al., PCR Methods and Applications (1991) 63-69; Eckert & Kunkel, Nuc. Acids Res. (1990) 18:3739 and Eckert & Kunkel, PCR Methods and Applications (1991) 63-39.
Braithewaite & Ito, Nuc. Acids Res. (1993) 21:787-802 provide a review of known DNA polymerases.
Barnes, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1994) 91:2216-2220 reports the results of using a combination of Klentaq and Pfu polymerases in PCR amplification.

Methods and compositions for use in high fidelity polymerase chain reaction


A unicast/multicast system has an internal cell generating section that generates an internal cell to include its output index information based on user data, and an output port conversion table that stores the relation of output index information and output port number for the internal cell in the form of one-to-one for the unicast and one-to-multiple for the multicast.

As a switch for processing a multicast cell, for example, Japanese patent application laid-open No. 9-162879 (1997) discloses a shared buffer type ATM. This ATM switch has address buffers provided for its output ports, respectively. The multicast is conducted by sequentially transferring the address pointer of a shared buffer where a multicast cell is stored. Also, the ATM switch needs to be provided with a counter for confirmation of the number of broadcast to be decremented every time a multicast cell is output.
However, the ATM switch has problems below.
The first problem is that it is necessary to provide a large amount of the buffer for multicast so as to cope with a case that the ratio of multicast cells in traffic increases.
The second problem is that it may cause the lowering of throughput since the subsequent multicast processing cannot be run before the counter for confirmation of the number of broadcast becomes zero.


The present specification describes systems and methods for the simultaneous detection of radioactive materials such as neutrons, muons and gamma rays based on thin gap chamber technology. A thin-gap chamber (TGC) is disclosed having a thermal neutron absorber material, such as 10B4C or 10B8C, which interacts with neutrons to emit heavy particles. The heavy particles, in turn, interact with the gas present in chamber to produce ionization that is converted into a measurable signal. The TGC is embedded in a neutron moderating medium. The detector systems are fabricated from commercially available construction materials and are easy to manufacture at a reasonable cost when compared to conventional He-3 neutron detector systems.

Physical shipment of materials, including the shipment of mail, merchandise, raw materials, and other goods, is an integral part of any economy. Typically, the materials are shipped in a type of shipping container or cargo box. Such containers or boxes include semi-trailers, large trucks, and rail cars as well as inter-modal containers that can be carried on container ships or cargo planes. However, such shipping or cargo containers can be used for illegal transportation of contraband such as nuclear and radioactive materials. Detection of these threats require a rapid, safe and accurate inspection system for determining the presence of hidden nuclear materials, especially at state and national borders, along with transit points such as airports and shipping ports.
Currently, both passive and active detection techniques are employed for the detection of concealed nuclear materials. Passive detection techniques are based on the principle that nuclear and radiological threats emit gamma radiation and, in some cases, neutron radiation both of which can be detected.
Active detection techniques, such as Differential Die-away Analysis (DDAA) and measurements of delayed gamma-rays and neutrons following either neutron- or photon-induced fission can be used to detect the presence of fissile materials. The radiation is measured with neutron and gamma-ray detectors, preferentially insensitive to each other's radiation. Detection of delayed neutrons is an unequivocal method to detect fissile materials compared to delayed gamma rays. However, because the number of delayed neutrons is two orders of magnitude lower than the number of delayed gamma rays, efficient and large area detectors are required for best sensitivity in neutron detection.
The most commonly used neutron detector is a Helium-3 (He-3) gas proportional chamber. In this system, He-3 interacts with a neutron to produce triton and proton ions. These ions are accelerated in the electric field of the detector to the point that they become sufficiently energetic to cause ionization of gas atoms. In a controlled environment, an avalanche breakdown of the gas can be generated, which results in a measurable current pulse at the output of the detector. By pressurizing the gas, the probability of a passing thermal neutron interacting in the gas can be increased to a reasonable level. However, He-3 is a relatively scarce material and it does not occur naturally. This makes the availability and future supply of such detectors somewhat uncertain. Further, a special permit is required to transport pressurized He-3 tubes, which can be cumbersome and potentially problematic.
The most common globally deployed passive radioactive material detectors employ a neutron moderator with one or more 2 inch He-3 detector tubes. For DDAA applications, wherein there is a need for a fast-time response, currently available detectors consist of many smaller diameter He-3 tubes. However, as described above, currently available neutron detectors have design complexities and require materials which are scarce in nature, such as He-3, which makes it difficult to develop large area and high efficiency detectors.
Currently available active detection systems also suffer from some drawbacks. In particular, these devices generally utilize accelerators that produce high energy neutrons with a broad spectrum of energies. The absorption/scattering of neutrons traveling at specific energies is difficult to detect given the large number of neutrons that pass through the object without interaction. Thus, the "fingerprint" generated from these devices is extremely small, difficult to analyze, and often leads to significant numbers of false positive or false negative test results.
In addition, conventional detection systems have limitations in their design and method that prohibit them from achieving low radiation doses, which poses a risk to the personnel involved in inspection as well as to the environment, or reduces the statistical accuracy of the detection procedure, which are prerequisites for commercial acceptance.
FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B depict conventional neutron and gamma ray detection systems. As shown in FIG. 1A, the most common globally deployed passive radioactive material detectors employ: a neutron moderator 105 having a plurality of He-3 detector tubes 116 embedded therein and covered by a lead shield 108 to attenuate background gamma-rays impinging from the back of the detector; and, a portion comprising a plastic scintillator 110 with a photo multiplier tube (PMT) 115 to detect gamma rays. The plastic scintillator 110 also functions as a moderator.
This detector configuration employs the scarce element He-3. Another commonly deployed detector wherein the gamma-ray and neutron detectors are separate is shown in FIG. 1B. Referring to FIG. 1B, the neutron moderator 105, comprising a plurality of He-3 detector tubes 116, is positioned adjacent to plastic scintillator 110, which comprises a PMT 115 and a lead shield 108. This detector configuration, however, also employs the scarce He-3 and takes up a larger footprint.
Several alternative detectors to replace He-3 detectors have been identified and/or fabricated. One solution is a system using boron-10 (B10) lined proportional counter tubes. However, in this case, large size detectors are needed to produce similar efficiency as is available in He-3 based detectors. The large size also results in long response times making these detectors not well suited for DDAA applications. Variants of these detectors include thin-walled straws lined with enriched boron carbide (10B4C). Although these detectors can produce fast response times, there is a need for hundreds of straws increasing the complexity and cost of the detector.
Other alternative neutron detectors include those based on lithium-6 (6Li) fibers; however, these require pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) to reduce the gamma-ray background, which makes the detector design significantly more complex and expensive. Also, these detectors are not well suited for fast-timing applications.
There are also neutron detectors fabricated from parallel plates coated with B10 containing materials. However, these detectors have limitations that result in making the detector unit large, requiring tiling, thus making the system complex and difficult to assemble.
While the use of both passive and active detection techniques is desirable, what is needed is a neutron and gamma-ray based detection system and method that is cost-effective, compact, and wherein the neutron detector can be fabricated in various sizes, from small to large areas from readily available materials.
There is also a need for large-area detectors for passive applications for the detection of radioactive and special nuclear materials in stationary installations for fast moving objects such as trains or for mobile-installed detectors. Further, there is a need to increase detection efficiency and coverage for DDAA applications where special nuclear material (SNM) is hidden deep in cargo.
Additionally, it would be useful to measure neutrons and gamma rays simultaneously with muon detection to increase the statistical accuracy of the passive measurements. Therefore, there is also a requirement for integrated detection systems which can detect muons along with neutrons and gamma rays that are easy to fabricate.


Transistors are connected to ground outside of an SRAM array column. One transistor is connected from VSS to ground on the Q side of an SRAM cell. Another transistor is connected from VSS to ground on the Q′ (Q complement) side of an SRAM cell. Each transistor is gated by is complementary bit line. The Q side transistor is gated by the BL′ (bit line complement, or “BLC”) line, and the Q′ side is gated by the BL line. The ground of the complement side is disconnected during a write operation to increase the performance of a state change during a write operation where a logical one is written to the Q node, thus improving write margin.

Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) is commonly used in integrated circuits, and have use in a variety of applications such as mobile computing, consumer electronics, and communications, to name a few. With the increasing performance requirements of these applications, the read speed and write speed of SRAM cells also becomes more important. Furthermore, sufficient read and write margins are required to achieve reliable read and write operations. With the increasingly reduced critical dimensions of SRAM cells, however, it is becoming challenging to achieve sufficient margin for read and write operations. It is therefore desirable to have improvements in SRAM circuits to address the aforementioned issues.

SRAM circuit with increased write margin


In various embodiments, tools, strategies, and techniques are provided for analyzing student performance and learning activity to facilitate enhancing the student experience in different learning environments. A learning analysis system can be provided that uses a statistical analysis framework for making inferences about the level of learning of both individual students and classes of multiple students in association with different knowledge components included in a learning domain.

As online education has become more widespread, developing effective practices for providing effective and timely feedback to both instructors and students on student performance and learning has become increasingly more important. However, many of the currently available tools and techniques for providing feedback on student progress are relatively primitive.
For example, in a traditional learning environment, instructors may grade written homework assignments submitted by students and then return the corrected assignments after some delay, perhaps a week later. In learning environments that employ interactive computer-based learning activities, the feedback cycle is typically shorter. Such computer-based systems may be programmed to correct errors in student responses as they are made. For example, when a student answers the question "83−47=?" by typing in "46", the system can recognize and communicate in real-time to the student that the answer of "46" is incorrect. Even though this kind of computer-based feedback is timely and saves instructor effort, it has several serious limitations. First, it deals with only one response at a time, and thus cannot detect patterns in student learning across questions or across time. Second, it processes only one student at a time and so cannot detect similarities across a set of students taking the same course. Third, the instructor is not privy to the full interaction of the student with the teaching system and thus has no opportunity to understand or respond to how students are performing.
In view of the foregoing issues, enhanced tools, techniques and strategies are needed for analyzing student learning and performance in a learning environment, including online and computer-based environments.

Analytical tools for evaluating student learning and performance


A case hinge structure is adapted for installing on a case which includes a case body having a rear panel and a case cover having a rear wall wherein the hinge structure is affixed between the rear panel of the case body and the rear wall of the case cover in such a manner that the case cover is adapted for pivotally folding from a closed position to an open position. In the closed position, the case cover is tightly cover on top of the case body, and in the open position, the case cover is pivotally folded up at a predetermined folding angle with respect to the case body. The hinge structure includes a lower joint, which is affixed to the rear panel, including a supporting arm having a C-shaped cross-section and defined a mounting slot therein, and an upper joint, which is affixed to the rear wall, having a pivot arm rotatably and coaxially received in the mounting slot of the lower joint in such a manner a mutual friction is provided between an outer circumferential surface of the pivot arm and an inner circumferential surface of the supporting arm, so as to frictionally adjust the folding angle of the case cover when opening the case.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a hinge, and particularly to a case hinge structure which is adapted for selectively adjusting a folding angle A of the case""s cover. Thus, the case hinge structure is mounted inside the case in order to protect the hinge structure for extending the service life span of the case and keep an aesthetic appearance of the case.
2. Description of Related Arts
Traditionally, a case 1 comprises a case body 1A and a case cover 1B pivotally connected to the case body 1A by means of a hinge 2, as shown in FIG. 1, wherein the hinge 2 comprises a pair of metal panels 3, 4 each having a pin slot affixed on exterior surfaces of the case body 1A and the case cover 1B respectively, and a pin 5 coaxially inserted into the pin slots of the two metal panels 3, 4 in such a manner that the case cover 1B is adapted for pivotally rotating so as to open up the case 1. However, such traditional hinge 2 has the following drawbacks:
(1) A user can only fold the case 1 cover 180 degrees from a closed position to an open position such that the user cannot adjust a folding angle A of the case cover 1B, which is inconvenient for the user since the user may not able to keep the balance of the case 1 when opening the case 1. In order to keep the case cover 1B in a desired folding angle A, a pivot arm 6 is affixed between the case body 1A and the case cover 1B, as shown in FIG. 2. However, the manufacturing cost of the case 1 will be increased by adding parts into the case 1.
(2) Since the hinge 2 is affixed on the exterior bottom surface of the case 1, when the user carries the case 1, the hinge 2 may accidentally or unintentionally be damaged by collusions or mutual friction of the floor. Thus, the hinge 2 may destroy the aesthetic appearance of the case 1 as well.
(3) The pin 5 must be strong enough to pivotally connect the case body 1A and the case cover 1B together. Due to the external collusion and the mutual friction of the metal panels 3, 4, the pin 5 may easy to worn out. So, when the pin 5 is broken, which is non-replaceable, the case 1 must be thrown away that is a waste of source.
(4) The metal panels 3, 4 of the hinge 2 is affixed on the case 1 by means of rivets, which will damage the surface of the case 1, destroy the beauty appearance of the case 1, and increase the manufacturing cost of the case 1.
(5) The case cover 1B is hard to tightly cover on top of the case body 1A due to the manufacturing deflection of the hinge 2. So, dust or rain may enter into the case 1 from a gap between the case body 1A and the case cover 1B.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a case hinge structure wherein the hinge structure is installed inside the case in order to protect the hinge structure, so as to extend the service life span of the case.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a case hinge structure wherein no pin or axle is needed in the pivot connection of the hinge structure, so as to prevent the pin or axle from being broken, which is the major and most easiest broken part of the conventional hinge structure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a case hinge structure which is adapted to selectively adjust a folding angle A of its case cover, such that the case can be easily kept its balance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a case hinge structure which is capable of tightly connecting the case cover with the case body together, so as to prevent a slit formed therebetween.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a case hinge structure which can keep an aesthetic appearance of the case since the hinge structure is inconspicuous and cannot be seen from outside.
Another object of present invention is to provide a case hinge structure wherein the case does not require to alter its original structural design so as to minimize the manufacturing cost of the case incorporating with the hinge structure.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a case hinge structure adapted for installing into a case, which comprises:
a case body having a box shape comprising a rear panel; and
a case cover comprising a rear wall wherein the hinge structure is affixed between the rear panel of the case body and the rear wall of the case cover in such a manner that the case cover is adapted for pivotally folding from a closed position to an open position, wherein in the closed position, the case cover is tightly cover on top of the case body, and in the open position, the case cover is pivotally folded up at a predetermined folding angle with respect to the case body;
the hinge structure comprising:
a lower joint, which is upwardly extended from the rear panel of the case body, comprising a supporting arm having a C-shaped cross-section defined a mounting slot therein; and
an upper joint, which is downwardly extended from the rear wall of the case cover, having a pivot arm rotatably and coaxially received in the mounting slot of the lower joint in such a manner a mutual friction is provided between the pivot arm and the supporting arm so as to adjust the folding angle of the case cover when opening the case.


An operator controls a combination instrument of a vehicle where the combination instrument has a display device for displaying a piece of information. Also in the vehicle are a bracket for detachably holding a mobile electronic apparatus, an interface for transmitting signals to the mobile electronic apparatus and for identifying whether there is a mobile electronic apparatus in the bracket, and an operator control device for operator control of the mobile electronic apparatus. Additionally, a processing device is set up to automatically process operator control inputs on the operator control device for operator control of the combination instrument according to whether a mobile electronic apparatus is in the bracket.

Described herein is a system for operator control of a combination instrument of a vehicle and of a mobile electronic apparatus that can be detachably retained by a vehicle-based bracket.
With the increasing number of vehicle functions that are made available by modern vehicles, particularly motor vehicles, the demands on the display devices in the vehicle, which can be used to display information about the various vehicle functions and which can be used to make settings for the various vehicle functions and driver assistance systems, are also rising.
For this reason, many modern motor vehicles have not only the "combination instrument", which is normally arranged behind the steering handle (the steering wheel) as seen from the driver, but also at least one further display device, for example in the form of a display with a high-resolution matrix display, which is often arranged in the region of the central console beside the steering handle.
Since users of vehicles very often also have mobile electronic apparatuses, such as cell phones (smartphones), tablet PCs, mobile navigation devices, etc., solutions have been developed for detachably mounting such mobile electronic apparatuses in a vehicle and coupling them to vehicle-based devices. It is likewise known practice for such mobile electronic apparatuses to be used for displaying vehicle functions in this case, as a result of which the mobile electronic apparatuses may also be suitable for substituting for the aforementioned further display device.
DE 101 20 465 A1 relates to an apparatus for display and/or operator control of vehicle functions in a vehicle, which includes a module having a display and/or operator control unit and having a computer, wherein the computer is designed for communication with other vehicle units. The module forms a standalone unit with a power source that can be operated in an adapter-like bracket provided in the vehicle, and the module can easily be removed from the bracket and, in the removed state, can be operated at least with a prescribed functionality. The module allows substitution for display and/or operator control functions in a vehicle. Furthermore, the module is designed to be able to be operated in parallel beside further modules connected in a vehicle that communicate with one another. The module may also have multimedia capability. A bracket and a bus system are also described.
DE 103 08 897 A1 discloses a motor vehicle having onboard electronics that have an interface for data interchange and also for presentation of information and for control of motor vehicle functions with a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or a Smartphone. A docking station is arranged between the interface and the PDA or the Smartphone in the interior of the motor vehicle, and the docking station includes an input and/or output unit coupled to the onboard electronics.
EP 2 103 476 A2 describes a head unit for a motor vehicle, having an operator control element, such as pushbutton switches, switches, rocker switches, rotary controls, etc., for example. EP 2 103 476 A2 further describes first functional components, such as a radio, onboard computer, air conditioning system, sound system, etc., for example. EP 2 103 476 A2 further describes a display device, such as a display, for example, and a data and/or power bus with a docking station for mounting and/or communication and/or power supply for mobile electronic devices that can be integrated into the head unit, particularly for consumer electronics such as PDAs, smartphones or MP3 players, for example. The first functional components are able to be controlled by using the operator control elements, and particularly the display device is able to display information that is connected to the first functional components. The mobile electronic device can be controlled using at least some of the operator control elements arranged in the motor vehicle when the mobile electronic device is communicatively connected to the docking station wirelessly or by wire. The first functional components can have their basic functions controlled either using the operator control elements that are present in the motor vehicle or using the mobile electronic device when the mobile electronic device is communicatively connected to the docking station wirelessly or by wire. The mobile electronic device provides second functional components having special functions, such as navigation, telephone, MP3 player, etc., for example, in the motor vehicle when the mobile electronic device is communicatively connected to the docking station wirelessly or by wire.
DE 10 2011 101 808 A1 describes a method and a system for providing a user interface in a vehicle, in which a wireless data link is set up between the vehicle and a mobile playback device that is detachably connected in the vehicle or that is held freely by a user in the vehicle. The method involves operating parameters that are relevant to the operation of the vehicle being captured in the vehicle, and a display and operator control device that is permanently arranged in the vehicle and can be read from the seat position of the driver being used to display information about captured operating parameters. A wireless data link is set up between the vehicle and a mobile playback device that is detachably connected in the vehicle or that is held freely by a user in the vehicle, the data for producing a display content are transmitted from the vehicle to the playback device via the wireless data link, and the transmitted data are taken as a basis for producing a display content on the playback device that includes information about captured operating parameters that is displayed on the display and operator control device.
Furthermore, DE 10 2011 112 383 A1 discloses a combination instrument for a vehicle, wherein the combination instrument includes a display apparatus for presenting a first piece of information from the vehicle for a user of the vehicle. The combination instrument additionally includes a bracket for holding a mobile apparatus having a display unit, an interface for transmitting a second piece of information that is to be presented from the vehicle to the mobile apparatus and a processing unit. The processing unit is coupled to the interface and designed to capture the second piece of information and to transmit it to the mobile apparatus via the interface.

System for operating an instrument cluster of a vehicle and a mobile electronic device which can be detachably held by a holder on the vehicle


A system and method for grouping processors is presented. A processing unit (PU) initiates an application and identifies the application's requirements. The PU assigns one or more synergistic processing units (SPUs) and a memory space to the application in the form of a group. The application specifies whether the task requires shared memory or private memory. Shared memory is a memory space that is accessible by the SPUs and the PU. Private memory, however, is a memory space that is only accessible by the SPUs that are included in the group. When the application executes, the resources within the group are allocated to the application's execution thread. Each group has its own group properties, such as address space, policies (i.e. real-time, FIFO, run-to-completion, etc.) and priority (i.e. low or high). These group properties are used during thread execution to determine which groups take precedence over other tasks.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a system and method for grouping processors. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for assigning one or more processors and memory space to a group whereby an application uses the group to perform a task.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems are becoming more and more complex. The computer industry typically doubles the performance of a computer system every 18 months (i.e. personal computer, PDA, gaming console). In order for the computer industry to accomplish this task, the semiconductor industry produces integrated circuits that double in performance every 18 months. A computer system uses integrated circuits for particular functions based upon the integrated circuits' architecture. Two fundamental architectures are 1) a microprocessor-based architecture and 2) a digital signal processor-based architecture.
An integrated circuit with a microprocessor-based architecture is typically used to handle control operations whereas an integrated circuit with a digital signal processor-based architecture is typically designed to handle signal processing manipulations (i.e. mathematical operations). As technology evolves, the computer industry and the semiconductor industry realize the importance of using both architectures, or processor types, in a computer system design.
Software is another element in a computer system that has been evolving alongside integrated circuit evolution. A software developer writes code in a manner that corresponds to the processor type that executes the code. For example, a processor has a particular number of registers and a particular number of arithmetic logic units (ALUs) whereby the software developer designs his code to most effectively use the registers and the ALUs.
An operating system provides an application with execution threads to perform various tasks. In a multi-processor environment, an application may use multiple execution threads to perform a task using multiple processors. A challenge found, however, is guaranteeing latencies between corresponding execution threads that are scheduled on different processors. For example, corresponding threads may be responsible for participating in shared memory synchronization operations (i.e. locks, barriers, etc.) whereby a first thread stalls because it is waiting for a second thread to load on one of the processors. Furthermore, a challenge found in multiple processor environments is managing events for corresponding threads. For example, if two threads each generate an event, their corresponding application is required to identify which thread generated the first event.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for managing a plurality of resources so that the resources are allocated with minimal effort when an application requires the resources.

System and method for grouping processors and assigning shared memory space to a group in heterogeneous computer environment

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides communication servers at each device in a fueling environment and connecting the servers to a common network. The network may be a local network or a largely remote network, such as the Internet. Preferably, in either embodiment, primary communications between these devices and any devices accessible via the Internet use the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and hypertext markup language (HTML). In particular, each device server is adapted to facilitate real-time access between the device server and the remote device upon access of a particular page, script or function. In particular, the present invention relates to embedding executable content onto an HTML page so that when the page is loaded into an HTML browser after being accessed, the executable content starts running automatically.

The present invention relates to asset management systems and, in particular, systems for providing a management architecture accessible from remote Internet-compliant browsers to provide real-time functions relating to the access, configuration and administration of various features associated with fuel dispensers and other forecourt devices including, but not limited to, card authorization terminals, video/merchandising displays, advertising, and price posting signs, in addition to point-of-sale (POS) devices at any particular store location and related inventory management systems.
Historically, there has never been an organized system for remotely managing various aspects of a fueling site or convenience store in both an efficient and comprehensive manner. In particular, viewing real-time status and configuration information of convenience store and fueling station devices has always been an operation done locally at a particular site. These functions, such as pricing and advertising, have been handled separately on a customer's proprietary network, but complete store management functionality has never been available. Normally, most management procedures are manual and very costly. Software updates require certified technicians to visit the site, load the software and test its functionality.
Equipment failures often go unnoticed until the operator's business is affected due to unhappy customers. The operator will then call the distributor and report the error, often with very sketchy and unhelpful details. The certified technician then has to visit the site to troubleshoot the unit before being able to assess the problem and acquire the appropriate parts which may require a second costly visit. In short, requiring the touch of a qualified technician is both expensive and time consuming. Furthermore, if a problem arises that causes the devices to be shut down, waiting for a technician to arrive to diagnose the nature of the problem and then make a return trip to repair the equipment results in additional lost sales and general customer dissatisfaction which, in the highly competitive fuel dispensing market, may lead to the permanent loss of a customer. Although various attempts have been made to provide technicians with information to diagnose the problem, information gathering has always been an expensive, manual process requiring qualified personnel to phone or visit the site to survey items such as equipment age, configurations and hardware and software versions.
Currently, Gilbarco and other dispenser manufacturers offer POS systems allowing remote, off-line viewing of inventory and sales data of a convenience store through a proprietary, third-party interface. This interface is costly and inconvenient because it requires dedicated applications and tools to access the interface. Furthermore, each system is different and requires technicians from the manufacturer to make any changes to the system in order to upgrade, reconfigure or test the system. Thus, there is a need for a uniform management system capable of accessing the various devices in a fueling environment to provide remote configurations, upgrades and real-time monitoring. There is a need for a capability that allows service contractors, equipment manufacturers and store management to access the various features and aspects of the system to view sales and inventory data, change prices, transmit software upgrades, access configuration information, and monitor operation and status of various devices from remote locations.
Earlier attempts at using the Internet to provide real-time functions were unsuccessful because monitoring live status of devices, particularly those on the forecourt, does not fit well into the orthodox world wide web architectures.

Internet asset management system for a fuel dispensing environment


A process includes dissolving a polyester resin in an organic solvent to form a solution, the polyester resin has a latex-destabilizing cation, removing substantially all of the latex-destabilizing cation, neutralizing the solution of the polyester resin, adding a sufficient amount of water to the neutralized solution form an emulsion, and removing a portion of the organic solvent from the emulsion to form a latex of the polyester resin.

The Phase Inversion Emulsification (PIE) process is a method whereby the phases of a liquid-liquid dispersion interchange such that the dispersed phase spontaneously inverts to become the continuous phase and vice versa under conditions determined by the system properties, volume ratio and energy input.
The phase inversion process typically involves the solubilization of a resin and other components in an organic solvent or mixture of organic solvents that include a phase inversion organic solvent, which is typically chosen for its solubility in both organic and aqueous phases.
By way of example, a solvent-based phase inversion emulsification process is often used to form a polyester resin emulsion in the production of polyester-based toners. In the phase inversion emulsification process, the polyester resin is first dissolved in appropriate organic solvents, such as methyl ethyl ketone and isopropanol, to produce a homogenous organic phase, followed by addition of a fixed amount of base solution, such as ammonium hydroxide, to neutralize acid end carboxyl groups on the polyester chain. The neutralized polymer is subsequently converted to a uniform dispersion of polyester particles, or latex, in water by phase inversion.

Process to prepare polyester phase inversion latexes


The present invention relates to a method of producing a polymer including: polymerizing a compound represented by the following formula (3); or copolymerizing the compound represented by the following formula (3) with a compound (6) having a reactive carbon-carbon double bond and differing from the compound represented by the following formula (3), in a presence of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of compounds represented by the following formula (1) and compounds represented by the following formula (2).

Radical polymerization reactions have been extensively used industrially because a wide range of monomers can be used and the reactions can be easily carried out even in polar media such as water. In general radical polymerization methods, however, molecular-weight control is limited and the polymers obtained are apt to have a wide molecular-weight distribution.
Meanwhile, living radical polymerization has been attracting attention as a polymerization technique for yielding a polymer having a controlled molecular weight and a narrow molecular-weight distribution, and various polymerization control agents have been developed.
In living radical polymerization, by utilizing a polymer obtained as a polymerization macroinitiator or a macro chain transfer agent, different monomers can be copolymerized therewith.
For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 each describe a method in which a vinyl monomer is polymerized by living radical polymerization using an organotellurium compound.
Patent Document 3 describes a method in which trifluoroethylene is copolymerized with other monomer(s) by living radical copolymerization using a xanthate compound, a trithiocarbonate compound, or a monoiodide compound.


A method for generating power in a device is provided. The method includes: generating power from an inherent characteristic of the device; and supplying the generated power to at least one power consuming element associated with the device. Preferably, the inherent characteristic of the device is an acceleration of the device and the generating includes providing a mass which is movable upon the acceleration of the device and converting a potential energy of the mass into an electrical power. Alternatively, the inherent characteristic of the device is a heat generation on at least a portion of the device and the generating includes converting a heat from the heat generation into an electrical power. In another alternative, the inherent characteristic of the device is a spinning of the device and the generating includes converting the spinning of the device into an electrical power.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to power supplies, and more particularly, to power supplies for projectiles, which generate power due to an inherent characteristic of the projectile, such as its acceleration, spin, and/or heat generation.
2. Prior Art
All existing and future smart and guided projectiles and those with means of one-way or two-way communications with a command or tracking station or with each other require electric power for their operation. In addition, as munitions are equipped with the means of communicating their type and characteristics with the firing system to ensure that the intended round is being used and for fire control purposes, and for health monitoring and diagnostics runs before loading, they would require a low level of power supply minutes and sometimes even seconds before being loaded into the gun system. The amount of power required for the proper operation of such smart and guided munitions or those equipped with the aforementioned health monitoring and diagnostics capabilities, is dependent on their mode of operation and the on-board devices that have to be powered. The amount of power requirement is fairly small if the projectile is required to only receive a RF or other similar signal and to power sensors such as MEMs types of accelerometers and rate gyros or health monitoring and diagnostics related electronics. The power requirement is increased if the projectile is also required to communicate back to the ground or some mobile station. The power requirement, however, becomes significant when the projectile has to be equipped with electric or smart materials based actuation devices for guidance and control, particularly if the projectile is required to become highly maneuverable over long traveling times and while traveling at relatively high speeds such as supersonic speeds.
The wide range of power requirements, operating conditions and environmental, safety and reliability issues and shelf life requirements clearly indicates that no single power generation method and device can be appropriate and may be optimally designed for all current and perceived future applications. This means that different power generation concepts have to be sought that could be optimally designed for different smart and guided munitions such as medium caliber gun launched interceptors that travel at supersonic speeds and are required to be guided and highly maneuverable during their flight. As a result, a number of novel power generation concepts that are based on different existing technologies are presented in this proposal.

Power supplies for projectiles and other devices