A matchline sense circuit for detecting a rising voltage on a matchline of a CAM array is disclosed. The circuit initially precharges a matchline to ground before turning on a current source to supply current to the matchline and raise the voltage of the matchline. A reference matchline sense circuit generates a self-timed control signal to keep the current supply turned on for a predetermined duration of time. Sensed data on the matchlines are latched after the current source is turned off and the matchlines are precharged to ground. Because the matchline sense circuit of the present invention precharges the matchlines to ground instead of the supply voltage, VDD, less power is consumed. By sensing the rise of the matchline voltage to an n-channel transistor threshold potential, the matchline sensing operation speed is increased.

In many conventional memory systems, such as random access memory, binary digits (bits) are stored in memory cells, and are accessed by a processor that specifies a linear address that is associated with the given cell. This system provides rapid access to any portion of the memory system within certain limitations. To facilitate processor control, each operation that accesses memory must declare, as a part of the instruction, the address of the memory cell/cells required. Standard memory systems are not well designed for a content based search. Content based searches in standard memory require a software based algorithmic search under the control of the microprocessor. Many memory operations are required to perform a search. These searches are neither quick nor efficient in using processor resources.
To overcome these inadequacies an associative memory system called Content Addressable Memory (CAM) has been developed. CAM allows cells to be referenced by their contents, so it has first found use in lookup table implementations such as cache memory subsystems and is now rapidly finding use in networking systems. CAM's most valuable feature is its ability to perform a search and compare of multiple locations as a single operation, in which search data is compared with data stored within the CAM. Typically search data is loaded onto search lines and compared with stored words in the CAM. During a search-and-compare operation, a match or mismatch signal associated with each stored word is generated, indicating whether the search word matches a stored word or not.
A CAM stores data in a matrix of cells, which are generally either SRAM based cells or DRAM based cells. Until recently, SRAM based CAM cells have been most common because of their simple implementation. However, to provide ternary state CAMs, ie. where the match operation returns a "0", "1" or "don't care" result, ternary state SRAM based cells typically require 16 transistors compared to DRAM based cell of 6 transistors. As a result, ternary state SRAM based CAMs have a much lower packing density than ternary DRAM cells.
To provide the desired search and compare function in a DRAM or SRAM based CAM, matchline sensing circuits are required. Each matchline sensing circuit returns the appropriate state of its matchline, and the outputs of each matchline sensing circuit can be subsequently processed to determine the existence and address of a match. A prior art matchline sensing circuit is disclosed in commonly owned Canadian Patent Application No. 2,273,665, filed on Jun. 17, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In the matchline sensing scheme of the prior art, each matchline is initially precharged high to the full VDD supply. A matchline will be discharged to ground if the contents of its stored word do not match, or mismatch, the search word, but will remain at the VDD supply if the stored word matches the search word. Each matchline potential level is compared to a fixed reference voltage, and the matchline sensing circuit generates a result from the comparison.
There are several disadvantages in the matchline sensing scheme of the prior art. Charge sharing between the VDD precharged matchline and the CAM cells will cause the matchline potential to fluctuate as a function of the previous cycle search data. This can cause a matchline sense circuit to generate a false result from the subsequent comparison. This problem becomes increasingly significant as CAM array cell densities increase.
To attain higher packing density, CAM cell transistors use minimum feature sizes. Hence the current capacity of a CAM cell to ground a fully precharged matchline is small, resulting in very slow discharge of the matchline, and increasing the overall search and compare operation of the CAM chip. Inherent parasitic capacitance of the matchline compounds this problem, which increases as CAM arrays become larger.
The optimal sensing margin for the matchline sense circuit should be sufficient for the circuit to easily distinguish if the matchline potential level is above or below the reference voltage. This optimal sensing margin is attained at the time when the matchline voltage level has decreased to a potential level well below the reference voltage. Unfortunately, the poor voltage discharge rate of the matchline previously described only allows accurate sensing to be performed at a prolonged time after the matchline voltage begins to fall.
Sensing can be performed at a time shortly after the matchline voltage drops below the reference voltage if the reference voltage is maintained at a precise level. This is difficult to accomplish due to process variations in the fabrication of the CAM chip, which can alter the reference voltage level beyond the original design specifications.
Power consumption of the prior art matchline sense circuit is high since any discharged matchlines must be precharged back to VDD level in preparation for the next search and compare operation. Power consumption can be expressed as P≈CML×VDD×ΔV×f where CML is the matchline parasitic capacitance, ΔV is the difference between VDD and the discharged potential level of the matchline at the sensing time and f is the frequency of operation. If ΔV is large, then the power consumed will be large, possibly exceeding the power dissipation capability of the package. The prior art match line circuit required all search lines to be held at a low logic level during the match line precharge phase. Even if search data did not change substantially during successive search operations considerable power was consumed as search lines were brought low at the beginning of the match line precharge phase and brought high again for the actual search operation.
There is clearly a need for a matchline sensing circuit capable of consuming very little power and detecting matchline potential levels accurately at high speed.


A method for enabling full duplex individual calls in repeater mode between two subscriber units (SUs) in a N:1 slotting ratio time division multiple access (TDMA) radio system includes receiving a request for a full duplex individual call from a first SU identifying a second SU as a target of the call. Determining to grant the request and subsequently assigning a first time slot of the N time slots on a first single frequency for one of inbound and outbound transmissions for the call between an assigned second repeater and the first SU and a second time slot on the first single frequency for the other of inbound and outbound transmissions for the call between the assigned second repeater and the first SU. Further, a grant message is transmitted to the first SU indicating the assigned first single frequency and assigned first and second time slots.

The European Telecommunications Standard Institute—Digital Mobile Radio (ETSI-DMR) is a direct digital replacement for analog Private Mobile Radio (PMR). DMR is a scalable system that can be used in unlicensed mode (in a 446.1 to 446.2 MHz band), and in licensed mode, subject to national frequency planning. Any of the ETSI standards or specifications referred to herein may be obtained by contacting ETSI at ETSI Secretariat, 650, route des Lucioles, 06921 Sophia-Antipolis Cedex, FRANCE.
DMR promises improved range, higher data rates, more efficient use of spectrum, and improved battery. Features supported include fast call set-up, calls to groups and individuals, short data and packet data calls. Supported communications modes include individual calls, group calls, and broadcast calls provided via a direct communication mode among the radios operating within the network. Other important DMR functions such as emergency calls, priority calls, short data messages and Internet Protocol (IP)-packet data transmissions are also supported.
The ETSI-DMR standard provides for 6.25e (2:1 TDMA) operation in repeater mode. 6.25e operation refers to 6.25 Kilohertz (kHz) equivalent spectral efficiency and 2:1 refers to the slotting ratio supported on the TDMA air interface, in this case supporting two repeating (e.g., recurring) interleaved time slots. As there is no restriction on what happens in either time slot or any interrelation between them (other than the need to maintain time synchronicity), it is possible to have two entirely separate conversations at the same time from two different units. By this means it is possible that two simplex calls can be independently supported in a single 12.5 kHz channel.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example half duplex radio system 100. In a half duplex radio system, voice and/or data moves in only one direction at a time (source to target(s)), as compared to full duplex, in which voice and/or data can move in both directions (e.g., source to target(s) and target(s) to source).
The radio system 100 includes two radio sites 102, 104 coupled via a network 120. In site 1 102, a first repeater (repeater1) 110 and a second repeater (repeater2) 112 provide communications services to subscriber units (SUs) SU1 130, SU2 132, and SU3 154. In radio site 2 104, a third repeater (repeater3) 116 and fourth repeater (repeater4) 114 provide communications services to SUs SU4 140, SUS 142, and SU6 150. A controller 122 may control operations at sites 1 and 2 (102, 104), including the assignment of control and/or traffic channels at those radio sites.
Each of the repeaters 110, 112, 114, 116 may operate as a conventional repeater or a trunked repeater. In a conventional radio system, a plurality of SUs are formed into groups. Each group uses an associated channel (shared or separate) for communication. Thus, each group is associated with a corresponding channel, and each channel can only be used by one group at any particular moment in time. In some systems, multiple groups may operate on the same channel, and may use a unique group ID embedded in the group communications to differentiate them. In a trunked radio system, SUs use a pool of channels for virtually an unlimited number of groups. Thus, all groups are served by all channels. For example, in a trunking system, all SUs operating at a radio site idle on an initial designated control channel and when a new call is requested over the control or rest channel, is assigned a new traffic channel for the new group call while remaining SUs not participating in the new group call stay on the initial designated control channel. In other trunked configurations, the control channel is converted to a traffic channel for the new call, and the SUs not participating in the new group call move to a newly assigned control channel. In still other trunked configurations, the control channel is converted to a traffic channel for the new call, and the SUs not participating in the new call stay on the control channel but do not participate (transmit or receive/unmute) in the new call.
Other conventional and trunked configurations are possible as well.
In an example consistent with the ETSI-DMR 6.25e standard, the radio system 100 may be a trunked radio system, and controller 122 may have assigned SU1 130 to timeslot one (TS1) 134 of a 2:1 slot ratio TDMA first inbound frequency (frequency1) being served by repeater1 110 and may have assigned SU2 132 to timeslot two (TS2) 136 on the same frequency1. Further, controller 122 may have assigned SU3 154 to TS1 156 of a 2:1 slot ratio TDMA second outbound frequency (frequency2) being served by repeater2 112. The controller 122 may have also assigned SU4 140 and SUS 142, respectively, to TS1 144 and TS2 146 of a same 2:1 slot ratio TDMA third outbound frequency (frequency3) being served by repeater3 116. Finally, the controller 122 may have assigned SU6 150 to TS1 152 of a 2:1 slot ratio TDMA fourth inbound frequency (frequency4) being served by repeater4 114. In this example, SU1 130 may be transmitting voice data to SU4 via TS1 134 and TS1 144, SU2 132 may be transmitting voice data to SUS 142 via TS2 136 and TS2 146, and SU6 150 may be transmitting voice data to SU3 154 via TS1 152 and TS1 156. Voice and/or data received from SUs may be exchanged between repeaters 110-116 via interconnection network 120. The dispatch console 124 may operate as a client of the radio system 100, and provides a mechanism for a dispatcher to transmit or receive with one or more SUs at radio sites 1 and/or 2.
Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, additional control channel repeaters and respective control channels may be provided at each site 102, 104 as well. In other embodiments, one of the repeaters at each site (e.g., perhaps repeater1 110 and repeater3 116) may have acted as a control channel repeater prior to transitioning to a traffic channel repeater (trunked or single frequency repeater (SFR)) to handle a requested call.
In any event, and as illustrated, by providing an N:1 slotting ratio, wherein N>1, an assigned conventional or trunked traffic channel may allow a repeater such as repeater1 110 to receive or transmit voice and/or data for more than one call (up to N) on each frequency channel on which it is operating. In the example set forth in FIG. 1, repeater1 110 and repeater3 116 are each handling two calls on single respective frequencies in accordance with ETSI-DMR standard 2:1 slotting ratio.
In conventional repeater systems, separate frequencies are assigned for outbound (repeater→SU) and inbound (SU→repeater) transmissions. For example, to support full duplex calls for SU1 130, a fifth repeater (not shown) would need to be added to FIG. 1 that is time synchronized with repeater1 110 and that is assigned a fifth frequency that does not interfere with frequency1. Inbound traffic could then be sent to the fifth repeater by SU1 130 during TS1 on frequency1 and outbound traffic could then be sent to SU1 130 during TS2 on the fifth frequency. However, given the short guard intervals (˜2.5 ms) between time slots in accordance with the ETSI-DMR 6.25e standard, a typical SU cannot switch between frequency1 of repeater1 110 to transmit on TS1 and the fifth frequency of the fifth repeater to receive on TS2 within the time allotted under the standard. While the incorporation of a second synthesizer in the SU could alleviate some of the difficulty, the addition of a second independent synthesizer substantially increases the cost to manufacture a SU, the size and weight of the SU, and the power drain on the battery of the SU.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example 2:1 TDMA timing diagram 200 of a single inbound frequency air interface, such as that provided by repeater1 110, that operates in accordance with the ETSI-DMR 6.25e standard. Timeslot 1 202 includes 1.25 ms guard intervals 210, 212 and a 27.5 ms payload period 214 that includes a sync slot 216. Timeslot 2 204 similarly includes 1.25 ms guard intervals 220, 222 and a 27.5 ms payload period 224 that includes a sync slot 226. Timeslots 1 and 2 then repeat in an interleaved manner as illustrated in FIG. 2, including a second timeslot 1 206 for use by a same call 201 as used in timeslot 1 202, and another timeslot 2 208 for use by a same call 203 as used in timeslot 2 204, repeating in an interleaved manner until one or both calls end. Timeslots 1 202 and 2 204 together form a first frame 232, and timeslots 1 206 and 2 208 together form a second frame 234. Timeslot 1 202 could be, for example, equivalent to TS1 134 of FIG. 1 and may support a call 201 from SU1 130, and timeslot 2 204 could be, for example, equivalent to TS2 136 of FIG. 1 and may support a concurrent inbound call 203 from SU2 132.
What is needed is an improved method, system, and device for providing full duplex voice and data communications services in N:1 TDMA communications systems that does not require each SU to switch its synthesizer between a transmit frequency and a receive frequency (where the frequencies are different), and vice versa, within an amount of time between adjacent slots in the N:1 TDMA protocol.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Full duplex individual call via linked single frequency repeaters


An on-vehicle DSRC apparatus includes a main body (11) a signal processing unit provided in the main body (11), an external storage medium insertion slot (12), an antenna array (22) electrically connected to the signal processing unit to perform intercommunication with on-road equipment, a mounting member for the antenna array (22), and an antenna angle holding means (20) mounted swingably on said mounting member (11). The antenna angle holding means (20) is so designed as to set the predetermined range of angle such that a proper angle for enabling intercommunication between the on-road equipment and the antenna array (22) within the predetermined communication area. The angle of the antenna array is automatically held at a proper value owing to swinging movement of the antenna angle holding means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a dedicated short-range communication apparatus (DSRC apparatus) destined to be mounted on an automobile or motor vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as the on-vehicle DSRC apparatus) which can be employed in an electric toll collection system (also referred to as the ETC system) of an intelligent transport system (also referred to as the ITS system). In particular, the present invention is concerned with an on-vehicle DSRC apparatus which can positively ensure a given or predetermined area for communication by automatically holding an antenna array constantly at a proper angle relative to the horizontal plane notwithstanding the locations of the motor vehicle (such as a windshield, a dashboard or the like) at which the on-vehicle DSRC apparatus is to be installed have different angles relative to the horizontal plane.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, in the field of the on-vehicle DSRC apparatus designed for performing transmission/reception of information with equipment installed on a road (hereinafter also referred to as the on-road equipment), there have been reported various proposals concerning a variety of improvements of the on-vehicle DSRC apparatus in an effort to making proper the angle at which the antenna array is positioned or installed.
In the conventional on-vehicle DSRC apparatus known heretofore, the antenna array is adjusted to a preset proper angle by means of a motor driver when the antenna array through which communication is performed is mounted on the motor vehicle on a predetermined location thereof. (For particulars, reference may have to be made to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 14019/1995 (JP-A-H7-14019)).
As is apparent from the above, the conventional on-vehicle DSRC apparatus suffers a problem that the motor driver is required for adjusting the angle of the antenna array to a proper value when the on-vehicle DSRC apparatus is mounted, which involves high cost.

Dedicated short-range communication apparatus for motor vehicle


A protective film for use with a polarizing plate has a support carrying a glare-proof layer. The glare-proof layer is a resin with coarse particles having an average particle size of 0.25 to 10 .mu.m, and fine particles having an average particle size of 0.1 .mu.m or less and a refractive index of 1.40 to 1.60, embedded in it.

Triacetyl cellulose type resins have been used as a protective film of a polarizing plate. Recently, polarizing plates are used for a variety of applications under various environments and in response thereto, a protective film for polarizing plates with further added value in use has been desired. As one of the added values is cited glare-proofing to prevent glare of the surface of the image plane of liquid crystal. For example, there is employed a means for glare-proofing, in which fine particles such as silica are contained in the outermost surface of the protective film of the polarizing plate.


A control system of image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of image forming apparatus and a control unit connected to each of said image forming apparatus through a communication line.. Each of said image forming apparatus includes a detecting device for detecting contents of maintenance work for the image forming apparatus, and a transmitting device for transmitting the work data showing the detected results by the detecting device to the control unit through the communication line. The control unit includes a receiving device for receiving the work data transmitted from one of the image forming apparatus and a memory for storing the received work data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image forming apparatus and particularly to image forming apparatus capable of communication with external devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatus such as copying machines employing the electrophotographic process, facsimiles and optical printers are widely used as means for forming hard copy images. Such image forming apparatus usually include CPUs (Central Processing Unit) including microprocessors and so forth, in which each portion is controlled according to a control program.
Now, conventionally, as described in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 59-142559, for example, a control system in which each copying machine and a control unit (host) are connected to each other through a communication line in order to concentrically control a plurality of copying machines has been known.
Copying machines configuring such a control system include means for storing data corresponding to control items and transmit the data to the host according to a command from the host.
Conventional control items were mainly for grasping operational (use) conditions of copying machines, such as the number of copies for each user and sizes of employed paper.
That is, conventional control systems are configured with an object of enabling easy totalization of data for implementing rational use of each copying machine at users having a plurality of copying machines such as official agencies and companies, that is, payment by beneficiaries of maintenance cost and equalization of used amount among users.
Recently, in order to implement high efficiency in maintenance for image forming apparatus, a maintenance control system is in progress in which a host provided at a service station where servicemen are waiting and each of a plurality of image forming apparatus provided at each user are connected in an on-line manner.
In the present specification, maintenance means whole activity for keeping operational conditions (hereinafter, referred to as "condition") of an image forming apparatus normal, including work (field work) by a serviceman at a user such as periodic checking and repair of troubles (fails and bad conditions) and activities for supporting the field work, that is, totalization and analysis of conditions of trouble occurrence and improvements in the working manual.
In a maintenance control system, controlled items are mainly related to conditions of image forming apparatus, and image forming apparatus have a function of transmitting condition data corresponding to conditions indicated by an output signal of a sensor in each portion to a host.
By controlling conditions of each image forming apparatus at the service station, if a trouble occurs, a serviceman can estimate contents of the trouble with the condition data and make a visit to a user with prepared necessary repairing parts.
On the other hand, conventionally, a serviceman manually writes contents of his work in a maintenance control sheet at the end of the field work. The written items expressing contents of the work include a name of the serviceman, work time, names of replaced parts if any, portions to which adjustment or cleaning is applied.
The maintenance control sheet, in addition to be used as a bill for a demand for the work charge, is kept at the service station to be utilized for record of measures taken according to conditions of an image forming apparatus, that is, history information of maintenance for the image forming apparatus. For example, in the next field work, the work time can be reduced by confirming parts recently replaced referring to the maintenance control sheet to omit adjustment and checking for the parts.
Conventionally, however, recording in the maintenance control sheet took a large amount of time and labor, so that there has been a problem of a great burden for the serviceman. Especially, if more detailed records of work contents are required, for example, information of how adjustment was made together with where the adjustment was made, a burden of the serviceman further increases. Accordingly, actually, the written items can not be increased so much. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain more detailed history information.
Also, when the information written in the maintenance control sheet is managed by the host at the service station, there has been a problem that it was difficult to obtain history information with high reliability because input mistakes might be made in the input process for inputting the information from the maintenance control sheet to the host.
Generally, in order to enhance work efficiency in the field work in maintenance, more information related to events of the field work, or so-called field information (market information) is preferably utilized. That is to say, if information indicating measures taken by a large number of servicemen are collected to accumulate guide information instructing effective measures for various kinds of conditions (information indicating work procedure), a serviceman can reduce his work time by utilizing the guide information.
As described above, however, the maintenance control system controlling only conditions of each image forming apparatus had a problem that the field work by the serviceman can not be made efficient by utilizing the field information.

Image forming apparatus with improved maintenance control


A method of radio control, adapted in a wireless device that includes a cognitive radio and a free radio. First, the cognitive radio scans within vicinity or range to receive frames sent from or to the free radio, for retrieving therefrom network information of on-air frames indicative of past operational status of the free radio. Next, network operation commands of the free radio are sensed by the cognitive radio, in which the network operations commands being indicative of present operational status of the free radio. Then, a step is performed using the cognitive radio to read network flags generated in the free radio indicative of future operational status of the free radio. Following operation of the cognitive radio is then configured based on at least one of the past, present and future operational status of the free radio so as to reduce channel interferences with the free radio.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a communications device, and more particularly to a wireless communications device and a method of radio control adapted therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a network device, two radios are increasingly preferred over one radio in order to improve quality of link and service, and to expand functionality in networking. For instance, user can have two radios be used as access points to enhance throughput and latency; or have one radio be used as an access point and have another be dedicated to operate as monitor for site surveying or operate as bridge or wireless distribution service for backhauling. However, the inherent problem with a co-located two-radio system is the interference of one radio to another.
There are several causes for interferences of in-band or out-band frequencies. One can be attributed to sidelobe interferences. That is, the sidelobes of one channel, fall in the in-band adjacent or alternative channels and interfere with another carriers operating therein. Another cause of interference is due to third order intermodulation, in which the fundamental frequency of a signal and the second harmonic of aother signal result in frequency mixing. A third cause of interference arises from the interference of the second harmonic of a signal in a band with other signals out of the band. Hence, channel isolation is required to prevent interferences.
Non-adaptive antenna and radio screening method has been proposed to provide isolation between channels. Interferences are mitigated using extremely non-overlapped channels, such as ch. 1 and ch. 11 for a IEEE 802.11g standard, with very broad guard-channel therebetween. Interferences are also lowered using wide separated antennae, with very broad guard-spacing therebetween.
The non-adaptive method in common guard and attenuation solely provides the purpose of screening, and is yet to provide a satisfactory result towards reducing interferences. However, the conventional method poses limitation towards the allowed spacing between two operating channels and between two antennae, thereby reducing flexibility.

Wireless device and method for radio control


There is provided a flag signal generation circuit. The flag signal generation circuit includes a status register read (SRR) signal generating unit receiving an idle signal and an SRR command to generate an SRR signal; a pulse signal generating unit receiving an SRR signal to generate a pulse signal; and a flag signal generating unit receiving the pulse signal and a read signal for SRR to generate a flag signal.

Status information of a semiconductor memory device includes device identification (DI) information, revision identification (RI) information, refresh rate (RR) information, device width (DW) information, device type (DT) information and density (DS) information. The DI information is fixed information as information for identifying a manufacturer, and the RI information is variable information as information for defining a revision performance version. The RR information is variable information as information on refresh performance timing, and the DW information is variable information as information for defining the number of data bits outputted in accordance with an address input. The DT information is fixed information as information on capacity of the semiconductor memory device, and the DS information is fixed information on an integration degree of the semiconductor memory device.
Such status information of a semiconductor memory device is stored in a register. A user can identify the status information of the semiconductor memory device stored in the register through status register read (SRR).
The SRR is specified in JEDEC SPEC as follows: i) The SRR is started after a power-up period is ended. ii) A read command for the SRR is inputted in an idle state after application of MRS. iii) BL is fixed to 2 during SRR operation. iv) tSRR=2 CLK, tSRC=CL+1. v) The SRR is ended when a bank active command is inputted. An operation timing diagram of the SRR specified in the JEDEC SPEC is shown with reference to FIG. 1.
In the JEDEC SPEC specified as described above, the conditions ii) and v) will be more specifically described. Before the read command for the SRR is inputted, the semiconductor memory device should be in an idle state. Therefore, when the bank active command is inputted before the read command for the SRR is inputted, the SRR is not normally performed but ended.
Since a general read operation of a semiconductor memory device is performed after bank activation, there have been increased requests for SRR which is, like the read operation, not ended but can be normally performed even though a read command for SRR is inputted after the bank active command for the bank active is inputted. However, in a semiconductor memory device according to the JEDEC SPEC, such requests cannot be satisfied.

Flag signal generation circuit and semiconductor memory device


The gas separation apparatus comprises a flexible wall which is maintained in a placed position on an upper end of an adsorbant material; the volume between the wall and an upper dome communicates with one of inner and outer chambers on both sides of the adsorbant (4). The invention can be used to separate air components.

The present invention relates to apparatus for separating at least one component of a gas mixture by pressure swing adsorption of the type called "PSA" or "VSA", comprising, in a generally vertical vessel comprising an upper dome, at least one adsorbent mass separating a first vertical chamber receiving the gas mixture to be separated, from a second vertical chamber collecting a separated gas mixture, a generally horizontal flexible wall being pressed against the upper end of the adsorbent mass by pressing means.
An apparatus of this type is described in document U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,721 (Hay/Vigor), in the name of the Applicant. In this type of apparatus, in which the gases flow horizontally, the packing membrane separates an upper volume at substantially constant pressure from lower volumes which are alternately subject to sometimes significant pressure variations. This generates a fatigue load on the structural parts of the apparatus (in practice: weld-fabricated metal parts such as grilles, sheets, plates, shells, tubes, ends) which require oversizing (thickness, weld classes, accuracy of adjustments) considerably increasing the manufacturing and installation costs.

Apparatus for the separation of at least one constituent of a gas mixture by pressure swing adsorption

L'Air Liquide - Societe Anonyme a Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude


A process for manufacturing a bicycle component and a bicycle component manufactured by the process. The process includes protecting a printed circuit board, inserting the protected printed circuit board into the mold cavity, inserting a composite material into the mold cavity so it is around and in contact with the circuit board, and subjecting the mold cavity to a temperature and pressure profile until the composite material hardens.

US2016/0031523 A1 discloses a crankarm with a force measurement apparatus, wherein a printed circuit board of the force measurement apparatus is housed in a housing attached externally to the outer face of the crankarm.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,459,167B2 discloses a crankset with a power measuring device, wherein a printed circuit board of the power measuring device is housed in a housing housed in the bottom bracket shaft.
EP1818252A1 discloses a method for manufacturing a bicycle pedal crank, comprising the steps of winding a composite material around a core consisting of a metallic material having low melting point, moulding the composite material and, after moulding, forming at least one hole on a surface of said pedal crank and heating the crankarm up to the melting point of said metallic material having low melting point to allow it to flow out.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,488,668B2 discloses a crank equipped with a compartment and a printed circuit board inserted from the outside into the compartment.
US 2016/0003696A1 discloses a crankarm with a power meter, wherein a printed circuit board of the power meter is housed in a cavity opening at an external surface of the crankarm.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,006,574B2 discloses a similar crankarm, wherein a material that acts as mechanical protection can be applied to fill in the pocket and possibly subsequently moulded.
With regard to such documents, the Applicant has observed that making such recesses weakens the crankarm.

Bicycle component made of composite material and related manufacturing process


Embodiments of a method and/or apparatus for automatically detecting a test result of a probe zone of a test strip are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for detecting a test result of each probe zone of a test strip, and more particularly to a method for detecting a test result of each probe zone of a test strip via an image capturing/processing technology.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Over the past decade, there has been an increased need and demand for analysis of various biological specimens, for purposes ranging from pregnancy testing to drug analysis. Considerable time and effort has been expended by way of devising systems and analytic techniques to ensure reliable testing and accurate results.
Moreover, with increasing rise in the use of abuse-type drugs, the need for detecting and identifying those drugs and their metabolites is becoming more important. With this need, many more tests are required to monitor the use of abuse-type drugs.
Thin layer chromatography (TLC) screening procedures for detecting drugs in urine require the careful preparation of a test specimen and then a skillful application of that test specimen to a plate placed into a developing chamber. Once the plate is removed from the chamber and dried, it is sprayed with visualization reagents. Location and color of spots are compared with those of known standards. Qualitative judgements are made as to the presence of various drugs in the unknown sample. The procedure is tedious, time consuming and requires skilled personnel to interpret the results.
The EMIT (Enzyme Multiplied Immuno-chemical Test) procedure is a semi-quantitative immuno-assay for drugs of abuse in biological fluids. The laboratory test requires trained technicians to perform and the equipment necessarily costs several thousands of dollars.
The RIA (Radio-Immuno-Assay) procedure is a sensitive and quantitative laboratory procedure for detecting drugs of abuse. The various immunochemicals are labeled with radioactive compounds and require special care in their use and disposal. A license is required from the government to use this laboratory procedure because of the presence of radioactive materials. The GLC (Gas-Liquid Chromatography) procedure can provide the highest degree of accuracy in drug analysis. However, the necessary equipment is expensive and the procedure is complicated. Consequently, highly trained personnel are required for its use.
Each of these well-known procedures requires skilled technicians and relatively sophisticated equipment. Consequently, the testing procedure is necessarily expensive.
However, the increase of drug abuse has increased a need for new methods of analyzing drug residues in physiological fluid. A drug abuse test paper for testing the presence or absence of drugs in a fluid specimen collected from a test subject is developed. The drug abuse test paper is sensitive to specific drugs of abuse in the fluid specimen collected from the test subject, and has a lack of color change indicating a positive response to a specific drug of abuse in the fluid specimen, and representing the specific drug of abuse present therein. While, a color change indicates a negative response to the specific drug of abuse, representing the specific drug of abuse absent in the fluid specimen.
An introduction of various color patterns occurring on the drug abuse test strip under various testing situations is provided herein. Firstly, referring to FIG. 1A, which is a schematic top view of the drug abuse test strip 10 prior to testing the fluid specimen collected from the test subject. The drug abuse test strip 10 is blank and no color pattern displayed thereon prior to testing the fluid specimen. The dotted lines 11 through 16 respectively represent a probe zone of the drug abuse test strip 10. The top probe zone of the drug abuse test strip 10 corresponding to the site of dotted line 11 displays a color change in response to the fluid specimen, which is used to indicate whether the amount of the fluid specimen is sufficient to move through all probe zones of the drug abuse test strip 10 by capillary action. The color line displayed on the top probe zone is called control line. The other probe zones of the drug abuse test strip 10 corresponding to the sites of dotted lines 12 through 16 respectively display a color change in response to a respective drug of abuse presenting in the fluid specimen. The color lines displayed on these probe zones are called target lines.
Referring to FIG. 1B, which shows a color pattern of the drug abuse test strip 10 having no color change occurring in the top probe zone represented by the dotted line 11, which is under a testing situation that the amount of the fluid specimen is not sufficient to assure the fluid specimen moves through all probe zones of the drug abuse test strip 10. Therefore, in accordance with the color pattern consisting of solid lines 14 through 16 shown in FIG. 1B, the drugs of abuse presenting in the fluid specimen cannot completely detected and identified. Referring to FIG. 1C, which shows a color pattern of the drug abuse test strip 10 having only one color line 11 displayed in the top probe zone of the drug abuse test strip 10. It means the top probe zone has a positive response in response to the fluid specimen. The amount of the fluid specimen is sufficient to pass through all probe zones on the drug abuse test strip 10. All other probe zones represented by the dotted lines 12 through 16 have positive responses to the fluid specimen, and all drugs of abuse corresponding to these probe zones present in the fluid specimen. Referring to FIG. 1D, which shows a color pattern of the drug abuse test strip having color lines 11, 12 and 15 displayed in the top probe zone and some other probe zones of the drug abuse test strip 10, which means the top probe zone 11 has a positive response to the fluid specimen, indicating the amount of the fluid specimen is sufficient, and the probe zones represented by the color lines 12 and 15 have a negative response to the fluid specimen, indicating that the absence of the drugs of abuse corresponding to these two probe zones in the fluid specimen. On the contrary, the probe zones represented by the dotted lines 13, 14 and 16 have a positive response to the fluid specimen, indicating that the presence of the drugs of abuse corresponding to these three probe zones in the fluid specimen.
The top probe zone on the drug abuse test strip 10 has a positive response in response to the specimen fluid, a color response occurs. That is, the control line 11 would display thereon. One of the other probe zones of the drug abuse test strip 10 has a positive response in response to a specific drug of abuse of the fluid specimen, there is no color response occurs on the probe zone. It means the specific drug of abuse is present in the fluid specimen, and there is a highly content of the specific drug of abuse in the fluid specimen. However, one of the other probe zones of the drug abuse test strip 10 has a negative response in response to a specific drug of abuse of the fluid specimen, a color response, i.e. target line, is displayed on the probe zone. The color shade of the target line can be used to monitor the content of the specific drug of abuse or even represents absence of the specific drug of abuse in the fluid specimen. The color shade of each of the target lines 12 to 16 is inversely proportional to the content of a specific drug of abuse to be detected in the fluid specimen. The higher the content of the specific drug of abuse is, the lighter the color shade of the target line is. The content of the specific drug of abuse is inversely proportional to the color intensity, i.e. the shade of color, of the target line. It is difficult to visually determine what certain level of the color shade of the target line representing the presence of the specific drug of abuse to be detected. Therefore, it is not convincing for concluding whether the test subject has used abuse-type drugs.
Accordingly, it is an intention to provide means capable of detecting and identifying the presence or absence of drugs of abuse in a fluid specimen, which can overcome the problems of the conventional methods.

Method of automatically detecting a test result of a probe zone of a test strip


A battery pack adaptor can be attached to any one of a number of brands of video cameras and can have any one of a number of brands of battery packs attached to it, so that any one of the cameras can be operated by any one of the battery packs interchangeably. The adaptor also has an arm for an electric lamp to be powered by the battery pack. The arm can be swung between left and right hand positions depending on the location of the lens system of the camera on which the adaptor is to be used.

This invention relates to an adapter which enables a battery pack designed for use with a particular brand of video camera to be used on other brands of video cameras.
Video cameras generally are powdered by an attachable/detachable rechargeable battery pack. Among the common brands of video cameras, however, the design and mounting arrangements of the respective battery packs are somewhat different in their configuration and layout. Accordingly, it is not generally possible to use a battery pack which is specifically designed for use with one such brand of video camera on any of the other brands.
For example, among the more common brands of video cameras, the SONY, Panasonic, JVC, RICOH, Hitachi and Canon brands all have different design battery packs and mounting fixtures for attaching same to the respective cameras.
FIG. 1 shows a SONY brand video camera and battery pack combination. The video camera A has a rear seating surface for the battery pack B with two projecting electrically conducting pins A1 near the bottom of the mounting surface. Adjacent the pins A1 is a spring latch A2. At the top of the mounting surface is a projecting channel with end flanges A3 and a similar channel is provided along the bottom edge. The lens system A5 of the camera is located on the left-hand side along with a depressible button A4 for operating the latch A2.
On the front surface of the battery case B are electrically conducting terminal leaves or receivers B1 to receive the pins A1 and an adjacent notch B2 for the latch A2. Recesses B3 are provided along the top and bottom edges of the battery pack to receive the attachment flanges A3.
In use, the battery pack clips onto the back of the video camera with the various illustrated elements A1-A3 and B1-B3 in register so as to retain camera and battery case in connection. Release of the battery case is effected by depressing the button A4, thereby drawing the latch A2 from the notch B2 and allowing the battery case to slide out of engagement with the flanges A3.
FIG. 2 shows a Panasonic brand of video camera C and a corresponding battery pack D.
The rear mounting surface of the video camera, in this case, has projecting electrically conducting pins C1, a spring latch C2 controlled by a depressible button C4 and upper and lower flanges C3 for attachment of the battery pack.
The battery pack has recessed terminal leaves or receivers D1 to receive the pins C1, a notch D2 for the latch D2 and recesses D3 for receiving the flanges C3. The battery pack D attaches to the camera C in similar fashion to the attachment of the SONY pack to the corresponding camera but it is evident that the location and general disposition of the various pins latches and flanges are different for the respective cameras. Also, it will be seen that the lens system C5 of the Panasonic camera is on the right-hand of the camera in contrast to the lens system of the SONY camera.
FIG. 3 shows a Hitachi brand video camera E and corresponding battery pack F. Again, the camera has a back mounting surface for the battery pack with electrically conducting terminals E2 in one of the attachment flanges E1 at the top of the mounting surface and a spring latch E3 operated by a button E5. The battery pack has electrically conducting terminal F2 to connect with the terminals E2 and recesses F1 for the flanges E1. A notch F3 is provided to receive the latch E3. The Hitachi camera has its lens system E4 on the left-hand side.
The battery pack F attaches to the video camera E in like manner to those previously described, but again, the orientation and disposition of the various attachment elements and the like is different.
FIG. 4 shows a Canon brand video camera G and corresponding battery pack H. The mounting surface of the camera, in this case, has a peripheral surround G1 and electrically conducting terminals G2 on the base. A spring latch G4 is provided at the top of the mounting surface operated by a depressible button G6.
The battery pack has a notch H2 for the latch, electrically conducting terminal receivers H1 at the bottom and recesses H3 to fit projecting portions G3 of the camera surround. The lens system of the Canon camera is located at the top.
Again, the battery pack attaches and detaches in like manner to the previous arrangements but it is evident that the various components are differently positioned.
It is evident from the above that the individual battery packs each designed for a particular brand of camera because of the different disposition of the various cooperating elements, cannot be used on another brand of camera. Another problem which arises is that the various brands of battery packs are not necessarily usable with the same battery charger. Accordingly, when purchasing a battery charger, a user must ensure that he has a type suitable for the particular battery pack which it is intended to be used.


Systems, methods and computer-readable media are provided for automatic identification of patients according to near-term risk of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD). Embodiments of the invention are directed to event prediction, risk stratification, and optimization of the assessment, communication, and decision-making to prevent SCD, and in one embodiment take the form of a platform for wearable, mobile, unteathered monitoring devices with embedded decision support. Thus embodiments relate to automatically identifying persons at risk for arrhythmias and SCD through the use of noninvasive, portable, wearable electronic device and sensors equipped with signal-processing software and statistical predictive algorithms that calculate stability-theoretic measures derived from the digital electrocardiogram timeseries acquired by the device. The measurements and predictive algorithms embedded within the device provide for unsupervised use in the home or in general acute-care and chronic-care venues and afford a degree of robustness against variations in individual anatomy and sensor placement.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is responsible for the death of up to 450,000 persons in the U.S. each year; similar incidences of SCD occur in other Western nations. The majority of these cases involve ventricular arrhythmias, not coronary occlusions and myocardial infarctions. SCD predominantly affects individuals in the prime of their lives, with most occurrences of life-threatening arrhythmia cases happening in the community (outside the hospital). Resuscitation is only attempted in a minority of patients, in part due to unavailability of defibrillation equipment and lack of knowledge and action by lay responders.
SCD is associated with common cardiac diseases, most notably heart failure, in which approximately 50% of patients die from fatal cardiac arrhythmias. Multiple factors in addition to reduced ejection fraction (EF) have been demonstrated to contribute to the risk for SCD after myocardial infarction. These include the presence of nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT), symptomatic heart failure (HF), and sustained monomorphic VT inducible by electrophysiologic cardiac testing.
However, fatal ventricular arrhythmias and SCD also frequently occur in young, otherwise healthy individuals without known structural heart disease. In structurally normal hearts the most common mechanism for induction and maintenance of ventricular tachycardia is abnormal automaticity. One form of abnormal automaticity, known as 'triggered arrhythmias,' is associated with aberrant release of Ca+2 that initiates delayed after-depolarizations (DADs). DADs, which can trigger fatal ventricular arrhythmias, are abnormal depolarizations in myocardial cells that occur after repolarization of a cardiac action potential. The molecular basis for abnormal Ca+2 release that causes DADs is, to date, incompletely understood.
In another form of abnormal automaticity in persons with an inherited, arrhythmogenic disorder known as "catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia", physical exertion and emotional stress induce polymorphic ventricular tachycardias that lead to SCD in the absence of detectable structural heart disease.
On the cellular level, prolonged repolarization can result in early after-depolarizations (EADs), which are also arrhythmogenic. Prediction of SCD based on increased beat-to-beat T-wave lability during catecholamine-provocation has been examined previously.
Depending on the arrhythmogenic mechanism(s) that prevail at a given time for a particular individual, specific steps to prevent SCD can be selected and taken, notably for people who are in hospital at the time when a ventricular arrhythmia occurs. However, comprehensive prevention is hampered by multiple factors. Foremost among these is the present inability to identify predictive factors for the majority of patients at risk of SCD and to do so far enough in advance of the event that assessment and prevention/treatment services can be effectively implemented. The reason why this is so is that many who are at risk of SCD have no prior evidence of cardiac disease and are therefore not currently engaged with a health care system where assessment and prevention might take place.
Furthermore, even in patients at markedly elevated risk, amiodarone and other conventional, nonspecific anti-arrhythmic drug treatments have proven largely ineffective in preventing SCD particularly for ambulatory patients when the SCD event occurs outside of a hospital. Antiarrhythmic drugs have failed to prevent SCD in healthcare venues (ambulatory or acute care) owing substantially to the lack of timely dosing and dose-range adjustment of the medication in advance of the arrhythmia event; or to poor effectiveness on account of the nonspecificity or lack of relation of the prevailing arrhythmogenic mechanism and the selected drug's mechanism of action; or to adverse effects associated with the medication selected. Notwithstanding the historical reasons for lack of effectiveness to-date, were advance warnings and timely dosing implemented, the existing medications and new ones that are now under development may have a better chance of reducing SCD rates and improving survival.
Additionally, guidelines for medical device-based preventive therapies, such as implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) for patients at elevated risk, are often not followed. In the case of ICDs, the reason is partly because physicians perceive that the majority of patients who receive these expensive, invasive therapies never experience life-threatening arrhythmias that would cause the implanted device to deliver cardioversion-defibrillation discharges.
It is because of these factors that an improved predictive-preventive method and system would be valuable, and in embodiments of such methods and systems, prediction classification or decision-support alert signals emitted by the system may be provided at logistically convenient times far enough in advance of a life-threatening arrhythmia's occurrence to allow for effective preventive intervention in a majority of cases. More over, embodiments of such a method and system can be inexpensive and suitable for a much larger population who are at moderate risk of SCD. Such a system could find use as a tool not only for surveillance and triaging the general medical-surgical patients in hospitals and other acute-care venues but also for ambulatory, free-living individuals such as athletes and the general elderly population who have one or more risk-factors for SCD.
Effective SCD preventive interventions vary and optimal selection and personalized tailoring of them can depend upon the patient's context, gender, age, heart conditions such as heart failure or coronary artery disease or left ventricular hypertrophy, ejection fraction, exercise inducibility of ventricular tachycardia, comorbid illnesses, concomitant medications, electrolyte abnormalities, family history of SCD, and other factors. In the case of a previously asymptomatic ambulatory person, effective preventive interventions may include consultation with the personal physician, presentation at a nearby emergency department for diagnostic assessment and close monitoring, and, optionally, prophylaxis with amiodarone or ranolazine loading or, in some situations, azimilide, dofetilide, or sotalol. In the case of a person with existing, known cardiac conditions, effective preventive interventions may include admission to hospital for observation and cardiac electrophysiology exams, provision of external pacing and resuscitation equipment at the ready, consideration for implantation of an ICD, or other alternatives.
Conventional cardiac rhythm measurements, such as R-R dispersion or abnormal QTc or QT dispersion (QTd), based on small samples of ECG waveforms acquired over short intervals (10 to 30 sec) have been shown to have inadequate statistical sensitivity and specificity for the purpose of predicting SCD.
When measurements rely upon apnea or disturbed respiratory patterns as the trigger or sentinel event for predicting incipient cardiac arrhythmias, the predictions are generally only relevant when the person is asleep. Additionally, the advance notice provided by disturbed respiratory pattern signals is so short (tens of seconds) as to preclude effective interventions to prevent the predicted arrhythmia or SCD occurrences.
Many prior art methods involve cumbersome, complex, expensive and/or invasive instrumentation, or require a skilled operator in attendance.
The most accurate predictive methods, such as paced electrogram fractionation analysis (PEFA), are highly invasive (involve placement of multiple catheters in the heart), are expensive, are not widely available, are only performable by subspecialty-trained cardiologists, and are only applicable to a small subset of patients who are already known to be at risk of SCD based on other attributes.
The methods involve expensive measurements, such as genomic or proteomic laboratory tests that are not widely available and that have a performance turnaround time of many hours or days before the results and prediction are available for use, such that the prediction or classification is not timely with respect to interventions aimed at preventing the predicted occurrences.
The methods are sensitive to, and may be compromised or entirely confounded by, individual variations in patient anatomy and physiology, such as cardiac axis deviation, pulmonary congestion, dyspnea, skeletal muscle signal artifact, patient movement and positioning, diurnal variations, etc.
The methods are sensitive to, and may be compromised or entirely confounded by, individual variations in operator positioning of electrodes or sensors on the patient's body or variations in the timing and method of acquiring the specimens or data that will enter into the prediction and classification.
Noninvasive electrocardiographic tools that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for identifying patients at risk for SCD (such as signal-averaged electrocardiogram (SAECG) and T-wave alternans (TWA) analysis) are relatively time-consuming to perform and, as such, are accessible to only a small subset of persons at-risk, mostly less healthy persons in acute-care settings, and even in this population exhibit a false-negative rate of more than 50%, in part because the interval of data capture is limited to the time of the exam.
QT interval dispersion (QTd) is still the most common and generally-available measure used to detect repolarization problems, but this too is generally only measured in a per-exam, discrete, "snapshot" fashion. While QTd is routinely measured using manual ECG methods, software algorithms to automatically perform the measurement are available, and these could be implemented in a continuous fashion instead of discrete, point-in-time snapshots. However, these prior art software algorithms suffer from the same signal-processing problems and artifacts that arise in measuring the QT interval generally. The most common alternative approach has been to devise measurements that consider the T-wave's morphology, or overall shape. For example, one approach used the width of root-mean square curves of T-waves and found much higher correlation with the repolarization dispersion than was found for QTd. Another approach compared several novel computational measures of T-wave morphology with QTd. But short-term measurement of QTd was found to be an inadequate predictor of SCD. That approach found that a measure named total cosine R-to-T T-wave morphology dispersion was useful in assessing malignant arrhythmia risk in post-myocardial infarction patients. Machine learning techniques have also been applied to various aspects of the repolarization-dispersion problem. One approach used principal component analysis (PCA) to detect repolarization abnormalities and found the method outperformed QTd for men, and exhibited predictive performance equivalent to QTd for women. Wavelet analysis, Gaussian mesa function analysis, and machine learning approaches have been used for ECG delineation, QT interval measurement, and rhythm classification. Machine learning has also been applied to predict the occurrence of drug-induced Torsades de Pointes.
But the prior art is deficient of teachings regarding examining mathematical stability properties of the measured variables. Nor has the prior art made use of continuous realtime measurements over long periods of many hours, for instance. Despite the existence of Holter monitor type ECG recording equipment for approximately 40 years, the analysis of long-timeseries Holter data is traditionally restricted to abnormal beats or rhythms, and calculation and study of RRd(t), QTd(t), and other parameters are never performed. Only small selected portions of the recorded data are subjected to detailed analysis, and the rest are typically discarded unexamined or ignored.

Computerized systems and methods for stability-theoretic prediction and prevention of sudden cardiac death


The invention provides a multilayer chip capacitor reduced in ESL. A capacitor body has a plurality of dielectric layers stacked in a thickness direction. A plurality of first and second internal electrodes are separated from one another by the dielectric layers within the capacitor body. Each of the first internal electrodes opposes each of the second internal electrodes. Each of the first and second internal electrodes includes at least two leads extending toward any side of the capacitor body. Also, a plurality of external electrodes are formed on an outer surface of the capacitor body and connected to the internal electrodes via the leads. Further, vertically adjacent ones of the leads having the same polarity extend in different directions at a predetermined angle. The leads of the first and second internal electrodes are disposed adjacent to and alternate with those of the second internal electrodes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer chip capacitor, more particularly, which is suitably used as a decoupling capacitor of a Micro Processor Unit (MPU) and is capable of reducing Equivalent Series Inductance (ESL).
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a multilayer chip capacitor (MLCC) includes a plurality of dielectric layers made of ceramics, and internal electrodes interleaved therebetween. The multilayer chip capacitor is small-sized and capable of high capacitance, thus broadly used as capacitive parts of various electronic devices. Especially, the multilayer chip capacitor is extensively used as a decoupling capacitor installed between a semiconductor chip and an electric source in power supply circuits such as a Large Scale Integration (LSI) device.
The capacitor used as the decoupling capacitor needs to have lower ESL to inhibit rapid current change and stabilize the power supply circuits. Higher-frequency and higher-current trend of the MPU has increased such demand. A method for reducing ESL of the multilayer chip capacitor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,925. The document teaches a method for disposing leads of a positive internal electrode adjacent to those of a negative internal electrode in an interdigitated arrangement. As an example of the conventional technique, FIGS. 1a to 1c show a multilayer chip capacitor in which adjacent leads of first and second internal electrodes having the opposite polarity are disposed alternately.
FIG. 1a is an exploded perspective view illustrating an internal electrode structure of a conventional multilayer chip capacitor. FIG. 1b is a perspective view illustrating the exterior of a conventional multilayer chip capacitor 10 employing the internal electrode structure of FIG. 1a. FIG. 1c is a perspective view illustrating a partial internal structure of the multilayer chip capacitor of FIG. 1b. Dielectric layers 11a, 11b, 12a and 12b are not illustrated in FIG. 1c. Referring to FIGS. 1a and 1b, first internal electrodes 13 (13a, 13b) are formed on respective dielectric layers 11a, 11b and second internal electrodes 14 (14a, 14b) are formed on respective dielectric layers 12a and 12b. Four leads 15a, 15b, 16a and 16b are formed on the respective electrodes 13a, 13b, 14a and 14b. These dielectric layers are stacked alternately to constitute a capacitor body 20. To manufacture the multilayer chip capacitor 10, the capacitor body 20 is compressed and fired, and in addition, external terminal electrodes 17 and 18 are formed to connect to the respective leads 15a, 15b, 16a and 16b.
At this time, the first internal electrodes 13a and 13b exhibit the same polarity (likewise, the second internal electrodes 14a and 14b exhibit the same polarity), however the opposite polarity with respect to the second internal electrodes 14a and 14b. In the adjacent leads 15a and 16a having the opposite polarity, currents flow in opposite directions as indicated with an arrow (see reference sign 1a). Therefore, magnetic flux generated by a high-frequency current is partially cancelled, decreasing ESL of the capacitor 10.
As shown in FIG. 1c, the vertically adjacent two leads of the first internal electrodes 13a and 13b extend in parallel (in the same direction) to an external electrode 17. Thus, as shown in FIG. b, in the vertically adjacent leads 15a and 15b having the same polarity 5a and 15b, currents flow in the same direction (indicated with an arrow). In this fashion, currents flowing in the same direction through the leads 15a, 15b generate strong mutual inductance. This mutual inductance renders it hard to reduce ESL sufficiently. To be used as the decoupling capacitor for the MPU, the multilayer chip capacitor needs to exhibit lower ESL.


Various technologies described herein pertain to routing autonomous vehicles based upon spatiotemporal factors. A computing system receives an origin location and a destination location of an autonomous vehicle. The computing system identifies a route for the autonomous vehicle to follow from the origin location to the destination location based upon output of a spatiotemporal statistical model. The spatiotemporal statistical model is generated based upon historical data from autonomous vehicles when the autonomous vehicles undergo operation-influencing events. The spatiotemporal statistical model takes, as input, a location, a time, and a direction of travel of the autonomous vehicle. The spatiotemporal statistical model outputs a score that is indicative of a likelihood that the autonomous vehicle will undergo an operation-influencing event due to the autonomous vehicle encountering a spatiotemporal factor along a candidate route. The autonomous vehicle then follows the route from the origin location to the destination location.

An autonomous vehicle is a motorized vehicle that can operate for extended distances and/or periods of time without a human operator (i.e., a driver). An exemplary autonomous vehicle includes a plurality of sensor systems, such as but not limited to, a lidar sensor system, a camera sensor system, and a radar sensor system, amongst others. The autonomous vehicle operates based upon sensor data output by the sensor systems.
Typically, an autonomous vehicle operates autonomously (i.e., without conduction by the human operator) along a route from an origin location to a destination location. However, in certain driving scenarios, the autonomous vehicle may be caused to cease operating autonomously and instead be controlled by a human. Further, in some situations, the autonomous vehicle may be caused to perform an unplanned maneuver along the route in order to arrive at the destination location. Furthermore, the autonomous vehicle may also be subjected to events along the route that, while not altering behavior of the autonomous vehicle itself, may still be undesirable.
Conventionally, autonomous vehicles tend to be routed from an origin location to a destination location based upon predefined metrics, such as travel time between the origin location and the destination location, travel distance between the origin location and the destination location, etc. Autonomous vehicles may also be routed based on pre-defined operational factors such as distance to or distance from a charging station or a gas station. Using only these predefined metrics and factors to determine a route, however, may result in a suboptimal experience for a passenger in the autonomous vehicle.

Autonomous vehicle routing based upon spatiotemporal factors


The present invention relates a mobile terminal capable of controlling contents displayed on a display unit, and a control method thereof. A mobile terminal according to one exemplary embodiment includes a terminal body, a transparent display unit having first and second transparent substrates both configured to sense touch inputs, a sensing unit to sense at least one of motion and rotation of the terminal body, and a controller to determine whether or not the sensed at least one of the motion and the rotation of the terminal body meets a preset condition information when an event is generated while a content is output on the first transparent substrate, and decide whether or not to display information relating to the generated event on the second transparent substrate based on the determination result.

1. Field
This specification relates to a mobile terminal, and particularly, to a mobile terminal capable of controlling contents displayed on a display unit, and a control method thereof.
2. Background
Terminals may be divided into mobile/portable terminals and stationary terminals according to their mobility. Mobile terminals (mobile device, portable device, portable terminal) can be easily carried and have one or more of functions such as supporting voice and video telephony calls, inputting and/or outputting information, storing data and the like.
As it becomes multifunctional, the portable terminal can be allowed to capture still images or moving images, play music or video files, play games, receive broadcast and the like, so as to be implemented as a multimedia player. Various new attempts have been made for the multimedia devices by hardware or software in order to implement such complicated functions.
With the improvement, the terminal may output contents on a display unit. However, when an event is generated while the contents are output, it causes inconvenience in that at least part of a screen for displaying the contents is obscured to display information relating to the generated event.
When a user desires to view detailed information related to the generated event with a content display screen being output on the display unit, it causes user's inconvenience due to complicated manipulations.

Mobile terminal and control method thereof


A process for preparing certain cephalosporin antibiotics, namely, cefotaxime, cefetemet, and ceftriaxone sodium comprising acylation of 7-amino-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid derivatives with 2-mercapto-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazolyl-(Z)-2-(2-aminothiazol-4-yl)-2-metho xyiminoacetate having the formula: ##STR1##

The present invention relates to a new process for the preparation of antibiotic substances belonging to the cephalosporin class of compounds. More specifically, the present invention relates to a new process for the preparation of cefotaxime, cefetamet, and ceftriaxone sodium. The latter compounds belong to a known class of valuable cephalosporanic antibiotics disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,888 (1978) as well as numerous other patents and other publications. This class of antibiotics is characterized by the presence of an oximino group and a 2-aminothiazolyl heterocyclic ring in the 7-acylamido side-chain attached to the cephalosporin nucleus. This class of compounds is also characterized by suitable substituents at the 3-position of the cephalosporin nucleus. It is known that the oximino group in the 7-acylamido side-chain may have the syn or anti configuration, but that the syn isomers have higher antibiotic activity. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,432 (1979) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,371 (1980).
Conventionally, this class of compounds is prepared by first introducing the suitable substituent into the 3-position of the cephalosporin nucleus, and then attaching the suitable substituent to the nitrogen in the 7-position. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,852 (1988) discloses a process for the production of known 2-oximinoacetamido-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid derivatives, including cefotaxime and ceftriaxone, by acylating 7-amino-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid derivatives already substituted at the 3-position with 2-mercaptobenzothiazolyl-(Z)-2-(2-aminothiazol-4-yl)-2-methoxyiminoacetate , the latter often being referred to as MAEM. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,843 (1991) discloses a process for preparing ceftriaxone disodium salt hemiheptahydrate. As the first step in the process disclosed in that patent, 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (7-ACA) already suitably substituted at the 3-position is acylated at the 7-position using MAEM as the acylating agent. Thus, MAEM has become the standard acylating agent for the preparation of cephalosporins having an oximino group and a 2-aminothioazolyl group in the 7-acylamido side-chain.
However, there are certain disadvantages to using MAEM as the acylating agent. In particular, a by-product of this reaction is the toxic compound 2-mercaptobenzothiazole. See, e.g., Chemical Abstracts 111, 19243 p (1989). Therefore, there has been an ongoing search for new acylating agents which are capable of introducing the 2-aminothiazolyl group as part of the 7-acylamido side-chain in good yield, but without producing this toxic by-product.
In Tetrahedron Letters 31, 6481 (1990), Walker, D. G., reports the use of certain thioesters, including 2-mercapto-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazolyl-(Z)-2-(2)-tritylaminothiazol-4-yl)- 2-methoxyiminoacetate and 2-mercapto-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazolyl-(Z)-2-(2-aminothiazol-4-yl)-2-metho xyiminoacetate, as acylating agents in the synthesis of cefepime sulfate. Yields are reported to be in the range of 54-73% when using the latter thioester, which are far below the yields of 85-97% reported for the production of cefotaxime and ceftriaxone when using MAEM as the acylating agent. See, e.g., Examples 1 and 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,852 and the Example of U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,843.

Process for producing cephalosporin antibiotics


A method and apparatus is directed to generating an improved temperature coefficient for the current limit in a switching regulator/driver circuit. The current limit sense circuit includes a comparator that compares two signals to determine when the current limit has been exceeded. One signal is produced from a temperature independent voltage source, a trans-conductance cell, and a sensor resistor circuit. Another signal is produced by an active output circuit, such that the signal corresponds to the current associated with the switching regulator/driver circuit. The current sensed by the regulator/driver is temperature dependent due to the resistances in the active output circuit, the sensor resistor circuit, and the trans-conductance cell. Each of these resistances has a temperature coefficient. The temperature coefficients determine the amount of temperature dependence in the sensed switching/regulator current. The resistance materials are chosen such that the temperature dependence of the sensed current is minimized.

The present invention relates to switching regulators and driver circuits. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus that provides for an improved temperature coefficient for the current limit in a switching regulator circuit. The improved temperature coefficient in the current limit may also be employed for use in a driver circuit such as an RS-232 driver.
Current limit is an important parameter for switching regulator and driver circuits. A precisely controlled value for the current limit in a wide temperature range is always desired. An example of a current sensor circuit (100) that may be used in a switching regulator circuit is shown in FIG. 1. Switching regulator circuit 100 includes a comparator (110), a differential gain amplifier (120), a reference voltage (VREF), a bi-polar junction transistor (BJT) (Q1), a diode (D1), an internal voltage reference (VREF(I)), a sense resistor (RS), and two resistors (R1 and R2).
Comparator 110 includes a sensor input (SNS) that is coupled to node N10, a reference input (REF) that is coupled to node N11, and an output that is coupled to node N16. Differential gain amplifier 120 includes differential inputs that are coupled to node N12 and power supply node NPS10, and an output that is coupled to node N10. Internal voltage reference VREF(I) is coupled between node N11 and node N13. Diode D1 is coupled between node N13 and node N14. Transistor Q1 includes a base that is coupled to node N15, an emitter that is coupled to node N14, and a collector that is coupled to power supply node NPS11. Resistor R1 is coupled between node N15 and power supply node NPS12. Resistor R2 is coupled between node N15 and power supply node NPS11.
The resistors (R1, R2) operate as a voltage divider. In this example, sense resistor RS is located xe2x80x9coff-chipxe2x80x9d as can be resistors R1 and R2. A circuit ground potential (GND) is coupled to power supply node NPS11.
In operation, comparator 110 produces an output signal when the voltage signal level at node N10 exceeds the signal level at node N11. Differential gain amplifier 120 produces the output signal based on the voltage drop across the sense resistor (RS). The voltage drop across the sense resistor (RS) is equal to the product of the value of the sense current (IS) and the value of the sense resistor (RS). The differential gain amplifier (120) then takes the resulting voltage value (ISxc2x7RS) and scales it (e.g., xc3x973). This scaled value is outputted by differential gain amplifier 120 at node N10. The sensor input (SNS) receives a signal from the output of the differential gain amplifier (120).
Similarly, the reference input (REF) receives a signal from the output of transistor Q1. Transistor Q1 produces the signal based on the voltage present across resistor (R2) of the voltage divider (R1, R2) due to the reference voltage (VREF). Diode D1 provides an offset to compensate for the voltage drop (VBE) across the base-emitter junction. The internal reference (VREF(2)) voltage is provided as a design adjustment. Therefore, the signal received at the reference input (REF) of the comparator (110) is proportional to the reference voltage (VREF(1)). The equation for the switching regulator circuit (100) of FIG. 1, when the sensor current (IS) is at its peak value, can be expressed as follows:
3xc2x7ISxc2x7RS=[(R2xc2x7VREF(1))/(R1+R2)]xe2x88x92VREF(2)
IS={[(R2xc2x7VREF(1))/(R1+R2)]xe2x88x92VREF(2)}/(3xc2x7RS)
The value of IS depends on the ratio of R2/(R1+R2), the value of VREF(1) and VREF(2), and RS. Assuming VREF(1) and VREF(2) have no appreciable temperature coefficient, the temperature coefficient of IS is only dependent upon the temperature coefficient of RS. RS may be an equivalent resistance such as the on resistance (RDS(ON)) of a MOSFET transistor in a switching regulator. In this instance, the ISxc2x7RS has a large temperature coefficient that is on the order of 4000 ppm/xc2x0 C., which is intolerable in some applications.
The present invention is directed to a method and an apparatus that improves the temperature coefficient for the current limit in a switching regulator, and also in driver circuits. An improved switching regulator/driver circuit includes xe2x80x9con-chipxe2x80x9d resistance circuits that allow for a reduced temperature coefficient associated with the current limit. The improved temperature coefficient of the current limit may be arranged to provide for a constant current limit in the switching regulator or driver circuit. High output currents are limited over a wide range of temperature changes, providing for improved protection to the switching regulator or driver circuit.
Briefly stated, a method and apparatus is provided that is directed to generating an improved temperature coefficient for the current limit in a switching regulator circuit. A current limit sense circuit is employed that includes a comparator that compares two signals to determine when the current limit has been exceeded. One signal is produced from an input voltage source that has no temperature coefficient, a trans-conductance cell, and a sensor resistor circuit. An active output circuit produces another signal that corresponds to the current associated with the switching regulator circuit. The current sensed by the regulator is temperature dependent due to the resistances in the active output circuit, the sensor resistor circuit, and the trans-conductance cell. Each of these resistances has a temperature coefficient. The sum of the temperature coefficients determines the amount of temperature dependence in the sensed switching regulator circuit current. The resistance materials are chosen such that the temperature dependence of the sensed current is minimized. Also, all resistors are integrated into a single chip, reducing the costs associated with external pins and external resistor components. A similar arrangement may be applied to a driver circuit with a limited current output.

Very low temperature coefficient for current limit in switching regulator and driver


Methods are described for fabricating HIT solar cells, including double heterojunction and hybrid heterojunction-homojunction solar cells, with very thin single crystal silicon wafers, where the silicon wafer may be less than 80 microns thick, and even less than 50 microns thick. The methods overcome potential issues with handling these very thin wafers by using a process including epitaxial silicon deposition on a growth substrate, partial cell fabrication, attachment to a support substrate and then separation from the growth substrate. Some embodiments of the present invention may include a solar cell device architecture comprising the combination of a heterostructure on the front side of the device with a homojunction at the rear of the device. Furthermore, device performance may be enhanced by including a dielectric stack on the backside of the device for reflecting long wavelength infrared radiation.

The fabrication of a Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer (HIT) device, including a thin (˜10 nm) amorphous silicon film on a single crystal substrate, has been shown to enable solar cells with high open circuit voltages, as a result of the larger band offset achieved between the wider band gap amorphous silicon and the single crystal silicon as well as the superior surface passivation characteristics of amorphous silicon. (M. Taguchi et al., Proceedings 5th Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference (1990) 689). Recent research at Sanyo has shown that reducing wafer thickness with HIT devices has the effect of increasing the open circuit voltage but with a reduction of the short circuit current due to loss of long wavelength infrared radiation as the wafer gets thinner. See FIG. 1, showing data from Taguchi et al. "High efficiency HIT solar cell on thin (<100 micron) silicon wafer" 24th EU PVSEC (2009). The plot in FIG. 1 shows values for short circuit current density, Isc, open circuit voltage, Voc, and efficiency, Eff, for two thicknesses of thin cells, where the values are given relative to those for a 165 micron thick cell. Sanyo's data is for wafer thicknesses down to about 75 microns. However, the latest data from Sanyo (37th IEEE PV specialists conference, 2011) has shown record open circuit values as high as 747 mV for a 58 micron thick wafer (where the wafer was mechanically thinned).
However, the fabrication by mechanical thinning and handling of these very thin wafers poses problems for manufacturing and is not economically viable—there is a need for improved methods of fabricating and handling thin silicon in the production of HIT solar cells.
Furthermore, as silicon wafer thickness is reduced to reduce silicon consumption and hence manufacturing costs of photovoltaic products, more of the long wavelength infrared radiation will pass through the thin wafer without being absorbed, due to the relatively poor absorption coefficient of silicon. Consequently cell efficiency is reduced for thin (less than roughly 50 micron) silicon cells. There is a need for solar cell structures which can compensate for the poor absorption of longer wavelength light.
Yet furthermore, even though the conversion efficiency of the conventional prior art HIT cells is roughly 23%, it is far from what may theoretically be achieved—there is still a need for improved cell efficiency.


A subscriber's line is associated with a prepaid long distance account. When the subscriber attempts a long distance call, it is determined from the dialed digits whether the attempted call is a long distance call. If a long distance call is attempted, the subscriber's prepaid account is checked to determine whether it has any remaining credits. If no credits are remaining, the subscriber is so informed, and the call is disconnected. If the subscriber has credits remaining, the call is connected as long as credits are remaining in the prepaid account.

The present invention relates to a system and method for providing prepaid long distance calls, and more particularly, to a system and method for providing prepaid long distance service in an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN).
In a traditional long distance service billing arrangement, the customer is billed after the calls are made. However, this traditional billing arrangement may not be available to a customer with a poor credit rating or who has failed to pay long distance bills in the past.
One currently available option for this customer is to purchase a prepaid calling card, which permits the user to make telephone calls for a predetermined number of minutes. Prepaid calling cards each include a unique i.d. number. In order to use the prepaid calling card, the user first dials the long distance carrier (typically, an 800 number). The user then enters the i.d. number from the calling card and the telephone number that the user is attempting to call. If there are remaining minutes associated with that i.d. number, the call is connected. When the minutes associated with the i.d. number on the calling card are exhausted, the call is ended and the i.d. number cannot be used again to place a call. The user discards the spent prepaid calling card and must purchase a new calling card with a new i.d. number in order to make additional long distance calls. The number of minutes associated with a specific i.d. number is not replenished.

Prepaid long distance call system and method


Provided is a semiconductor device in which a semiconductor element mounted on a wiring substrate is placed in a hollow portion, the hollow portion being formed by the wiring substrate, a protective member, and a wall member, with the wiring substrate, the protective member, and the wall member being a bottom surface, a top surface, and side surfaces thereof, respectively. The wall member has a vent hole provided therein, which communicates the hollow portion to/from the outside, and the vent hole includes a pillar member formed of a material having a linear expansion coefficient which is smaller than that of the wall member. Therefore, airtightness of the hollow portion is maintained to prevent entry of foreign matters at ordinary temperature, and vapor pressure in the hollow portion is relieved when heated.

An image sensor package using a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor used in a digital camera or a video camera, and a SAW filter package used in a cellular phone or the like are semiconductor devices having a hollow structure. A semiconductor device having a hollow structure has a structure in which, after a semiconductor element is mounted on a wiring substrate and electrodes of the semiconductor element and electrodes of the wiring substrate are electrically connected to each other through use of metal wires, a protective member is attached from above the wiring substrate so as to encapsulate the semiconductor element in a hollow portion.
A semiconductor device having a hollow structure has a problem in that moisture which enters the hollow portion due to moisture absorption by an adhesive made from a resin or by a resin material of a wiring substrate or the like expands by reflow heating when the semiconductor device is mounted on a motherboard, and the vapor pressure of the moisture separates the protective member.
To cope with this problem, in PTL 1, a vent hole is provided between the protective member and a frame. Water vapor in the hollow portion, which has expanded by heating in the mounting, is released from the vent hole to the outside so that vapor pressure caused in the hollow portion is reduced to prevent separation of the protective member.
However, in the method described in PTL 1, the vent hole is always open even when the semiconductor device is not heated, and thus, there is a problem in that the hollow portion is not airtight and foreign matters enter the hollow portion.
Entry of foreign matters into the hollow portion has been a cause of a short circuit between electrically connected terminals. Further, in a semiconductor device which uses an optical element as a semiconductor element, adhesion of foreign matters to a light receiving portion or a light emitting portion of the optical element has been a cause of unsatisfactory optical characteristics.


A wireless mesh network employs an integrated interface between a plurality of access points for mitigating throughput degradation of multiple consecutive “daisy chain,” or mesh, links. The mesh network employs a plurality of access points, each linked back to a root access point by a series of “hops” through other access points. The wireless mesh network, therefore, employs a plurality of access points operable for wireless links to subscriber, or user, devices, including cellular phones, smart phones, tablet and laptop computing devices, or any suitable portable or handheld computing device. Access points establish an integrated interface with an adjacent access point for direct coupling of the access points for message traffic. The resulting integrated access point establishes a wireless link to a root access point connected to a backhaul network from which media services emanate.

Wireless mesh networks aggregate a plurality of wireless nodes coupled with wireless links similar to a wired network fabric. Mesh networks provide a logical extension to individual "WiFi hotspots" by inserting multiple wireless routing/forwarding entities between a wireless gateway to a wired network, such as the Internet, and the end user subscriber device. In a typical mesh network, a plurality of access points establish wireless links to other access points to define a wireless path back to a root access point via a series of hops over each of the wireless links. Each of the access points provides wireless coverage to user devices within range, and also couples to other access points within range for extending the wireless reach.


Vehicle diagnostic devices and methods that detect the occurrence of a maintenance process performed on a vehicle, and responsive to the detected occurrence of the maintenance process, initiate a data collection process to collect data related to the performed maintenance process, and a data transmission process to provide the collected data to a remote data depository.

The automotive diagnostic industry has been using data mining techniques to develop expert suggestions and identify effective fixes for vehicle problems. Data related to maintenance activities is collected from garages located all over the country. A group of human experts or expert computer systems then review and analyze the collected data for the purpose of identifying and validating effective fixes, and generating expert suggestions. The effective fixes and expert suggestions are then implemented in diagnostic software or incorporated in user's manuals to assist technicians in performing diagnoses on vehicles.
The process of collecting diagnostic data is often tedious and requires a lot of human work and intervention. Some garages require technicians to write down steps and services that they perform on each vehicle. A clerk then reviews, compiles and enter the data into a computer system for transmission to a remote data depository such that data mining can be performed. However, not all garages have the resources or capacity needed to collect and transmit diagnostic data. Some garages do not have enough manpower to compile and enter the diagnostic data, while others do not have the hardware or equipment to transmit the data. As a result, a lot of valuable data is unavailable for analysis due to difficulties in collecting or transmitting diagnostic data.
Therefore, there is a need to automate the process of collecting diagnostic data. There is another need to identify the occurrence or completion of a maintenance process and collect the diagnostic data. There is a further need to timely transmit the diagnostic data to a data depository.

Vehicle diagnostic method and system with intelligent data collection


A tub spout which receives water from a water source via a source pipe is capable of diverting water received from the source pipe and includes a hollow spout having an outlet and an inlet, a rear cap removably assembled at the inlet has a rear aperture for allowing water from the source pipe to enter the hollow spout, valve means are removably disposed in the hollow spout for blocking water flow from the rear aperture to the outlet, and control means are connected to the valve means for regulating the valve means for controlling water flow through the hollow spout.

Tub spouts which are capable of blocking water from flowing therethrough and, instead, diverting the flow to another location, such as a shower, are generally known. Such a transfer of water flow is conventionally accomplished with a flapper/gate which is pushed and held against a seat by water pressure. The seat is included as part of a partition disposed in the spout. Additionally, the partition forms a chamber with a section of the spout and a rear cap which is attached to one end of the spout. The rear cap includes an aperture extending therethrough which has internal threads compatible with the external threads of a source pipe.
Further, a stem has one end attached to the flapper/gate, and the other end extending externally from the spout. Thus, the flapper/gate can be controlled using the stem. More specifically, when the stem is pulled upwards so as to align the flapper/gate with the seat, water pressure from water entering the chamber pushes against the flapper/gate so as to create a seal with the seat and not allow water to flow through the spout. When the stem is not pulled upwards, the flapper/gate does not align with the seat, and water entering the spout flows through the chamber and through the partition aperture and exits at the other end of the spout.
Disadvantageously, the rear cap, partition and flapper/gate are all made of brass and soldered in the spout. Thus, once assembled, it is impossible and/or impractical to disassemble or replace a failed flapper/gate valve.