A shock-absorbing implant for use in shoulder arthroplasty has a bearing surface, a mounting base affixed to or formed with the bearing surface, a convex element extending outwardly of the mounting base opposite the bearing surface, a receptacle positioned so as to slidably or pivotably receive a portion of the convex element therein, a housing receiving at least a portion of the receptacle therein, and a resilient element received in the housing and bearing against a surface of the housing and against a surface of the receptacle. The bearing surface can be concave when the implant is used as a glenoid implant. The bearing surface can be convex when the implant is used as a humeral head implant.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shoulder replacement surgery. More particularly, the present invention the relates to implants that are used in shoulder arthroplasty. More particularly, the present invention the relates to a shock-absorbing element incorporated into such implants so as to avoid the risk of fracture and damage to either the surrounding bone and/or implant.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
Every year, thousands of conventional total shoulder replacements are successfully carried out in the United States for patients with shoulder arthritis. This type of surgery, however, is not as beneficial for patients with large rotator cuff tears who have developed a complex type of shoulder arthritis called "cuff tear arthropathy". For these patients, conventional total shoulder replacement may result in pain and limited motion, and reverse total shoulder replacement may be an option.
A conventional shoulder replacement device mimics the normal anatomy of the shoulder. In other words, a plastic cup is fitted into the shoulder socket (glenoid), and a metal ball is attached to the top of the humerus. In a reverse total shoulder replacement, the socket and metal ball are switched. The metal ball is fixed to the socket and the plastic cup is fixed to the upper end of the humerus.
A reverse total shoulder replacement works better for people with cuff tear arthropathy because it relies on different muscles to move the arm. In a healthy shoulder, the rotator cuff muscles help position and power the arm during the range of motion. A conventional replacement device also uses the rotator cuff muscles to function properly. In a patient with a large rotator cuff tear and cuff tear arthropathy, these muscles are no longer functional. The reverse total shoulder replacement relies on the deltoid muscle, instead of the rotator cuff, to power and position the arm.
Subsequent to the shoulder replacement surgery, the implant can be subjected to a large variety of forces. In particular, if a patient should fall, the implant may be subjected to extremely large impact forces. These impact forces have been known to fracture the ball which is attached to the glenoid. In other circumstances, the scapula can become fractured because of an impact. In other circumstances, the connection between the socket and the humerus can become loosened or detached. In still other circumstances, the humeral shaft can become fractured as a result of these forces.
Whenever these forces cause a damage to either the implant or to the bone structure, additional surgery may be necessary. Since the ball is attached to the glenoid, it becomes quite difficult to repair and replace the ball after installation. As a result, the implant can become loosened or nonfunctional. In particular, in shoulder replacement surgery, repairs to the implant, following the surgery, are quite complex. As such, a need has developed so as to provide a shoulder implant structure which avoids the damage that can occur from sharp impact forces imparted to the implant.
Shock-absorbing structures have been known to be used in hip replacement surgery. In particular, a variety of patents have issued relating to such shock-absorbing structures. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,881, issued on Apr. 13, 1993 to D. L. Evans, shows a joint prosthesis that provides articulating prosthesis components that can deflect with respect to one another so that shock absorption is provided. This serves to lower impact stresses. The components interface at articulating surfaces. A gap is provided at a position away from the articulating surfaces. As a result, one of the components can flex into the gap area during use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,107, issued on Feb. 14, 1995 to Nassar et al., provides a shock absorbent prosthetic hip implant that includes a socket section that is attachable to the pelvic bone and a ball section that is pivotably engaged with the socket section. There is a first shock absorber section attached to the ball section and a second shock absorber section attached to an upper part of the femur bone. The second shock absorber section slidably engages the first shock absorber section. A spring is disposed between the first and second shock absorber sections for cushioning a compressive force applied between the femur and pelvic bones.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,941, issued on Jan. 8, 2002 to Subba Rao et al., discloses a modular hip implant with a shock absorption system. The shock absorption system absorbs compressive stresses that are imparted to the implant. A unique coupling member houses a modular spring mechanism that serves as the shock absorber.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,070,823, issued on Dec. 6, 2011 to Kellar et al., teaches a prosthetic ball-and-socket joint. This ball-and-socket joint includes first member having a balanced centroidal axis and includes a rigid material with a concave interior defining a cup surface. The cup surface includes a cantilevered first flange defining a wear-resistant protruding first contact rim. The first flange is asymmetric relative to the balanced centroidal axis. A cantilevered second flange defines a wear-resistant protruding second contact rim. The second member is made of a rigid material with a wear-resistant convex contact surface. The first and second contact rims bear against the contact surface of the second member to transfer loads between the first and second members while allowing pivoting motion therebetween. The flanges are shaped and sized to deform elastically and permit the first and second contact rims to conform in an irregular shape to the contact surface when the joint is under load.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0143402, published on Oct. 3, 2002 to A. Steinberg, shows a hip joint prostheses that has at least a first and a second load-carrying member. The first load-carrying member is substantially more shock absorbing and resilient than the second load-carrying member.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0064169, published on Mar. 23, 2006 to B. A. Ferree, discloses shock-absorbing joint and spine replacements. In particular, the joint is a total knee replacement. This total knee replacement implant includes a femoral component having a wheel. The implant has a tibial component that includes a shock-absorbing component with a piston assembly and spring. The implants contain a cushioning or shock-absorbing member to dampen axial loads and other forces. Fluid is forced rapidly from the device wherein compression and dampening is achieved by valves or other pathways that allow for a slower return of the fluid back into the implant as the pressure is relieved.
It is quite natural that shock-absorbing systems have been utilized for knee and hip replacements since the knee and the hip are often subjected to large impact forces. However, typically, with shoulder replacements, the shoulders are not subjected to such strong forces, unless the patient should fall or be involved in an accident. As such, in the past, shock-absorbing systems for shoulder replacement implants have not been developed. As a result, under those circumstances where a patient should fall or be involved in an accident, extensive surgery can be necessary so as to repair the implant and/or the surrounding bone structures. As such, a need has developed so as to provide a shock-absorbing implant for shoulder replacement surgery.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,941, issued on Jan. 8, 2002 to Subba Rao et al., shows a modular implant with a shock absorption system. This is a modular implant that can be custom fit to an individual patient. The shock absorption system absorbs compressive stresses that are imparted to the implant. The size of the femoral ball member, size of the femoral stem, femoral neck length, and tension in the shock absorber system is available for all individually adjustable parameters, depending on the particular patient. A coupling member houses a modular spring mechanism that serves as the shock absorber. The coupling member is received into the ball member to an adjustable depth, the adjustment of which varies the length of the femoral neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,591,591, issued on Nov. 26, 2013 to Winslow et al., discloses a spring base glenosphere. In particular, this is a reverse modular humeral implant for implantation into a humerus that includes a natural humeral shaft and a natural humeral head. The implant includes a humeral stem implantable into the natural humeral shaft, and an adapter couplable to the humeral stem. The adapter includes an anchoring projection configured to be coupled to a convex bearing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,673, issued on Jan. 14, 1992 to Burkhead et al., describes a glenoid prosthesis and method of use. The glenoid prosthesis has a lateral surface for articulating with the humeral head and a flat medial surface which engages a flat surface resected from the glenoid cavity. A pair of pegs extend medially from the flat medial surface of the glenoid prosthesis which are positioned in a pair of holes and the mating flat surfaces and pegs and holes are bonded with cement.
It is quite natural that shock-absorbing systems have been utilized for knee and hip replacements since the knee and the hip are often subjected to large impact forces. However, typically, with shoulder replacements, the shoulder prostheses are not subjected to such strong forces, unless the patient should fall or be involved in an accident. In the past, shock-absorbing systems for shoulder replacement implants have not been developed. As a result, under those circumstances where a patient should fall or be involved in an accident, extensive surgery can be necessary so as to repair the implant and/or the surrounding bone structures. As such, a need has developed so as to provide a shock-absorbing implant for shoulder replacement surgery.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a shock-absorbing implant which minimizes the transmission of forces to the glenoid portion of the implant or to the humeral head portion of the implant.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a shock-absorbing implant which mitigates micro-forces.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a shock-absorbing implant which creates a weak link such that an easily repairable portion of the implant will fail prior to a less easily repaired component of the implant.
It is still a further object of the present invention provide a shock-absorbing implant which avoids any fracturing of the bone and/or damage to the implant.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a shock-absorbing implant which is easily replaceable.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.

Shock-absorbing implant for use in shoulder arthroplasty


A breastshot waterwheel is configured to extract energy from an incoming water flow. The waterwheel is rotatable about an axis and comprises a plurality of paddles, each of the said paddles being in communication with the incoming water flow for a respective water receiving portion of a rotation cycle of the waterwheel about the axis. During the water receiving portion of the rotation cycle for a said paddle, the incoming water flow flows onto a water receiving surface of the paddle. The water receiving surface extends between first and second ends of the paddle. The first end is upstream of the second end and is configured such that, during at least a portion of said water receiving portion of the rotation cycle for said paddle, the incoming water flow flows in a substantially horizontal direction across said first end of the paddle onto an upstream portion of the water receiving surface. At least a portion of the incoming water flow received by the upstream portion of the water receiving surface flows from the upstream portion onto a downstream portion of said water receiving surface, thereby changing direction and exerting a force on the paddle causing the waterwheel to rotate about the said axis in a rotational direction. The waterwheel is configured to rotate about said axis in said rotational direction such that a magnitude of a tangential velocity of the first end of the said paddle is less than a speed of the incoming water flow flowing across the said first end of the paddle during the water receiving portion of the rotation cycle for the said paddle.

Waterwheels for extracting energy from a flow of water typically comprise paddles or buckets arranged around a circumference of a wheel fixed to an axle. Water flowing onto the paddles or buckets from a mill race (e.g. a channel), which may be a river or stream, causes the waterwheel, and thus the axle, to rotate. Waterwheels normally transfer power through the axle (although other methods of power transfer have also been used, for example some waterwheels transfer power via a cog wheel pressed into a toothed track around the circumference of the waterwheel) and were traditionally used to operate external mechanical machinery (such as for turning a millstone in a mill), while modern waterwheels can be used to generate electricity.
The most commonly-used variety of waterwheel is a vertical waterwheel, which is a waterwheel mounted on a horizontal axle and which rotates in a vertical plane. Traditional vertical waterwheels can be grouped into three broad types: undershot, overshot and breastshot.
An undershot waterwheel is configured such that water enters the waterwheel at a low height (near a bottom of the waterwheel) and leaves the waterwheel at an equally low or slightly lower height, the waterwheel being turned principally by the flow of water against the paddles (therefore extracting kinetic energy from the flow of water).
An overshot waterwheel is configured such that water enters the waterwheel near the top of the waterwheel and leaves at a lower height. A breastshot waterwheel is configured such that water enters the waterwheel at an intermediate height between the top and bottom of the waterwheel and leaves at a lower height. Both the overshot and breastshot waterwheels are turned principally by gravity acting on water caught in buckets or paddles of the waterwheel, and therefore both extract gravitational potential energy from the water due to a vertical 'head difference' between the point of entry of water onto the waterwheel and the point of exit. Breastshot waterwheels are traditionally considered to be less efficient than overshot wheels (but more efficient than undershot wheels), but are more suited to locations where the large head differences required by overshot wheels are not possible. Breastshot waterwheels of a given width (in a lateral dimension perpendicular to the plane in which the waterwheel rotates) are also more suited to larger volume flows of water than overshot waterwheels having the same width. It is generally believed that, in order to maximise the efficiency of a breastshot or overshot waterwheel, the flow speed of water entering the wheel should be minimised so as to avoid turbulent flow on the waterwheel paddles. In addition, it is believed that the flow speed of water entering the waterwheel should be same as the flow speed of water leaving the waterwheel.
The lower efficiency of waterwheels compared to other methods of electrical power generation has led to a decline in their use. However, waterwheels present an environmentally friendly way to generate renewable power from a natural resource. Waterwheels also pose a reduced risk to aquatic animals such as fish. It would therefore be beneficial to provide a more efficient waterwheel design suitable for modern power generation.


A COG type LCD device includes a first substrate including a display area and first, second, third and fourth non-display areas, gate and data lines in the display area on the first substrate and defining pixel regions, switching thin film transistor at each crossing portion of the gate and data lines and connected to the gate and data lines, a pixel electrode in each pixel region and connected to the thin film transistor, first testing thin film transistors in the second non-display area connected to the data lines and spaced apart from each other with a constant interval therebetween, first, second and third data testing lines connected to one ends of the data lines through the first testing thin film transistors, first, second and third data testing pads connected to the first, second and third data testing lines, respectively, data link lines in the first non-display area and connected to another ends of the data lines, second testing thin film transistors in the first non-display area and connected to the data link lines, gate link lines connected to the gate lines, third testing thin film transistors connected to the gate link lines, gate testing lines connected to the gate lines through the third testing thin film transistors, gate testing pads connected to the gate testing lines, a common testing line and a common pad in the non-display area, a second substrate spaced apart from the first substrate, a color filter layer and a common electrode sequentially formed on the second substrate, wherein the common electrode is connected to the common testing line, and a liquid crystal layer between the first and second substrates, wherein a driving IC is attached in the first non-display area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and more particularly to a chip on glass (COG) type LCD device and an inspecting method of the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
With the rapid development in information technology, flat panel display (FPD) devices having thin thickness, light weight, and lower power consumption have been introduced and developed.
Among these devices, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices are most widely used for monitors of notebook computers, monitors of personal computers and televisions due to high definition, high qualities, excellent moving images and high contrast ratio.
An LCD device includes two substrates and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the two substrates. Electrodes are formed on respective substrates, and the substrates are disposed such that the electrodes face each other. An electric field is induced between the electrodes when voltages are applied to the electrodes. The alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules is controlled by varying the intensity of the electric field, and the transmittance of light through the liquid crystal layer is changed to display images.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an LCD device according to the related art. As shown in FIG. 1, the LCD device includes an array substrate 10, a color filter substrate 20 and a liquid crystal layer 30. The array substrate 10 and color filter substrate 20 face each other, and the liquid crystal layer 30 is interposed therebetween.
The array substrate 10 includes gate lines 14 and data lines 16 on an inner surface of a transparent substrate 12. The gate lines 14 and the data lines 16 cross each other such that regions formed between the gate and data lines 14 and 16 are defined as pixel regions P. A thin film transistor Tr is formed at each crossing portion of the gate and data lines 14 and 16, and a pixel electrode 18 is formed in each pixel region P and connected to the thin film transistor Tr.
The color filter substrate 20 includes a black matrix 25, a color filter layer 26, and a common electrode 28 on an inner surface of a transparent substrate 22 facing the array substrate 10. The black matrix 25 has a lattice shape to cover a non-display region such as the gate lines 14, the data lines 16, the thin film transistors Tr, and so on. The color filter layer 26 includes red, green and blue color filter patterns 26a, 26b, and 26c repeatedly arranged in order. Each of the color filter patterns 26a, 26b, and 26c corresponds to each pixel region P. The common electrode 28 is formed on the black matrix 25 and the color filter layers 26 and over an entire surface of the substrate 22.
A sealant (not shown) is formed along peripheries of the array substrate 10 and the color filter substrate 20 to prevent liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 30 from leaking. An alignment layer (not shown) is formed between the liquid crystal layer 30 and each of the array substrate 10 and the color filter substrate 20 to determine an initial direction of the liquid crystal molecules. A polarizer (not shown) is disposed on an outer surface of at least one of the array substrate 10 and the color filter substrate 20. A backlight unit (not shown) is disposed on an outer surface of the array substrate 10 to provide lights.
Scan signals for turning on/off the thin film transistors Tr are sequentially applied to the gate lines 14, and data signals are applied to the pixel electrodes 18 in the selected pixel regions P through the data lines 16. An electric field perpendicular to the substrates 12 and 22 is induced between the pixel electrodes 18 and the common electrode 28. The arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules is controlled by the electric field, and the transmittance of light is changed by varying the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules to thereby display images.
In the LCD device, the array substrate, the color filter substrate and the liquid crystal layer may be defined as a liquid crystal panel. The LCD device further includes a driving unit at a periphery of the liquid crystal panel to drive the liquid crystal panel. The driving unit includes a printed circuit board (PCB), on which elements for generating control signals and data signals are mounted, and driving integrated circuits (ICs), which is connected to the liquid crystal panel and the PCB and is used to apply signals to signal lines of the liquid crystal panel.
The LCD device may be categorized into a chip on glass (COG) type, a tape carrier package (TCP) type and a chip on film (COF) type according to a method of packaging the driving ICs on the liquid crystal panel.
The COG type has a simple structure as compared with the TCP type and the COF type and increases the ratio of the liquid crystal panel in the LCD device. Therefore, recently, the COG type has been widely used for a small-sized LCD device.
In the COG type LCD device, driving ICs are attached to a non-display area of an array substrate. The COG type LCD device is inspected to detect defects before attaching the driving ICs. Accordingly, testing lines and pads are formed in the non-display area of the array substrate.
FIG. 2 is a view of schematically illustrating an inspecting structure of a COG type LCD device according to the related art. FIG. 2 shows testing lines, testing pads and testing thin film transistors.
In FIG. 2, the related art COG type LCD device 50 includes a display area DA and a non-display area substantially surrounding the display area DA. Gate lines GL and data lines DL are formed in the display area DA. Gate link lines GLL1, GLL2, GLL3 and GLL4 are formed in the non-display area at left and right sides of the display area DA in the context of the figure, and the gate link lines GLL1, GLL2, GLL3 and GLL4 are connected to the gate lines GL. Data link lines DLL are formed in the non-display area at a lower side of the display area DA in the context of the figure, and the data link lines DLL are connected to the data lines DL. First, second and third testing transistors ITr1, ITr2 and ITr3 and testing pads IP1 to IP12 are formed in the non-display area. The first, second and third testing transistors ITr1, ITr2 and ITr3 are formed between the gate link lines GLL1, GLL2, GLL3 and GLL4 and the testing pads IP1 to IP12 or between the data link lines DLL and the testing pads IP1 to IP12.
The gate lines GL in the display area DA includes odd gate lines GL1 and GL3 and even gate lines GL2 and GL4. The odd gate lines GL1 and GL3 are alternately connected to first and second gate link lines GLL1 and GLL2 in the non-display area at the left side of the display area DA. The even gate lines GL2 and GL4 are alternately connected to third and fourth gate link lines GLL3 and GLL4 in the non-display area at the right side of the display area DA.
Here, first testing thin film transistors ITr1 are respectively connected to the first and second gate link lines GLL1 and GLL2, and a first gate enable line 60 is connected to gate electrodes of the first testing thin film transistors ITr1 and controls on/off of the first testing thin film transistors ITr1. A first gate enable pad IP3 is connected to the first gate enable line 60. Second testing thin film transistors ITr2 are respectively connected to the third and fourth gate link lines GLL3 and GLL4, and a second gate enable line 62 is connected to gate electrodes of the second testing thin film transistors ITr2 and controls on/off of the second testing thin film transistors ITr2. A second gate enable pad IP4 is connected to the second gate enable line 62.
In addition, first and second gate testing lines 51 and 52 are electrically connected to the first and second gate link lines GLL1 and GLL2 through the first testing thin film transistors ITr1. Third and fourth gate testing lines 53 and 54 are electrically connected to the third and fourth gate link lines GLL3 and GLL4 through the second testing thin film transistors ITr2. First, second, third and fourth gate testing pads IP1, IP2, IP5 and IP6 are disposed at ends of the first, second, third and fourth gate link lines GLL1, GLL2, GLL3 and GLL4, respectively.
In the non-display area at the lower side of the display area DA in the context of the figure, a first data testing line 64 is electrically connected to first data lines DL1, which are connected to red sub-pixels R, through the third testing thin film transistors ITr3 and the data link lines DLL, and a first data testing pad IP8 is connected to the first data testing line 64. A second data testing line 66 is electrically connected to second data lines DL2, which are connected to green sub-pixels G, through the third testing thin film transistors ITr3 and the data link lines DLL, and a second data testing pad IP9 is connected to the second data testing line 66. A third data testing line 68 is electrically connected to the third data lines DL3, which are connected to blue sub-pixels B, through the third testing thin film transistors ITr3 and the data link lines DLL, and a third data testing pad IP10 is connected to the third data testing line 68.
A data enable line 70 is connected to gate electrodes of the third testing thin film transistors ITr3, which are electrically connected to the first, second and third data lines DL1, DL2 and DL3, and controls on/off of the third testing thin film transistors ITr3. A data enable pad IP11 is connected to the data enable line 70.
First and second common link lines 71 and 72 are formed in the non-display area to apply a common voltage to a common electrode (not shown) that is formed on a color filter substrate (not shown). First and second common pads IP7 and IP12 are connected to the first and second common link lines 71 and 72, respectively.
Here, the third testing thin film transistors ITr3 connected to the data link lines DLL are positioned in a region where a driving integrated circuit (IC) is attached.
Voltages are applied to the testing pads IP1 to IP12, and on/off of the first, second and third testing thin film transistors ITr1, ITr2 and ITr3 are controlled. Accordingly, an inspecting process is performed to detect defects of the sub-pixels R, G and B in the display area DA.
However, in the related art COG type LCD device 50, block dim effects, which are caused by a partial difference of brightness in the display area DA, continuously occur when the inspecting process is carried out according to an arrangement of bump pads of the driving IC.
Specially, as shown in FIG. 3, which is an enlarged view of a driving IC region of an array substrate for a COG type LCD device according to the related art, if the COG type LCD device includes a driving IC such that a distance between adjacent bump pads in a central portion is wider than other portions in a region for attaching the driving IC, the block dim effects highly occur during the lighting inspection. In FIG. 3, a vacant space of about 2 mm is shown in the central portion differently from the other portions.
In the related art, the first, second and third testing thin film transistors are non-uniformly dry-etched due to loading effects of the spaces between the bump pads and may have different ratios of channel width to length. Accordingly, the first, second and third testing thin film transistors have different characteristics, and this causes block dim effects during the lighting inspection of the COG type LCD device.
More particularly, to connect the gate and the data lines for the lighting inspection, the gate and data lines are connected to output bump pads, which are disposed in the driving IC region, and connected to the driving IC. The testing lines, the testing pads, and the first, second and third testing thin film transistors are connected to the output bump pads and are disposed between the output bump pads and the input bump pads. At this time, distances between the first, second and third thin film transistors are changed in a portion where the space between the bump pads is wider. There is the difference between the thin film transistors due to the non-uniform etching.
Accordingly, it is difficult to accurately judge whether the block dim effects are caused when the driving IC is attached or are caused when the lighting inspection is performed before attaching the driving IC. Therefore, even though there are the block dim effects during the lighting inspection, the COG type LCD device is determined as a good product. Then, when the block dim effects occur after attaching the driving IC, the COG type LCD device is determined as a bad product and is discarded. This increases the manufacturing costs.

Chip on glass type LCD device including testing thin film transistors, testing lines and testing pads and inspecting method of the same


A power converter and an operating method therefore are disclosed. The power converter includes an output stage, an input voltage detecting unit, and a pulse width modulation (PWM) unit. The output stage is coupled between an input terminal and a ground terminal. The input voltage detecting unit is used to detect an input voltage. The PWM unit is coupled to the output stage and the input voltage detecting unit and used to provide a PWM signal to the output stage. The PWM unit adjusts an on-time of a switch conducting signal of the PWM signal according to the input voltage and a default voltage. When the input voltage is lower than the default voltage, the PWM unit increases the on-time of the switch conducting signal and a period of the PWM signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a DC-DC converter; in particular, to a power converter capable of converting the decreased input voltages into expected output voltages and an operating method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, an input voltage inputted to a power converter should be certain extent higher than an expected output voltage to smoothly generate the expected output voltage. However, because the input voltage is often decreased with time, the output voltage generated by the power converter fails to reach the expected output voltage.
As shown in FIG. 1, under the constant-on-time (COT) pulse width modulation (PWM) structure, an amplifier 10 of a power converter 1 receives a feedback voltage VFB (related to an output voltage) and a reference voltage Vref. Once the feedback voltage VFB is lower than the reference voltage Vref, it means that the output voltage VOUT generated by the power converter 1 is obviously too low. Therefore, a PWM unit 12 outputs a PWM signal PWM having a fixed on-time (Ton) to an output stage 14 to charge an output capacitor C to increase the output voltage VOUT.
As shown in FIG. 2, each on-time Ton in the PWM signal PWM is followed by an off-time Toff. The combination of an on-time Ton and an off-time Toff is defined as a period of the PWM signal PWM. At first (before the time ta), because the input voltage VIN is high enough and has a fixed value, the on-time Ton/the off-time Toff is fixed and repeatedly appear. With the decreasing of the input voltage VIN from the time ta, although the period of the PWM signal PWM won't be changed, the on-time Ton of the period is increased and the off-time Toff of the period is decreased to keep the output voltage VOUT at the expected value instead of becoming lower. However, after the input voltage VIN is decreased to a threshold voltage Vth at a time tb, the period of the PWM signal PWM is still fixed and the off-time Toff of the period can't be further decreased. Therefore, the on-time Ton be fixed and fail to provide enough charging time, and the output voltage VOUT be decreased with the decreasing of the input voltage VIN. It seriously affects the voltage conversion efficiency of the power converter 1.
Therefore, the invention provides a power converter and an operating method therefore to solve the above-mentioned problems occurred in the prior arts.

Power converter and operating method thereof


An electronic switch circuit includes an electronic switch having a first terminal, a second terminal and a third terminal, control means for applying to the first terminal a cyclic drive waveform which causes the electronic switch to conduct between the second and third terminals during a selected portion of each cycle of the waveform, operably coupled to the control means to control synchronisation of the cyclic drive waveform a detector operable to detect a change of direction of current flow at the second terminal of the electronic switch and means for monitoring and, where required, compensating for offset error of the detector. The electronic switch may beneficially be a synchronous rectifier. The synchronous rectifier may be used in DC-DC power converters to improve efficiency.

Many portable electronic devices employ one or more batteries to provide a source of electrical power. Where such devices also employ semiconductor components such as a microprocessor or memory chip, it is often desirable for the device to include a DC-DC converter to convert the battery voltage, e.g. typically 6 or 9 volts, to a level, e.g. between 1 volt and 4 volts, suitable for application to the semiconductor components. It is desirable, in order to maximise the useful life (service time) of the batteries between charges, to provide a DC-DC converter which is as efficient as possible.
Similarly, other forms of DC-DC converter provide voltage changes between an input voltage and an output voltage, e.g. a step up in voltage or a change from a voltage in a range of given input voltages to a particular desired output voltage. In these various forms of converter it is always desirable to maintain good efficiency.
DC-DC converters employ electronic switch circuits. In particular, many converters employ a switch known as a synchronous rectifier, which is typically a voltage driven semiconductor device, which serves as a controllable device in place of a rectifier diode. A known control circuit for a synchronous rectifier includes a zero crossing detector to prevent unwanted reverse current flow in the synchronous rectifier.
It has been found that operation of the zero crossing detector in known electronic switches circuits which operate as synchronous rectifier circuits is not ideal. Undesirably, this has a deleterious effect on the converter efficiency.

Electronic switch circuit, converter and method of operation


Development of multiple-version software employs versioned documents in a store. The documents are compared (differenced) at both line and character levels. Potential conflicts in merged documents are marked by detecting possible alternative histories from a common parent document. Changes from an earlier version are removed from a later version of the same document even when the document has intervening versions. A build lab allows developers to work in parallel on a new software build while another build is being run and patched on a different set of documents; the developers each have private copies from which changes pertaining to a build have been added, and then backed out when the file is returned to a common area.

The development of application programs, operating systems, and other complex software involves the cooperative effort of large numbers of individuals and groups of individuals working on hundreds or even thousands of interdependent modules over long periods of time. In the 1970s, companies that created such programs began deliberate efforts to create organizational frameworks and systems of programs to manage long and complex development cycles. More recently, programs for managing software development projects have become available for licensing to smaller institutions.
The major part of systems for developing software concerns systems for controlling different versions of the source code for the software. A source-control system typically includes of several pieces, almost always including a storage engine that provides efficient versioned storage of files, a differencing/merging engine for combining different versions of the same file, modules for operating upon multiple file formats such as text documents and Unicode, and user interfaces for various parts of the system, including those for differencing and merging.
Change management is the overall process of keeping track of modifications in source-code and other versioned documents across time and across multiple development groups working in parallel with each other. As programs become larger and more complex, change management becomes increasingly necessary to minimize errors and conflicts across code modules from different versions and from different groups. Even development systems offered to smaller organizations need much more sophisticated change-management techniques. Relatively primitive conventional merging or differencing (these terms are synonymous in the art) methods are no longer adequate, for example. Developers often desire to deal with collections of changes as entities, rather than manipulating them individually. Also, conventional development systems do not deal adequately with temporary patches made when modules are assembled into a build for testing the complete program.

Managing code changes for software development


A pinned photodiode sensor with gate-controlled SCR switch includes a pinned photodiode and a gate-controlled SCR switch. The SCR switch includes a P-type substrate, an N− doped region, and an N+ doped region formed on the substrate; a P+ doped region formed on the N− doped region; an oxide layer formed on the P substrate, the N− doped region, the N+ doped region, and the P+ doped region; and a gate formed above the P substrate and the N− doped region. The gate includes a P+ doped region and an N+ doped region. During an exposure procedure, a depletion region will not reach the interface between the oxide layer and the substrate, thereby preventing dark current leakage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pinned photodiode sensor with gate-controlled silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) transfer switch, and more particularly, to a gate-controlled SCR transfer switch with a gate having different doped regions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, there is a process of integrating a pinned photodiode into an active pixel sensor. Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a diagram of a pinned photodiode integrated into an active pixel sensor according to the prior art. There are a P+ doped region 12, an N− doped region 14, an N+ doped region 16, an oxide layer 17, and a gate 18 formed on a P-type substrate 10. The process related to the structure of FIG. 1 has advantages of better blue response, and low dark current.
Since there are plenty of interface traps between the oxide layer 17 and the substrate 10, such interface traps release or capture electrons or holes with changes of temperature or electric field intensity, resulting in dark current leakage. When the oxide layer 17 contacts the P+ doped region 12, the P-type substrate 10, or the N− doped region 14, the region contacting the oxide layer 17 can provide electrons or holes to prevent a depletion region from touching interface traps of surface interfaces to generate dark current. However, the structure of FIG. 1 cannot completely prevent dark current leakage during operation.
Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a diagram of entering an exposure procedure after resetting the pinned photodiode of FIG. 1. When resetting the pinned photodiode, the gate 18 is connected to a high voltage so as to generate a depletion region 13 (between dotted line 5 and dotted line 7) between the P-type substrate 10 and the N− doped region 14 and a depletion region 19 (between dotted line 7 and dotted line 9) between the P+ doped region 12 and the N− doped region 14. The depletion regions 13 and 19 reach the interfaces (shown as a circle 15 in FIG. 2), and interface traps might release or capture electrons or holes, leading to dark current leakage and noise when the active pixel sensor captures images.

Pinned photodiode sensor with gate-controlled silicon-controlled rectifier transfer switch and method of formation


An exhaust gas system for an internal combustion engine includes at least one first and one second exhaust gas connection interface for fluidically separated discharge of exhaust gas arising during a combustion process from a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, and one at least dual-pipe exhaust gas turbocharger having at least one first and one second supply connection interface for fluidically separated supply of the exhaust gases arising during the combustion process, wherein a first connecting channel is designed for fluidic connection of the first exhaust gas connection interface to the first supply connection interface, and a second connecting channel is designed for fluidic connection of the second exhaust gas connection interface to the second supply connection interface. At least one of the connecting channels is designed to be at least partially closable by a closure element.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an exhaust gas system for an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
An exhaust gas system for an internal combustion engine of the type named in the introduction is known according to DE 10 2009 050 952. This consists, with reference to FIG. 3 of this document and in relation to a cylinder of the internal combustion engine or respectively reciprocating piston engine, of at least one first and one second exhaust has connection interface for fluidically separated discharge of exhaust gas arising during a combustion process from a combustion chamber (firing chamber) of the internal combustion engine and of one at least dual-pipe exhaust gas turbocharger, having at least one first and one second supply connection interface for fluidically separated supply of the exhaust gases arising during the combustion process, wherein a first connecting channel is designed for fluidic connection of the first exhaust gas connection interface to the first supply connection interface, and a second connecting channel is designed for fluidic connection of the second exhaust gas connection interface to the second supply connection interface. In the solution according to FIG. 3 of DE 10 2009 050 952 A1, four combustion chambers (cylinders) are provided, wherein in addition each combustion chamber is provided with a first and with a second exhaust gas connection interface. Adjoining these exhaust gas connection interfaces are connecting channels, which are connected to precisely a first and precisely a second supply connection interface of the exhaust gas turbocharger. The connection of a total of eight exhaust gas connection interfaces on the internal combustion engine to a total of two supply connection interfaces on the exhaust gas turbocharger comes about here in that respectively four connecting channels of the first or respectively second exhaust gas connection interface are designed so as to be brought together before reaching the first or respectively second supply connection interface.

Exhaust gas system for an internal combustion engine


A system which simulates a dragster which exposes a driver to both “G” forces and “wheelies”, and methodology of conducting a competition therewith.

With the present invention in mind a Search of patents was conducted. A patent to Fritz, No. 6,227,120 describes a simulate dragster which allows for varying numbers of participants to simultaneously experience a "wheelie". The system comprises motor driven rear wheels and means for adjusting the position of the front end of the chassis to compensate for passenger load. When the simulator is properly adjusted for the number of participants, and is caused to move along a track in excess of a predetermined acceleration, the front end raises off the track to simulate a "wheelie". Another U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,321 to Mosley et al, describes a simulated dragster with which are associated two bungee cords arranged such that the first thereof serves to cause acceleration, and the second thereof serves to cause deceleration. The track is sufficiently long that the acceleration bungee cord loses contact with the simulated dragster at about ¼ the length thereof. A Published patent Application by Norbury, No. US 2003/0140815 describes a real size simulated drag strip ride. The real-sized dragster is preferably powered by an induction motor, but for short rides this can be replaced by a bungee cord, a spring mechanism or by pneumatic powered drivers. A patent to Ragsdale et al. describes an amusement ride comprising a track that has a centering slot which guides a vehicle. The track also includes a plurality of sequentially oriented braking units near the end of the track. A patent to Powell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,514 describes an electromagnetically powered drag ride having a two land track. U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,140 to Mirfin et al. describes a spring based amusement device. Additional patents which were identified by are not felt to be particularly relevant are No. 5,361,705 to Powell which describes an arcade-type amusement game; U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,328 to Delphia, Jr. which describes a drag race simulator; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,746,335 to Kleimeyer et al., which describes use of springs in an amusement ride.


Structures comprising substrates comprised of an organic material capable of accepting a proton from an organophosphorous compound and a film of the organophosphorous compound bonded to the substrate are disclosed. The structures are useful in a variety of applications such as visual display devices.

A variety of structures can have their native surfaces modified to provide desired effect. For example, visual displays, such as computer monitors and touchscreens, may be treated with an antireflective layer of oxide to reduce glare and reflection. Medical devices, such as orthopedic implants, may be coated with an osteoconductive layer that promotes bone growth to the implant and integration of the implant into the body. Certain devices can be passivated or be made more hydrophilic or hydrophobic, to protect the devices from ill effects (such as corrosion, wear, or water permeation) caused by the environment in which the devices are used. Surface modifications of substrates are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,767; U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,644; US 2004/0001959; US 2004/0023048; and PCT/US/2003/034909, all hereby incorporated by reference.


In an image reading device having a sheet-through mechanism, a controller controls a stepping motor to decelerate an image reading system when the image reading system is moved to a reference white plate reading position, and controls a stepping motor drive electric current to decrease when the image reading system reads a reference white plate. When the image reading system finishes reading the reference white plate, the controller controls the stepping motor drive electric current to increase so as to rapidly decelerate the image reading system. The controller further controls the stepping motor such that a moving speed of the image reading system to an original document reading position is lower than a moving speed of the image reading system to the reference white plate reading position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an image reading device that reads image data of an original document with an image sensor and an image forming apparatus, such as a digital copying machine, a laser beam printer, a facsimile machine, etc., that forms an image based on the image data output from the image reading device and more particularly, to a control of reading operation of a reference white plate for obtaining shading data in the image reading device having a sheet-through mechanism.
2. Discussion of Background
An image reading device used in a widespread digital copying machine, a scanner, or other similar image forming apparatus, may employ a method of reading an image of an original document by a two-dimensional scanning in which a charge-coupled device (CCD) line sensor is moved in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to a main scanning line relatively to an original document illuminated by a lamp.
The image reading device employing such an image reading method in which the CCD line sensor is moved relatively to the original document, generally uses two types of image reading mechanisms. One type of image reading mechanism may be referred to as an image reading system moving mechanism in which an image of an original document set on an original document setting table (e.g., a contact glass) in a stationary state is read by moving an image reading system. Another type of image reading mechanism may be referred to as a sheet-through mechanism in which an original document is fed by an original document feeding device (hereinafter simply referred to as a "document feeder") so as to pass through a stationary image reading system including a CCD line sensor. An image of an original document is read by the stationary image reading system while moving the original document relative to the image reading system.
Recently, an image reading device often has both of the above-described two types of image reading mechanisms. Hereinafter, a description will be made to an image reading device that reads an image of an original document by both of the two types of image reading mechanisms.
The image reading device having both of the two types of image reading mechanisms reads an image of an original document by a common image reading system. When performing an image reading operation in the sheet-through mechanism, the image reading operation is performed in a condition that a movable image reading system is held stationary at a predetermined image reading position provided at a part of an original document conveying path in a document feeder. In the image reading device having both of the two types of image reading mechanisms, it is not desirable that an output of image read by the image reading system moving mechanism is different from that of image read by the sheet-through mechanism or an output of image read by either of the two image reading mechanisms changes with time. Therefore, in order to stabilize outputs of read images, an image reading system reads a reference white plate before reading an image of an original document to obtain a reference white level or shading data based on the data of read reference white plate. A white level of image data of a read original document is corrected using the shading data.
In the image reading system moving mechanism, following a reading operation of a reference white plate arranged between a home position of an image reading system and a position where an original document is set on a contact glass, an image reading operation of the original document is performed.
In the sheet-through mechanism, as described above, an image reading system reads an image of a moving original document fed by a document feeder in a condition that the image reading system is held stationary at a predetermined image reading position. Therefore, when reading the same reference white plate also used in the image reading system moving mechanism, the image reading system needs to be moved to the position where the reference white plate is arranged. This results in adding a step of moving the image reading system contrary to the aim of eliminating the necessity of moving the image reading system in the sheet-through mechanism. Accordingly, in order not to reduce the advantage of high throughput in the sheet-through mechanism allowing an image reading device to read original documents consecutively, it may be desired to reduce a whole period of time required for performing the reading operation of the reference white plate as much as possible.
In the above-described image reading device, a carriage carrying the image reading system is driven to move by a stepping motor. Generally, an image reading operation is controlled to be performed when the movement of the carriage changes to a constant velocity movement after being accelerated from a stop position of the carriage. Subsequently, the movement of the carriage is controlled to be decelerated after the image reading operation. Such a control operation is performed in both of an image reading operation of an original document and a reading operation of a reference white plate.
FIG. 7 is a velocity chart illustrating a control of movement of a carriage and a control of reading operation of a reference white plate according to a background art. With regard to a timing of reading a reference white plate according to a background art, a reading operation of the reference white plate is performed in an area indicated by a reference character "A" in FIG. 7 in which the carriage moves at a constant velocity and vibrations of an image reading system carried by the carriage are the weakest after the carriage is driven to move by a stepping motor and is accelerated. Alternatively, in order to reduce a time of reading the reference white plate as much as possible, the reading operation of the reference white plate is performed in an area indicated by a reference character "B" in FIG. 7 in which the carriage is accelerated, with some disadvantages such as vibrations of the image reading system.
Recently, demands have been increasing for an image reading performance satisfying both high speed and high image quality such as an image reading speed of 40 sheets/minute and a resolution of 1200 dpi, for example, in a color image reading device. In such a color image reading device, if a reading operation of a reference white plate is performed in the area "A" in FIG. 7, it takes time until vibrations of an image reading system become weak, and a start of the reading operation is delayed, thereby increasing a whole period of time required for performing the reading operation.
If the reading operation of the reference white plate is performed in the area "B" in FIG. 7, the reading operation can be started earlier than in the area "A". However, there may be a high possibility of occurrence of error in data of the read reference white plate due to the vibrations generated when the carriage is driven to move from a stop position. As a result, it may be hard to obtain appropriate shading data.

Image reading device and image forming apparatus including the image reading device


An object of the present invention is to impose a penalty on a player, without causing a sudden deceleration, when a moving body moving on a course formed in a virtual space contacts a sidewall at the edge of the course. To achieve this object, assume that a vehicle running on a course formed in a virtual space has contacted a sidewall at point A which corresponds to the 0th frame. Whereupon, at point B which corresponds to the 1st frame, an amount, Rf, is subtracted from vehicle speed V, and from the 2nd frame until point C which corresponds to the 60tth frame, processing to subtract RSd from vehicle speed V is successively performed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer program product in which a game program is recorded whereby the game develops as a moving body moves on a course formed in a virtual space, in response to manipulation by a player.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, game apparatuses are proposed whereby, for a virtual vehicle running on a course formed in a virtual space, the pitch angle, yaw angle, roll angle, running speed, acceleration, etc. of the vehicle are simulated from its movement, acceleration, road surface resistance, centrifugal force, moment of inertia, etc., in response to the player's inputted manipulations of the steering wheel, accelerator, brakes, gear shift, etc. By displaying the resulting vehicle movement on the game screen, a racing game is developed. In such racing games, sidewalls are provided, such as fences, guard rails, concrete walls, etc. on the edge of the course, as the vehicles race along on the course.
However, with conventional game equipment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, players, in order to travel the shortest possible course, can ram their vehicle 40 into sidewall 51 on the inner side of a corner and skillfully make it slide in contact therewith, thus causing vehicle 40 to decelerate due to the resistance from friction with sidewall 51, enabling very fast cornering. This cheating technique, based on "insider knowledge," has become widespread among advanced players. Taking advantage of this technique, a racing technique becomes possible which could never exist with a real vehicle and, however much one says "it's a game," this technique is not desirable in a race game which faithfully simulates the movement of an actual vehicle.
For this reason, conventional game equipment is programmed such that, in the case that vehicle 40 comes into contact with sidewall 51, the speed of vehicle 40 decelerates. FIG. 7 shows the flow chart which describes the deceleration processing for vehicle 40 that occurs when vehicle 40 comes into contact with sidewall 51. As shown in the same figure, with a conventional game program, vehicle 40 running processing (S20) is done, and if it is detected (S21; YES) that vehicle 40 has made contact with sidewall 51, deceleration processing (S22) of speed V of vehicle 40 is done by the amount of Rf. If vehicle 40 contacts sidewall 51 at point A, then through this deceleration processing, as shown in FIG. 8, in the frame (frame 1) following the frame (frame 0) displayed at the time of contact, an image is displayed of vehicle 40 passing point B at a speed of V-Rf. Since images are displayed on the display at the rate of 60 frames per second, vehicle 40, by contacting sidewall 51, undergoes a sudden deceleration of vehicle speed in the interval of one frame.
However, if for the purpose of detering the above mentioned "insider technique," vehicle speed is caused to decelerate suddenly when vehicle 40 contacts sidewall 51, that can cause the fresh feeling of the game to be lost and is thus undesirable. In particular, if, to control use of the above-mentioned insider technique by advanced players, a sudden and large deceleration is applied as the penalty when the sidewall is contacted, beginners will be negatively impacted. Beginners, because of their undeveloped skill level, may contact the sidewall through a mistake in vehicle operation. Thus, if even in such cases beginners are subjected to the same kind of penalty, that may cause them to lose their zest for game play. Thus, what is desired is development of a technology which controls the insider technique of advanced players, while maintaining exciting race development to stimulate the enthusiasm of beginners for the game play, even though they are not skilled in operation. In addition, even in cases where a shortcut is taken, driving off the course, if sudden deceleration is applied as the penalty, as described above, that results in spoiling the player's enthusiasm for play.
To deal with this, the present invention, for a game which has a moving body moving on a course formed in a virtual space, in response to manipulation by a player, provides a computer program product in which a game program is recorded which enables a penalty to be assessed when the moving body contacts the sidewall at the edge of the course, such penalty being applied through an appropriate means without causing sudden deceleration and without spoiling beginners' enthusiasm for play.


A high lumen output compact fluorescent lamp is disclosed that has a luminous efficiency of 40 lumen/W or higher. The fluorescent lamp comprises an envelope enclosing a discharge space, means for providing a discharge in the discharge space, a discharge gas sealed in the discharge space and a fluorescent layer made of a phosphor blend coated on the inner surface of the envelope. The phosphor blend comprises a, 55 to 80 weight % of a first phosphor having an emission band with a maximum between 620 nm and 635 nm and having a half-value width of 70 nm to 150 nm, b, 5 to 30 weight % of a second phosphor having an emission band with a maximum between 605 nm and 615 nm and having a half-value width of 1 nm to 10 nm, c, 0 to 20 weight % of a third phosphor having an emission band with a maximum between 540 nm and 550 nm and having a half-value width of 1 nm to 10 nm, and d, 0 to 30 weight % of a fourth phosphor having an emission band with a maximum between 480 nm and 500 nm and having a half-value width of 50 nm to 80 nm. The lamp havs an Ra value greater than 90 and a photographic color temperature between 3000 K and 3500 K.

The invention relates to high lumen output fluorescent discharge lamp having high color rendering.
The color rendering ability of a light source is measured with the color rendering index CRI. CRI measures difference between appearance of test colors under artificial light (where the artificial light is emitted by the light source to be measured) and the appearance of the same test colors when seen by light from a blackbody source having the same color temperature as the tested light source. The method to measure the color rendering index is disclosed in "Method of Measuring and Specifying Colour Rendering Properties of Light Sources, 2nd Edition", International Commission on Illumination, Publication CIE No. 13.2 (TC-3.2) 1974, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The differences in value, chroma and hue of the light reflected under the light source to be measured and the light source are obtained and summed, the square root of the sum is taken, multiplied by a constant, and subtracted from 100. This calculation is performed for 14 different color standards. The color rendering index for each of these standards is designated Ri, where i=1, . . . , 14. The General Color Rendering Index, Ra, is defined as the average of the first eight indices, R1–R8. The constant has been chosen such that Ra for a standard warm white fluorescent tube is approximately 50. For better illustration, an Ra value of 100 corresponds to a "perfect" light source, i.e. under which a color sample appears exactly as it would appear when illuminated by a "standard" light source, such as an incandescent (black body) lamp or natural daylight, which are perceived as the most "natural" light conditions.
From the above it follows that another factor, the correlated color temperature should be also considered, when assessing the color rendition of a lamp. The correlated color temperature (CCT) value of a light source is defined as the temperature of a black body radiator which would appear to have the same color as the light source in question. The unit of measurement is in Kelvin (K) which determines the warm or cool appearance of a light source. The lower the color temperature, the warmer or more yellow is the appearance. The higher the color temperature, the cooler or bluer is the appearance. Typical color temperatures are 2800K for incandescent, 3000K for halogen, 4200K for cool white, and 5000K for metal halide and daylight fluorescent lamps. Generally, fluorescent lamps with a CCT value of 3200K are used to "imitate" an incandescent light source, while lamps with a CCT value of approx. 5500K are supposed to provide the same or similar illumination as natural daylight.
A similar measure of a lamp is used by photo professionals. This is termed as photographic color temperature, and it takes into consideration the sensitivity curves of various films. The values of the photographic color temperature may be quite different from the CCT value, due to the differences in the method of measurement. Accordingly, it is more appropriate to characterize lamps with their photographic color temperature, instead of the CCT, if these are destined for use in photography or cinematography. Photographic color temperature is measured by specialized color meters, where e.g. the meters marketed by Minolta Corp, Japan are considered as virtual standards.
There are certain applications where good color rendition is very important. Such applications are illumination in commercial units, where the true color perception of products are desired, such as clothing stores, fresh food stores. Another important application is photo and cinema studios, which normally need very intensive illumination. Further, traditional light sources in cinema studios generate so much heat that extra cooling of the rooms may be needed. Therefore, these latter applications need light sources that have not only good color rendition, but are also energy efficient.
Various attempts were made to make fluorescent light sources with improved color rendering properties. It is normally sought to improve or modify the color rendering properties by blending different types of phosphors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,839 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,276 disclose fluorescent lamps, primarily for use in aquaria, which have a fluorescent layer composed of various phosphors, having different emission peaks and half-width values.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,525,460 discloses fluorescent lamp in the form of a light tube having very high color rendition properties. This known lamp comprises a phosphor-containing layer made of a blend of various phosphors. The lamp has an Ra value greater than 96 and a CCT between 2700K and 6600K. Specifically, the lamp provides very high R values for the colors Saturated Red, Saturated Yellow, Flesh Tone and Vegetable Green. However, in order to obtain these parameters, the phosphor layer of the lamp disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,525,460 also comprises a filter, which is effective in the 400–450 nm range. This filter has a negative effect on the efficiency of the lamp, and also adds difficulty to the manufacturing process of the lamp, because the proportion of an additional component must be controlled.
Recently, there is a trend towards smaller form factors in the fluorescent lamp market, and it is desired to achieve the same or better lighting performance with compact fluorescent lamps which could be traditionally achieved only with relatively large light tubes. However, if the same light output is to be produced in a smaller discharge vessel, it will inevitably increase the wall load, i.e. the amount of energy falling on a unit area of the phosphor. For example, if a traditional light tube with a diameter of 38 mm is to be replaced by a compact fluorescent lamp with a diameter of approx. 15 mm, such as a lamp for a 2G11 socket, the wall load will be approx. fourfold. This means that the phosphor will be subjected to a much higher load, and certain components of the phosphor will tend to deteriorate, due to oxidization or other processes. As a result, a general degradation of the luminous parameters of the lamp will be observed. For example, the phosphor (Sr,Mg,Ca)3(PO4)2:Sn2+ used in the phosphor blend of the lamp disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,525,460 exhibits a marked degradation tendency with increasing lumen output. These effects will be even more significant at the bends of the discharge tube.
Therefore, it is an imperative to use phosphor blends that have high conversion efficiency, so that a high lumen output can be achieved with relatively low power consumption, thereby also reducing the load on the phosphor. Since the conversion efficiency of a phosphor is difficult to measure, it is usual to measure the luminous efficiency of fluorescent lamps (also termed as efficacy). Efficacy is the industry term for the amount of light produced per watt of electricity, and therefore it is quite comparable to efficiency. Efficacy is the rate at which a light bulb is able to convert electrical power (watts) into light (lumens), expressed in terms of lumens per watt (LPW). The efficacy of the lamp depends on a number of factors beside the conversion efficiency of the phosphor, but for similar discharge configurations and similar discharge volume geometries, the differences in the efficacy will be primarily determined by the conversion efficiency of the phosphor.
Therefore, there is a need for a fluorescent lamp having a stable phosphor composition, which provides at the same time outstanding color rendering, preferably at different color temperatures, combined with high luminous efficiency. Also, there is a need for a fluorescent lamp which contains only a few phosphors in its phosphor composition, and thus may be produced with relative ease.

High lumen output fluorescent lamp with high color rendition

Abstract: A lamp is also disclosed in which the phosphor blend comprises: a, 20 to 60 weight % of a first phosphor having an emission band with a maximum between 620 nm and 635 nm and having a half-value width of 70 nm to 150 nm, b, 20 to 65 weight % of a second phosphor having an emission band with a maximum between 480 nm and 500 nm and having a half-value width of 50 nm to 95 nm, c, 0 to 20 weight % of a third phosphor having an emission band with a maximum between 450 nm and 460 nm and having a half-value width of 40 nm to 65 nm and d, 0 to 30 weight % of a fourth phosphor having an emission band with a maximum between 610 nm and 630 nm and having a half-value width of 1 nm to 10 nm. This lamp has an Ra value greater than 90 and a photographic color temperature between 5000 K and 6000 K.


A system and method for using location data to monitor wireless network events are described. One exemplary method includes establishing a plurality of location history records for mobile terminals, establishing a plurality of network operation records for the plurality of mobile stations, and combining the location history records with the network operation records to determine locations of predetermined network events, such as a dropped call event or a blocked call event, in the wireless network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications systems and, more particularly, to a method and system for using location data to monitor wireless network events.
2. Description of Related Art
In a cellular radio communication system (wireless communications network), an area is divided geographically into a number of cell sites, each defined by a radio frequency ("RF") radiation pattern from a respective base transceiver station ("BTS") antenna. The BTS antennas in the cells are in turn coupled to a base station controller ("BSC"), which is then coupled to a telecommunications switch or a gateway, thereby facilitating communication with a telecommunications network such as the public switched telephone network ("PSTN") or the Internet.
When a mobile terminal, such as a cellular telephone, a pager, or a portable computer, for instance, is positioned in a cell, the mobile terminal communicates via an RF interface with the BTS antenna of the cell. Consequently, a communication path is established between the mobile terminal and the telecommunications network, via the air interface, the BTS, and the gateway.
With the explosive growth in demand for wireless communications, network resources can be stressed. For instance, as the level of call traffic increases, the likelihood of interference between mobile terminals can increase substantially. In response to such an increase in call traffic, the base station of the cell may instruct all mobile terminals in the cell to decrease their transmission power, and the base station may itself begin to communicate at a lower power level with each mobile terminal. With lower transmission power, however, call quality can diminish, and calls may be lost.
Further, as cities and landscapes evolve, changes to topography can substantially effect the operation of a wireless network. For instance, as buildings and trees rise or fall in or around a predetermined area, the location patterns in the area may change drastically. As a result of new or changed signal reflections, for instance, the signal-to-noise ratio may become unacceptably low, and calls may be dropped.
To help manage the call traffic in congested or evolving areas and in other circumstances, a service provider may make changes to the network, such as by repositioning cell sites, subdividing cell sites into a number of sectors, adding new cell sites, or reallocating frequencies among various coverage areas. However, in order to effectively decide when and where such changes should be made, and to provide subscribers with acceptable and expected quality of service, a need still exists for a system and method for monitoring wireless network events.

System and method for use of location to monitor wireless network conditions


A trace file providing details of an execution of a software application experiencing unexpected behavior can be identified. The trace file can be converted into a graph structure (e.g., Function Call Graph), which details functions called during the execution, a calling relationship, and errors encountered during the execution. The converted graph structure can be programmatically matched against a set of stored graph structures to determine matched results. Each stored graph structure can correspond to unique record of a symptom database. Each unique record can be associated with a determined problem. The matched results can be provided as possible problems causing the unexpected behavior of the software application.

The present invention relates to the field of knowledge repositories and, more particularly, to using function call graphs (FCG) generated from trace data within a searchable problem determination knowledge base.
Computer programs exist that trace execution behavior of a software executable for purposes of detecting and curing error conditions. These trace programs provide a repository of information that can be analyzed when a software program exhibits unexpected behavior. Human analysts can use the stored repository information to determine what was internally occurring during program execution and to ascertain an exact sequence of events, which lead to the unexpected behavior. Once a source of a problem is known, a solution to this problem (or work-around) can be developed. Currently, the troubleshooting and problem determination process is a highly manual one that consumes substantial time. Further, an ability to identify symptoms, to trace system activities to determine a problem locus is dependent upon an analysis skill level of a human agent.
Many attempts have been made to establish a knowledge base, which is useful to analysts performing problem determination tasks. With current knowledge bases, an analyst assigned to the problem is encouraged to record details related to the problem, a root cause determined for the problem, along with a problem resolution. All of this information is placed in the knowledge base. The information is typically stored in searchable database records. It is presumed that when future problems arise, the knowledge base will be searched by analysts who can benefit from past analysis efforts.
The recordation and searching of problem determination knowledge into/from the knowledge base is a manual process, as is the problem determination process itself. A quality and usefulness of a conventional knowledge base is dependent upon a quality and nature of data manually input into the system. A quality of this input is often suspect for many reasons. For example, skilled analysts are typically incentivized to properly perform troubleshooting tasks through promotion, raises, continued employment, and the like. In contrast, entry of high-quality problem determination data into a knowledge base, even if required by a company, is not a process for which a skilled analyst is rewarded. It is nevertheless a time consuming and thought laden endeavor. Analysts forced to input data into a knowledge base often do so in a haphazard manner, providing data of dubious quality. Thus, no guarantees or safeguards exist regarding an output-quality of data stored within a conventional knowledge base.
Further, there is no assurance in conventional knowledge base systems that a search of the knowledge base will return optimal results. That is, existing systems provide a keyword-based search. When a user query is based upon key words that are not consistent with words input by a previous analysts, stored and relevant problem resolution data will not be returned. Consequently, for conventional knowledge bases, a relevancy of output depends upon a manner in which an input-query is framed.

Including function call graphs (FCG) generated from trace analysis data within a searchable problem determination knowledge base

International Business Machines Corporation


This invention provides an improved cable clamp construction for telecommunication cables such as coaxial cables made from continuous filaments of optical glass fibers which are surrounded by an annulus of aramid material and contained within an outer plastic jacket. In order to provide intermediate gripping action on the continuous cable without its interruption, the gripping action must be carefully controlled and distributed over a relatively sizable intermediate area of the cable to prevent damage to the fragile fibers of the cable over a long useful life in varying climatic conditions. The gripping clamp is comprised of a limited number of components which are capable of surrounding and gripping the cable without undue flexure, the clamp being comprised essentially of a separable sleeve member and a separable plug member, both of which have tapered surfaces to positively secure the cable with compressive forces over a localized area. The complementarily tapered components of the sleeve and plug permit an increased gripping action on the cable without damage thereto for maintaining the cable in permanent tension between a pair of supporting points with an un-tensioned intermediate area of the cable retained between an adjacent pair of supporting points. The separable sleeve and plug members of the clamp firmly grip the cable, in distributed compression greater than the amount of tension.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to clamps and, more specifically, to midline clamps for supporting lengthy, self-supporting, all dielectric, telecommunication cables at spaced intervals. More particularly, this invention relates to a cable gripping clamp for retaining cables in tension at spaced intervals such as those formed with a multiplicity of continuous fibers, such as glass fiber optics and high modulus synthetic strength member of aramid fibers, having one or more non-metallic plastic sheaths thereover.
2. Background Information
While numerous types of clamps have been used previously in terminating ropes and cables to maintain such flexible continuous lines in tension, modern day telecommunication cables comprised of a substantial number of continuous individual fibers bundled together into a single cable must be supported at intervals without termination. It is highly desirable to support such lengthy cables at spaced intervals without interconnection or termination which junctions are highly labor-intensive in their formation.
Certain types of terminating clamps have heretofore employed a wedging action wherein the greater the amount of tension on the cable, the tighter the clamp will grip the cable. However, such gripping action must be carefully controlled in the use of midline clamping of telecommunication cables to avoid undue compression and abrupt angular bending of such cables to prevent any damage, distortion or breakage of any of the individual fibers during retention of the cable in very severe environmental conditions. Normally, in the use of wedge-type termination clamps, a tapered plug element is mounted on the cable with a complementary sleeve member mounted thereover to support a limited portion of the cable most commonly at its end or near a termination point. Such components are generally cylindrical in shape and may be slipped over the terminating end of the cable in a prescribed order of joinder. The components are fully cylindrical in an uninterrupted annular configuration and cannot be joined to a cable at midpoints where the cable is fully integral and uniformly continuous throughout a great length.
One type of rope clamp construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,233, such clamp being utilized at the termination of a rope or cable for supporting the same at a termination or connection point which will not damage or distort the continuous fibers which make up the interior body of such ropes or cables. Such clamp is of particular value in mounting ropes or cables comprised of a plurality of synthetic continuous fibers at a desired terminus; however, in supporting or mounting of modern day telecommunication cables in elevated relation, their terminations are located at substantial distances apart measured in miles requiring the continuous cables to be supported at spaced intervals measured in hundreds to thousands of feet in elevated tensioned relationship between points of delivery and use of conveyed technical information, such as telephone lines and coaxial cables for video pictures, computer data, and the like.
While a number of the prior clamp constructions are capable of satisfactory performance for supporting certain types of heavy-duty cables such as metallic electrical lines for transmission of electrical power, many of such clamps are not capable of supporting highly-sophisticated telecommunication cables which are formed from a multiplicity of very fine individual fibers such as glass fiber optics and aramid fibers which are located within an annulus of aramid material and surrounded by an outer protective plastic jacket. Such cables are formed having very great lengths with substantial numbers of individual fibers packed closely into a cylindrical bundle having one or more plastic layers thereover forming the exterior covering of the cable. The cable is normally extremely flexible having a very high strength-to-weight ratio, but due to its extremely sophisticated fragile nature, only relatively small compressive forces may be applied over limited intermediate areas of the cable which are normally supported in tension. The intermediate area employed to retain the cable is gripped with sufficient compressive force to support the cable in tension even though the particular amount of tension may vary rather widely throughout the operating or useful life of the cable.
Most prior art clamps exert strong compressive forces on the cable over small localized intermediate areas which can cause the individual fibers to be damaged or stressed adversely which will result in breakage or serious disruption of the information carrying capabilities of the fibers. Other prior art clamps exert a very low compressive forces over an extremely long area of cable. The length of the clamp may be as long as 75 times the diameter of the cable. These helical wrapped clamps are extremely unwieldy and difficult to apply to this flexible cable.
There has been a special need for a user friendly midline clamp construction which will provide distributed compressive forces over generally lengthy intermediate areas of the cable to maintain the cable in generally axial relation. Such distributed forces prevent damage to the fragile fibers in a transverse direction and maintain sufficient gripping force on the cable when the tensional forces on the cable are varied through considerable limits. When the cable is mounted outdoors in widely-varying climatic conditions, it must be capable of durably withstanding high winds and accumulations of snow and ice over a long working life with little or no maintenance.


The present invention provides a metal organic chemical vapor deposition device and a temperature control method therefor. The device comprises: a chamber; a susceptor which is installed inside the chamber to allow rotation therein, wherein at least one substrate is settled thereon; a plurality of heaters which heat the susceptor, wherein the temperature is independently controlled; a gas sprayer which is positioned in the upper part of the susceptor, and sprays gases of group III and V toward the susceptor; a plurality of temperature detection sensors which are positioned in the upper part of the susceptor, and measure the temperature of heating regions heated by each heater; and a controller which retains temperature setting values necessary for the heating regions, and controls the temperature of the heating regions by comparing sensing temperature values detected by each temperature detection sensor with the setting values necessary for the heating regions. According to the present invention, the metal organic chemical vapor deposition device and the temperature control method therefor can uniformly apply necessary temperature ramping to the entire substrates during process by effectively adjusting the temperature conditions essential for every epitaxial process in the metal organic chemical vapor deposition device, which carries out the process by changing the temperature up to 1200° C. from room temperature. Therefore, the invention improves process efficiency and deposition uniformity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metal organic chemical vapor deposition device and a temperature control method therefore and, more particularly, to a metal organic chemical vapor deposition device and a temperature control method therefor, which are capable of controlling a temperature of a plurality of divided heating regions.
2. Background of the Related Art
A nitride material has been most well known as materials for fabricating light-emitting devices. The light-emitting device using the nitride material chiefly has a structure in which a buffer layer made of GaN crystals, an n type doping layer made of n type GaN crystals, an active layer made of InGaN, and a p type doping layer made of p type GaN are sequentially stacked over a substrate, such as a sapphire. Furthermore, the layers are sequentially stacked in one metal organic chemical vapor deposition device chamber.
However, temperature conditions for growing each of the layers are different, and the temperature conditions must be effectively controlled whenever each layer is grown in order to satisfy the temperature conditions. Moreover, if a plurality of wafers is seated on a susceptor and a process is performed, temperature uniformity in the entire area of the susceptor has a great effect on process efficiency. For example, if a temperature for forming an n type doping layer is 1200° C., a temperature for forming an active layer may be 700° C. to 900° C. Furthermore, in case of multiple active layers, a process temperature is repeatedly changed in 700° C. and 900° C.

Metal organic chemical vapor deposition device and temperature control method therefor


Rivet dispenser reloading systems and methods of use thereof are provided. A non-limiting embodiment of a rivet dispenser reloading system comprises a receiving member defining a channel therein, and a first gate. The rivet receiving member comprises a first port and a second port that communicate with the channel. The first port is configured to receive rivets. The second port is configured to selectively engage with a rivet dispenser and introduce rivets to the rivet dispenser. The channel extends between the first port and the second port and is configured to transport rivets from the first port to the second port in a series arrangement and in a preselected orientation. The first gate is in communication with the second port and is selectively positionable between a first configuration inhibiting movement of rivets through the second port, and a second configuration enabling movement of rivets through the second port.

Current methods of fastening together work pieces, such as fastening sheets together, can include the use of, for example, self-piercing rivets and/or flow drill rivets. Other methods of fastening can require feeding rivets to a resistance spot rivet welding system. There are challenges with feeding rivets to a resistance spot rivet welding system.


A retractable pen with a push button includes a top plug, a barrel and a bottom holder. The top plug is partially insertable into the barrel and is axially movable with respect to the barrel, and the bottom holder is in threaded connection with the barrel. A refill is arranged in the top plug, the barrel and the bottom holder. A reset spring is arranged between the refill and the bottom holder. An end of the push button located in the barrel is provided with at least one clamping member configured to clamp the barrel and a push member configured to drive the top plug to axially slide with respect to the barrel. At least one limit piece is fixedly provided on an inner wall of the barrel to hold the clamping member.

A pen is a commonly used writing instrument in our daily life. When studying or working, people are used to keeping a pen with them to write down what they have seen or heard in time. There are many types of pens, such as gel pen, fountain pen, pencil and brush pen.
A pen usually includes two parts: a barrel and a cap. However, when the cap is lost or damaged, no protection is afforded to a pen tip, and as a result the pen tip is more likely to be broken and the ink may leak out, so the pen is no longer suitable to carry around. For some existing retractable pens, when the pen is pressed by surroundings for example in a bag, the pen tip may protrude from the barrel and stain or stab the surroundings. In addition, when the press cap of the retractable pen is lost, the refill is no longer retractable and thus the pen becomes useless.


An interactive game having a pre-determined outcome (e.g., a game of finite poker) that displays an initial hand of cards, receives a player-specified designation as to which cards are to held and which are to be discarded, and then displays an intermediate hand generated in accordance with the player-specified designation. Then a final hand is shown, and in those cases where the player-specified designation (Hold/Discard) is inconsistent with a transition from the intermediate hand to the final hand, an entertaining display is shown, such as a sequence of alternative playing cards. In some cases, the initial hand is a winning hand according to a predetermined payout schedule, and the final hand is a winning hand with a higher payout than the initial hand according to the same payout schedule. The disclosed methods can be used with other games, including reel-type games.

The present invention relates to interactive games such as finite pool games that have pre-determined outcomes, and in particular to improvements to such games that increase appeal to players.
One class of interactive games is known as finite poker. In a finite poker game, a player is shown a first hand of cards and invited to select one or more cards to be discarded. Then the player is shown a final hand and a payoff is provided if the final hand is a winning hand according to a predetermined payout schedule.
In finite poker games known to the present inventor, the initial hand and the final hand are both predetermined prior to the time the game is started. For this reason, there can often be an inconsistency between the player's selection of cards that are to be discarded and the transition from the initial hand to the final hand. This inconsistency can interfere with the desired simulation of a card game.
The present invention is directed to an improved method for displaying an interactive game that addresses this and other disadvantages of the prior art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for displaying an interactive game having a pre-determined outcome


An elevator system includes one or more elevator cars configured to travel along a hoistway. One or more rails extend along the hoistway and are operably connected to the one or more elevator cars to guide the one or more elevator cars along the hoistway. Each rail of the one or more rails includes a plurality of rail segments arranged end to end. Each rail segment is affixed to a hoistway wall to transfer vertical loads from the rail segment to the hoistway wall. Each rail segment is secured to the hoistway wall via a plurality of rail support brackets. The vertical loads are transferred from the rail segment to the hoistway wall via at least one rail support bracket of the plurality of rail support brackets.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to the field of elevators, and more particularly to a multicar, ropeless elevator system.
Ropeless elevator systems, also referred to as self-propelled elevator systems, are useful in certain applications (e.g., high rise buildings) where the mass of the ropes for a roped system is prohibitive and there is a desire for multiple elevator cars to travel in a single lane. There exist ropeless elevator systems in which a first lane is designated for upward traveling elevator cars and a second lane is designated for downward traveling elevator cars. A transfer station at each end of the hoistway is used to move cars horizontally between the first lane and second lane.
In traditional elevator systems, rails are secured in the hoistway through the use of sliding clips secured to the hoistway wall. The clips allow for upward/downward sliding movement of the rail relative to the wall. Thus, the cumulative weight of the rail stack is supported in the pit at the bottom of the hoistway. The sliding clips allow for building settling, without causing the rails to buckle. An issue with this concept is that the rise of the elevator system is limited by the cumulative rail weight, and if this concept was applied to motor primaries used in ropeless elevator systems, the cumulative weight would be excessive and the thermal expansion would require significant cyclic sliding movement, leading to buckling or fatigue of the rail.