In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method to control the brightness of a display. One exemplary method includes generating a signal indicative of a display brightness level, and controlling the brightness of the display, based at least in part on the signal indicative of a display brightness level.

FIG. 1 depicts a conventional computer system 100 having a conventional LCD panel display 10. A backlight inverter 20 is provided to drive one or more cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) 22 and/or 24, includes a transformer 26 and controller 28, as is well understood in the art. A conventional computer system provides a LCD panel brightness level according to the command signal from the user, such as from the keyboard input or a potentiometer in the computer. The brightness of the LCD panel is fixed once the manual setup is set. The amount of power delivered to the backlight system is therefore fixed regardless the ambient brightness variations. Traditionally, users do not take the advantage of reducing the power level when the ambient light is reduced. To achieve a better utilization of battery power for appropriate LCD panel brightness while ambient light is changing, it is essential to implement auto-brightness control means to extend the battery run time for portable electronics. A light sensor 30 is provided to generate a signal indicative of the ambient light around the panel 10. The signal is fed to the backlight inverter 20 to adjust the amount of power delivered to the CCFL(s).
In a computer, the system may also include a system CPU 40 and line memory 50. The panel 10 may include a thin film transistor array (LCD) a scanner to synchronize operation of the LCD and a video data input module 16 and 18 to receive video data from line memory 50. These components are well understood in the art.
FIG. 2 depicts a conventional control system 200. In the conventional system, the panel brightness is controlled by comparing the current flowing through the CCFLs with the signal from the ambient light sensor output. The feedback signal in this control system is the sensed current flowing through the CCFL(s). This implementation represents an open-loop control with respect to the ambient brightness and the LCD brightness. One challenge is the LCD panel brightness varies even with the same amount of current flowing through the CCFL(s). Panel brightness can also vary on the manufacturing of the LCD panel including the material, thin-film-transistor technology, mechanical arrangement and the structure of the backlight module. This implementation is impractical and does not satisfy general requirement. As is known in the art, the display brightness lowers by more than half of the default brightness under cold temperature conditions with the same amount of current flowing through the CCFL(s). For example, the brightness of a LCD panel under room ambient condition of 350 lum/m^2; reduces to 120 lum/m^2 under −30 degree C. ambient condition. As a result, the brightness output from a display does not satisfy the users' requirement even under the same ambient light condition. Another example is the LCD display in a navigation system (global position system) in a car. Under low-temperature ambient, such ambient-sensor control system implementation for LCD in a car, does not produce sufficient light as needed or even fail to produce light output. Thus, this control system cannot sufficiently provide closed-loop feedback information to more accurately control the brightness of the panel. A target panel brightness signal is the desired output which should be used as a control signal for the controller and the power supply. Such open-loop control relies greatly upon the efficacy between the amount of power to the CCFL(s) and the LCD brightness output. Therefore, there is a need for a control system where the LCD brightness responds panel brightness. Further, the perception of the comfort level of the brightness varies from one user to another. Therefore, it there is also a need to have a user-command input to the control system to set a desired default display brightness level to satisfy the users a comfort level of brightness.


A necklace chain entangling preventer apparatus and related method of use and production for preventing necklace chains from entangling when simultaneously worn by a user thereof, comprising a first entangling preventer half and a second entangling preventer half, each the entangling preventer half comprising: a substantially flat rigid body plate; a plate-half attachment facilitator permanently affixed to the body plate; a plurality of N substantially rigid necklace chain threading hooks permanently affixed to the body plate; a plurality of N necklace chain threading retainers permanently affixed to the body plate; the plate-half attachment facilitators affixed to their respective rigid body plates with opposite mating configurations; and a plurality of N necklace chain threading retainers, selected from the necklace retainer group consisting of: a malleable material retainer, a pivot retainer, a pole retainer, and an opposite plate inverted hook passively-engaged retainer.

It is not uncommon for individuals who wear necklaces, to sometimes wear more than one necklace at the same time. Yet, at illustrated by FIG. 1 which for example, not limitation, show three necklaces being worn at once, it is often the case that the necklace chains 1 will become entangled with one another while they are worn by a user. A section of the neck and shoulders of such a user with entangled necklace chains 1 is illustrated from a front view by the mannequin figurine 11. It would be desirable to have a simple-to-use, effective device, system and method which can be used to prevent such entangling, and to have a simple method for producing this device.

Device, system and methods of use and production for preventing chains of a plurality of necklaces simultaneously worn by a user from entangling


A resonator device for medical device is provided. The resonator device includes a helical structure and a capacitor structure. The resonator device can be used in conjunction with a medical device, including a stent.

Stents and other metallic implants can cause a partial shielding of a radio frequency (RF) field by the Faraday Effect. In essences, the stent acts like a "Faraday Cage" that prevents the RF field from penetrating to the interior of the stent. Because stents are not ideal but only partial Faraday cages, a small percentage of the RF field still is able to penetrate to the interior, however not enough to cause enough spins to flip over and give a reasonable visibility.
One approach to achieving the reasonable visibility would be to raise the energy of the RF field (the flip-angle that stands for the duration of the RF-pulse) to such high levels that enough energy remains after passing through the partial stent shield for visualization. Unfortunately, taking this approach will cause the tissue of the body to be heated to unacceptable levels.


A method of forming devices is provided. A phase change layer is provided. The phase change layer is etched by providing an etch gas comprising a bromine containing compound and forming a plasma from the etch gas. The phase change layer is of a material that may be heated by a current and then when cooled, either forms an amorphous material or a crystalline material, depending on how fast the material is cooled. In addition, the amorphous material has a resistance at least several times greater than the crystalline material.

The present invention relates to the formation of semiconductor devices. More particularly, the invention relates etching to form phase change memory devices.
In the formation of phase change memory, an alloy, such as an alloy of germanium (Ge), antimony (Sb), and tellurium (Te) (hereinafter GST), is used to form phase change memory elements.
In an example of a phase change memory element, each element is made of GST. The elements may be heated and then cooled by passing a current through the element. A fast cool down may be used to provide an amorphous structure with an amorphous resistance (ra). A slower cool down may be used to provide a more crystalline structure with a crystalline resistance (rc), which is different from the first resistance.


A device for treating a vascular aneurysm of a human or mammal patient, comprising an implantable member adapted to hold fluid, the implantable member being adapted to be placed against an outside of a blood vessel having the aneurysm, exercise a pressure on the aneurysm to prevent or reduce an expansion of the aneurysm, follow an outer contour of the aneurysm, and provide a pressure that is equal or less than the diastolic blood pressure of the human or mammal patient.

An aneurysm (or aneurism) is a localized, blood-filled dilation (balloon-like bulge) of a blood vessel caused by disease or weakening of the vessel wall. Aneurysms most commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain (the circle of Willis) and in the aorta (the main artery coming out of the heart), a so-called aortic aneurysm. The bulge in a blood vessel can burst and lead to death at any time. The larger an aneurysm becomes, the more likely it is to burst and since aneurysms naturally grow, given enough time they will inevitably reach the bursting point if undetected.
Given the severe consequences of an aneurysm screening is now commonly performed in order to early detect the presence of an aneurism. In case of an aortic aneurism the blood-filled dilation is commonly located in the abdomen close to the Y-bifurcation extending to the legs. At this location the aorta is typically about 2.5 centimeters wide, which can be measured for example using ultra-sonic or X-ray based measuring devices.
Existing treatment when detecting an aortic aneurysm includes implantation of a stent around the vessel using open surgery. An alternative surgical procedure is to implant a tube from the groin an guide the stent via arteria femoralis into position where the blood flow can by-pass the aortic aneurysm via the tube. The latter treatment has the drawback that an embolism easily is formed when introducing alien material into the bloodstream.
Hence, there exists a need for a treatment of aortic aneurysm that is more robust and which brings about fewer complications.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present disclosure relates to a light source system suitable for use in a time of flight camera. The light source system includes a light source, such as a laser, and a driver arranged to supply a drive current to the light source to turn the light source on to emit light. The driver includes two transistors coupled to the light source in series, such that when both transistors are turned on, a drive circuit is completed, current flows and the light source turns on. A very short pulse of light emission may be achieved efficiently by switching one of the transistors to the on-state to complete the drive circuit and a short time later turning off the other transistor in order to break the drive circuit. In this way, a pulse of light in the order of less than 1 nanosecond or less than 500 picoseconds may be achieved.

Time-of-flight (ToF) camera systems are range imaging systems that resolve the distance between the camera and an object by measuring the round trip time of a light signal emitted from the ToF camera system. The systems typically comprise a light source (such as a laser or LED), a light source driver to control the emission of light from the light source, an image sensor to image light reflected by the subject, an image sensor driver to control the operation of the image sensor, optics to shape the light emitted from the light source and to focus light reflected by the object onto the image sensor, and a computation unit configured to determine the distance to the object by determining the amount of time between an emission of light from the light source and a corresponding reflection from the object.
ToF camera systems may measure distances ranging from a few centimetres to 100s or 1000s of metres. Given the high speed of light, a time difference of only 16.66 ns between an emission of light and reception of reflected light corresponds to an object 2.5 m from the camera system. Therefore, ToF camera systems require high levels of temporal precision and control in order to measure distances accurately.
The present disclosure relates to a light source system suitable for use in a time of flight camera. The light source system includes a light source, such as a laser, and a driver arranged to supply a drive current to the light source to turn the light source on to emit light. The driver includes two transistors coupled to the light source in series, such that when both transistors are turned on, a drive circuit is completed, current flows and the light source turns on. A very short pulse of light emission may be achieved efficiently by switching one of the transistors to the on-state to complete the drive circuit and a short time later turning off the other transistor in order to break the drive circuit. In this way, a pulse of light in the order of less than 1 nanosecond or less than 500 picoseconds may be achieved. The duration of light emission may be shorter than the duration of current due to the turn on characteristics of the light source, for example because of the threshold level of a VCSEL.
The present disclosure also includes a light source system includes a light source, such as a laser, and a driver arranged to supply a drive current to the light source to turn the light source on to emit light. The driver includes a capacitor to store energy and then discharge to generate the drive current, and the driver is integrated into a semiconductor die on which the light source is mounted. Consequently, the driver includes within it the source of energy for the drive current and the light source and driver are very close together, meaning that the light source may be turned on and off very quickly with a relatively large drive current, in order to output a high optical power, short duration light pulse.
In a first aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a laser light source system comprising: a laser light source; a first transistor device coupled to the laser light source; a second transistor device coupled to the laser light source, wherein the first transistor device and second transistor device are arranged such that when both the first transistor device and the second transistor device are in an on-state, a laser drive circuit is complete and a laser drive current flows through the laser light source; and a controller arranged to control a state of the first switch and a state of the second switch, wherein the controller is configured to control a pulse emission of light from the laser light source by: a) switching on the first transistor device whilst the second transistor device is in an off-state; b) after switching on the first transistor device, turning on the laser light source by switching on the second transistor device such that both the first transistor device and second transistor device are in an on-state; and c) after switching on the second transistor device, turning off the laser light source by switching off the first transistor device.
The controller may be configured to turn off the laser light source by switching off the first transistor device whilst the second transistor device is still in the on-state.
The laser light source system may be further configured to: d) after switching off the first transistor device, resetting the laser light source system by switching off the second transistor device such that the first transistor device and the second transistor device are both in the off-state.
Switching on the first transistor may comprise: pre-charging the first transistor by applying a turn-on voltage to a control terminal of the first transistor to charge a capacitance associated with the control terminal of the first transistor, and removing the turn-on voltage applied to the control terminal of the first transistor such that the first transistor is held in the on-state by the capacitance associated with the control terminal of the first transistor.
The capacitance associated with the control terminal of the first transistor may be a parasitic capacitance of the first transistor.
The laser light source system may further comprise a pre-charge transistor for controlling the application of the turn-on voltage to the control terminal of the first transistor, and the controller may be configured to apply the turn-on voltage and remove the turn-on voltage by controlling the state of the pre-charge transistor.
Switching off the first transistor may comprise discharging the capacitance associated with the control terminal of the first transistor.
The laser light source system may further comprise a turn-off transistor for controlling the discharge of the capacitance associated with the control terminal of the first transistor, wherein the controller may be configured to discharge the capacitance associated with the control terminal of the first transistor by controlling the state of the turn-off transistor using a turn-off control signal.
The laser light source system may further comprise a cascode transistor in the capacitance discharge path.
A magnitude of the turn-on voltage may be greater than a magnitude of a laser drive voltage used to supply the laser drive current.
The laser light source system may further comprise a bootstrap capacitor, wherein a first plate of the bootstrap capacitor is coupled to the control terminal of the first transistor and a second plate of the bootstrap capacitor is coupled to the controller, and wherein the controller is further configured to apply, prior to switching on the second transistor device, a bootstrap voltage to the second plate of the bootstrap capacitor to increase a magnitude of a voltage at the control terminal of the first transistor to be greater than a magnitude of the turn-on voltage.
The controller may be configured to: generate a first control signal for controlling the state of the first transistor; and generate a second control signal for controlling the state of the second transistor, wherein the controller is configured to control a duration of the pulse emission of light from the laser light source by setting a time difference between a change in the second control signal causing the second transistor to turn on and a change in the first control signal causing the first transistor to turn off.
The controller may be configured to control the laser light source to emit the laser light pulse with a duration of less than 1 nanosecond, or less than 800 picoseconds, or less than 500 picoseconds, or less than 200 picoseconds.
The laser light source system may further comprise a discharge transistor coupled to the laser light source and arranged to create a discharge path approximately at the time of switching off the first transistor device (for example, at the same time as switching off the first transistor, or at a time shortly after switching off the first transistor device), so as to discharge parasitic charge associated with the laser light source.
In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a laser light source controller for coupling to a laser driver circuit that comprises a first transistor, a second transistor and a laser light source, wherein the laser light source controller is configured to: output a first control signal for controlling the first transistor; and output a second control signal to a second transistor that is coupled to the laser light source, wherein the first transistor, second transistor and laser light source are arranged in series such that when both the first transistor and second transistor are conducting, the laser light source turns on, wherein the laser light source controller is configured to control a pulse emission of light from the laser light source by: a) setting the first transistor to a conducting state using the first control signal whilst the second transistor device is in a non-conducting state; b) after setting the first transistor to the conducting state, turning on the laser light source by setting the second transistor to a conducting state using the second control signal such that both the first transistor device and second transistor device are conducting; and c) after setting the second transistor to the conducting state, turning off the laser light source by setting the first transistor to a non-conducting state.
The first control signal may be for switching the first transistor from the non-conducting state to the conducting state, and wherein the laser light source controller may be further configured to output a third control signal for switching the first transistor from the conducting state to the non-conducting state, wherein the laser light source controller is configured to set the first transistor to the non-conducting state using the third control signal.
The laser light source controller may be further configured to control a time difference between setting the second transistor to the conducting state and setting the first transistor to the non-conducting state based on a target light emission duration.
In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for controlling a pulse of emission of light from a laser light source comprising: setting a first transistor coupled in series with the laser light source to a conducting state whilst a second transistor coupled in series with the laser light source is in a non-conducting state; turning on the laser light source by setting the second transistor to a conducting state such that both the first transistor and second transistor are conducting; and turning off laser light source by setting the first transistor to a non-conducting state.
The method may further comprise, after setting the first transistor to a non-conducting state, setting the second transistor to a non-conducting state such that the first transistor and the second transistor are both in the non-conducting state.
A duration of the pulse emission of light from the laser light source may be set by a time difference between setting the second transistor to the conducting state and setting the first transistor to the non-conducting state. The duration of the light pulse may be shorter than the duration of the conduction time through the light source due to the turn on characteristics of the light source and due to parasitics that need to be charged in order to reach the light emission conditions of the light source.
A duration of the pulse emission of light from the laser light source may be less than 500 picoseconds, or less than 200 picoseconds.
In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a light source system comprising: a light source; and a semiconductor die comprising an integrated first driver, wherein the light source is mounted on the semiconductor die and the first driver is coupled to the light source and configured to control supply of a first drive current to the light source for controlling operation of the light source, wherein the first driver comprises a first capacitor for storing electrical energy for use in generating the first drive current.
The first driver may be configured to operate in: a charging state, during which the first capacitor stores charge received from a power supply; and an emission state, during which the first capacitor discharges to generate the first drive current, which is supplied to the light source to turn the light source on.
The first capacitor may be set to any suitable size (i.e., capacitance), depending on the size of first drive current required and/or the duration of first drive current required and/or the duty cycle ratio between charging state and emission state.
The first driver may further comprise a first switch configured to: during the emission state, close a first drive current circuit comprising the first capacitor and the light source to carry the first drive current between the light source and the first driver; and during the charging state, open the first drive current circuit during the charging state to stop the supply of first drive current to the light source.
The first switch may be coupled between a cathode terminal of the light source and a reference voltage of the first driver, and wherein the first capacitor is coupled between an anode terminal of the light source and the reference voltage of the first driver.
The light source system may further comprise a controller configured to control the first switch, so as to control switching of the first driver between the charging state and the emission state.
The first switch may comprise a first transistor, wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the first switch by controlling a first transistor driver signal at a gate/base terminal of the first transistor.
The light source system may further comprise a turn-on pre-driver, wherein the controller is configured to turn on the first transistor by applying a turn-on signal to the gate/base terminal of the first transistor using the turn-on pre-driver in order to transition the first driver from the charging state to the emission state.
The light source system may further comprise a voltage regulator coupled to the first capacitor and the turn-on pre-driver, wherein the voltage regulator is configured to: receive energy from the first capacitor; and supply a regulated voltage to the turn-on pre-driver at least during transition of the first driver from the charging state to the emission state.
The light source system may further comprise a turn-off pre-driver, wherein the controller is configured to turn off the first transistor by apply a turn-off signal to the gate/base terminal of the first transistor using the turn-off pre-driver in order to transition the first driver from the emission state to the charging state.
To transition the first driver from the emission state to the charging state, the controller may be configured to apply both the turn-on signal and the turn-off signal to the gate/base terminal of the first transistor for a first period of time, and then apply only the turn-off signal to the gate/base terminal of the first transistor for a second period of time.
The light source system may further comprise a photodetector arranged to detect light emitted from the light source, wherein the light source system is further configured to charge the first capacitor only if the photodetector detects light emitted from the light source during the preceding emission state.
The light source may comprise a laser, for example a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser or a stacked edge emitting laser.
The light source may comprise at least one terminal of a first polarity on a first surface of the light source and at least one terminal of a second polarity on a second surface of the light source, wherein the first driver is coupled to the at least one terminal of the first polarity and the at least one terminal of the second polarity such that the first drive current can flow through the light source to turn on the light source.
The second surface of the light source may be affixed to a first surface of the semiconductor die, and wherein the first driver is coupled to the at least one terminal of the first plurality by a first plurality of bonding wires.
The light source may comprise a first terminal of a first polarity, a second terminal of the first polarity and at least one third terminal of a second polarity, and wherein the first driver is coupled to the first terminal and the third terminal such that the first drive current can flow between the first terminal and the third terminal to turn on the light source, and wherein the semiconductor die further comprises an integrated second driver coupled to the second terminal and the third terminal, wherein the second driver is configured to control supply of a second drive current to the light source such that the second drive current can flow between the second terminal and the third terminal to turn on the light source, wherein the second driver comprises a second capacitor for storing electrical energy for use in generating the second drive current.
The first terminal and the second terminal may be are arranged on the light source such that they are substantially symmetrical about a plane of symmetry, wherein the first driver and the second driver are arranged within the die such that they are substantially symmetrical about the plane of symmetry.
In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a time of flight camera system comprising: a light source system comprising: a light source for emitting light towards an object to be imaged; and a semiconductor die comprising an integrated first driver, wherein the light source is mounted on the semiconductor die and the first driver is coupled to the light source and configured to control supply of a first drive current to the light source for controlling operation of the light source, wherein the first driver comprises a first capacitor for storing electrical energy for use in generating the first drive current; and a photodetector for receiving light reflected from the object to the imaged.
In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a driver for coupling to a light source to drive the light source, the driver comprising: at least one capacitor for storing charge; a controllable switch for switching the driver between a charging state and an emission state; a turn-on pre-driver coupled to the controllable switch, wherein the turn-on pre-driver is configured for use in controlling the controllable switch when transitioning from the charging state to the emission state; and a voltage regulator coupled to the at least one capacitor and the turn-on pre-driver and configured to supply a regulated voltage to the turn-on pre-driver, wherein the driver is configured such that during the charging state the at least one capacitor stores charge and during the emission state the at least one capacitor dischargers to supply a drive current to the light source to turn the light source on.
The driver may be configured for coupling to a power supply such that during the charging state, the at least one capacitor stores charge received from the power supply.

Analog Devices International Unlimited Company


An equipment bag includes a body having a cavity with an opening for placement of items within the cavity and a rigid side opposite the opening. The rigid side is defined by opposite end edges and opposite side edges extending between the end edges, and the rigid side comprises an exterior recess therein located at a distance from each of the end edges and the side edges. A handle is pivotally mounted in the recess and movable between a stowed position substantially flush with an outer surface of the rigid side and a pulling position extending outward from the recess. By distancing the handle from the edges of the bag, an angle of inclination of the bag with respect to the ground is increased when the bag is pulled with the handle.

This invention relates generally to athletic equipment bags for being carried by a person and, more particularly, to athletic equipment carriers having a handle to transport the carrier in an inclined position on a ground surface.
While a variety of sports and recreational activities are ever increasing in popularity, stowing and transporting equipment to and from the sporting event or area of activity can be a drawback to an otherwise enjoyable experience. Traditionally, athletic equipment, such as golf bags and clubs, hockey gear, baseball bats and equipment, basketballs or soccer balls, and other types of sporting equipment are carried around in an equipment bag and laid on the ground when the user or users arrive at their destination. Picking up the bag and laying it down repeatedly, not to mention carrying a heavy load of equipment, can be tiresome and inconvenient. While carrying straps are typically provided, most equipment bags are uncomfortable to carry.
Wheeled bags and the like are sometimes used to transport the equipment, such as a golf bag, and the wheels allow the equipment bags to be pulled along a surface rather than being carried above the ground. Known equipment bags, however, are disadvantaged in several aspects. For example, some wheeled equipment bags are typically pulled or supported from a handle located on an end of the bag opposite the wheels, and consequently a significant portion of the weight of the equipment bag is supported by the user gripping the handle. Additionally, the weight of an equipment bag when fully loaded necessitates a sturdy handle construction which only adds to the weight of the golf bag. Further, incorporating extendable telescoping handles and the like in a large equipment bag capable of accommodating large athletic equipment, including but not limited to golf bags, can be a difficult and expensive proposition. Moreover, some known handles are attached to the exterior of the equipment bag and are subject to a variety of external elements and forces while the equipment bag is being handled which could damage or even break the handle.

Equipment carrier with a rotatable handle


The measurement of a flaw height in a thick welded portion of a stainless steel specimen, which is difficult to perform by the TOFD method, can be conducted with more ease, with higher accuracy and in a shorter time than in the case of using tip echo techniques. In addition, it is possible to reduce variations in measurement results among individual inspectors.

It is known in the art that a stress corrosion crack (SCC) occurs in a welded portion of a recirculating pipe of a boiling water type light-water reactor plant. On the other hand, already-existing thermal power generating facilities are toward age deterioration; in actual fact, Western countries have experienced accidents in which high-temperature steam pipes of aging thermal power plants ruptured due to cracking in a heat affected zone caused by the occurrence and joining together of creep voids.
An ultrasonic test has been conducted for nondestructive examination of a thick welded portion of a pipe as in a nuclear power plant. For the nondestructive inspection of the thick welded portion of the pipe, there is a growing demand for accurate determination of flaw height as well as for flaw detection. And flaw sizing requires the detection of start and stop points of the flaw. In, recent years, the need for high-accuracy measurement of flaw height and early detection of the flaw has become so intensified that the application of a phased array method or a TOFD (Time of Flight Diffraction) method is now under consideration.
The nondestructive examination by ultrasonic test usually employs a flaw height measuring method utilizing tip echoes. In general, tip echo techniques have been widely used so far. FIG. 15 illustrates a typical example of the tip echo technique that employs an angle beam probe (an angle beam method). In the conventional flaw height measuring method using tip echoes, an angle beam probe 101 is moved little by little to determine the position of maximum intensity of a reflected wave 104 from an open end 103 of a flaw 102 (which reflected wave is commonly called a corner echo) (see FIG. 16(A)), followed by, determining the position of maximum intensity of a reflected wave 106 from the top end 105 of the flaw 102 (which reflected wave is commonly called a tip echo; and the top end will hereinafter be referred to simply as a tip, except where specifically noted) (see FIG. 16(B)). The flaw height h is computed from the difference between arrival times t1 and t2 of the two echoes 104 and 106. In this instance, when the center axis of the ultrasonic beam coincides with the top end 105 and the open end 103 of the flaw 102, the heights of the echoes 104 and 106 corresponding thereto are maximum. In FIG. 15, reference numeral 107 denotes, the transmitted ultrasonic beam, and 101′ and 107′ denote the angle beam probe and the ultrasonic beam, respectively, at the time of coincidence between the center axis of the ultrasonic beam and the top end 105 of the flaw 102.
Accordingly, the two echoes 104 and 106 will not be received simultaneously with the same intensity. FIG. 8 shows the results of simulation of waveforms received by the probe that was shifted a distance L at one time toward the slit from the position where the reception of the corner echo was began. As is evident from FIG. 8, when the probe 101 is moved toward the slit 102, the amplitude of the corner echo 104 becomes maximum first, and when the probe 101 is brought closer to the slit 102, the amplitude of the tip echo 106 increases. Letting rise times of the tip and corner echoes 106 and 104 of the maximum amplitudes be represented by tt and tc, respectively, beam paths for the both echoes are given by the following Equation 1:Wi=Cti/2, where i=t, c.  <Equation 1>In the above, C is the velocity of sound, which is the velocity of a shear wave in the above example.
Then, beam paths Wt and Wc of the tip and corner echoes 106 and 104 are calculated, and from their geometrical relation the flaw height h can be obtained by the following Equation 2:h=(Wc−Wt)cos θ  <Equation 2>where θ is the angle of refraction. FIG. 7 shows, by way of example, predictions, by an ultrasonic wave FEM (Finite Element Method) simulation, about ultrasonic wave fronts in the case where the slit tip happens to be on the center axis of an ultrasonic beam launched by a shear 45° angle beam probe (Position 1 in FIG. 15). As seen from FIG. 7, after the shear wave reached the slit tip, diffracted longitudinal and shear waves spread out in circular arc form from the slit tip and the diffracted wave returning to the probe is received as the tip echo.
It is the TOFD method that measures the flaw height by disposing a transmitting probe 201 and a receiving probe 202 such that the latter receives a diffracted wave 206 which propagates opposite to a transmitted wave 207 when viewed from the flaw tip 105 as depicted in FIG. 17. With the TOFD method, the flaw height h can be calculated, by the following Equation 3, from the beam path of the diffracted wave 206.h=T−Wt sin(cos−1(Ws/2Wt))  <Equation 3>where T is the thickness of a specimen and Ws is the beam path of a surface wave.    Non-patent document 1: Corp. Japanese Society for Nondestructive Testing, "Flaw Height Measuring Method by Tip Echo Techniques Standardized by Japanese Society for Nondestructive Testing"    Non-patent document 1: Corp. Japanese Society for Nondestructive Testing, "Flaw Height Measuring Method by TOFD Method Standardized by Japanese Society for Nondestructive Testing"

Method and apparatus for measuring flaw height in ultrasonic tests

Abstract: An ultrasonic wave 21 is launched by a transmitting probe 1 into a specimen 20 in a direction oblique to a flaw 24 to generate diffracted waves at the tip 25 of the flaw 24, then a diffracted wave 22 propagating upward directly from the flaw 24 and a diffracted wave 23 propagating upwardly of the flaw 24 after once reflected off the back 27 are received by a receiving probe 2 disposed above the flaw 24, and the height of the tip of the flaw 24 from the back 27 is measured from the propagation time difference between the received diffracted waves.

Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry


A banded support sock configured to induce a windlass mechanism in a foot includes a sock member having a forefoot portion configured to surround a forefoot of the foot and a heel portion configured to surround a heel of the foot. The banded support sock also includes a primary band having a first end coupled to the forefoot portion of the sock member at a first location, a second end coupled to the forefoot portion of the sock member at a second location, and a body extending between the first end and the second end such that the body extends around the heel portion of the sock member.

The present invention relates generally to support garments and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for dynamic foot support, using a banded support sock to induce a windlass mechanism in the foot.
The longitudinal arch of the foot, which extends from the heel to the toes, increasingly sags throughout one's lifetime. This sagging may be evidenced by a change in shoe size as the foot elongates over time. Such sagging contributes to foot fatigue, exacerbated arthritis of the foot, and plantar fasciitis. Raising the arch, taking stress off the plantar fascia, or maintaining the arch at an optimal height, improves foot stability and may treat or prevent these issues. At least some known systems attempt to support the arch with orthotics or inserts. The orthotics provide a static upward force on the arch in an attempt to maintain the shape and/or height of the arch. However, such static force is not always successful in providing relief from the above-described problems because the amount of force needed to be therapeutic may be uncomfortable or even intolerable. Some other systems for treating conditions such as plantar fasciitis involve physical therapy systems or methods that may be inaccessible, inconvenient to access, and/or immobile. Moreover, such systems necessarily cannot provide constant, mobile support or relief in one's everyday life.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an apparatus and method that can provide dynamic, comfortable arch support constantly during use and that is accessible and mobile.

Apparatus and method for dynamic foot support


In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a responsive book system comprising: a book comprising a detecting system, for detecting a current page from a plurality of detectable pages of the book (i.e., the opened page); a storage, for storing content associated with each of the detectable pages; and one or more remote responders, for playing and/or displaying the content associated with the current page. In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a responsive book method comprising the steps of: detecting the current page in a book from a plurality of pages; and playing and/or displaying, by a remote responder, content associated with the current page.

A book is used for obtaining information from a visual source. A tape or a screen is used for obtaining information from a vocal or multimedia source.
Although multimedia sources are advantaged for their multimedia representations, books are still preferred due to their physical presentation.
Prior art techniques include attachment of cassettes, DVDs or software to a book.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,324, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,158 are considered by the applicant as the closest prior art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a responsive book system, which overcomes the obstacles and drawbacks of the prior art.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Responsive book system and method therefor


An extruded aluminum gas laser tube assembly (10) has a pair of extruded, elongated, electrically insulated, aluminum electrodes (23,24) adapted to couple to an external RF supply and supported in the laser tube in predetermined spaced-apart relationship relative to each other and to the laser tube (11). The electrode supporting structure is eight pairs of matching, longitudinal, machined grooves (12,21), four pairs at each end of the tube (11) and electrodes (23,24) in each of which pairs is received a cylindrical, insulated, anodized aluminum spacer pin (22) which slidably supports the electrodes in the tube and allows longitudinal expansion of the electrodes relative to the tube substantially without bending.

1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for allowing uniform expansion of the electrodes within a gas laser tube, and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method in which a pair of elongated, parallel, electrically insulated electrodes are supported within an elongated gas laser tube to allow sliding, unconstrained, longitudinal movement of the electrodes relative to the tube without torsion to accommodate uneven thermal expansion of the combination while maintaining a predetermined spaced-apart relationship of the electrodes and tube.
2. Discussion of Background and Prior Art
A persistent problem with those gas lasers which typically have a pair of elongated, parallel, electrodes supported in spaced-apart relation within a long sealed tube, such as, air cooled waveguide, air cooled free-space and more recently, air cooled free-space slab lasers, is the uneven longitudinal thermal expansion of the electrodes and tube causing damage to or misalignment of components essential to operation of the laser.
There have been numerous attempts to solve these and related thermal expansion problems in gas lasers with limited success.


Disclosed is a wearable electronic device including a processing device, memory that stores organization data, a wireless receiver that receives organization data, and a display that displays organization information to a user, wherein the electronic device is substantially card-shaped.

Many organizer devices are now available on the market. For example, many personal digital assistants (PDAs) are available which can be used to store contacts data, calendar data, and the like. Several of these devices are configured to synchronize with a user computing device such as a personal computer (PC) so that data can be shared between the computing device and the organizer device. This way, information that is entered into either device can likewise be provided to the other.
Although organizer devices such as PDAs provide a relatively convenient way for accessing contact information and for keeping track of appointments, such devices are only useful if the user remembers to carry the device with him or her. For instance, if an alarm is set to activate to remind the user as to a meeting in which the user is to participate, sounding of the alarm is useless if the device is not within the vicinity of the user.
Even when the user remembers to bring the organizer device along with him or her, for example to meetings or other appointments, the user normally must carry the organizer device along with any other devices (e.g., mobile telephone, beeper, etc.) or other objects (e.g., books, papers, etc.) that the user needs. Even though most organizer devices are small compared to desktop and laptop computers, having to carry an organizer device is nevertheless inconvenient.
In view of the above, it can be appreciated that it would be desirable to have a device that provides organizer functionality but that the user is less likely to leave behind and that is convenient to carry.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The present invention relates to methods and compositions for improving the quality of meat obtained from an animal. In one aspect, the method relates to feeding an animal a diet containing calcium nitrate. In one aspect, the method relates to improving the redness of the meat color.

Feeding calcium nitrate and other ingredients to ruminants is one way to mitigate methane production. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,771,723 titled "Compositions for Reducing Gastro-Intestinal Methanogenesis in Ruminants" issued to Hindrik Bene Perdok et al. discloses one such method. Further, Van Den Bosch et al. (International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2016/090366, published Jun. 9, 2016) describes animal feed compositions containing a nitrate compound and methods for using such a composition in an animal's gestation phase and/or lactation phase to improve the health of offspring.
In humans, dietary nitrate, as presented in beetroot juice, has been shown to reduce blood pressure and the risk of adverse cardiovascular events in healthy individuals after a single dose of 500 ml of beetroot juice. It is hypothesized that nitrate might represent a source of vasoprotective nitric oxide (NO) via bioactivation (Webb et al. 2008). A non-enzymatic pathway for the generation of NO has been proposed (nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway) for humans. Dietary inorganic nitrate molecules may be reduced by facultative anaerobic bacteria on the dorsal surface of the tongue to nitrite which can be chemically and enzymatically be further reduced to NO (Lundberg et al. 2009). The endothelial isoform of the NO synthase uses arginine and molecular oxygen as precursors to tonically release NO in the endothelium, which is important for the control of vascular tone, smooth muscle growth, platelet aggregation and inflammation (Umans and Levi, 1995; Bruckdorfer 2005). This induces vasodilation and increased blood flow (Siervo et al. 2011; Kelm 1999).


A semiconductor device having conductive bumps and a fabrication method thereof are provided. The fabrication method mainly including steps of: providing a semiconductor substrate having a solder pad and a passivation layer formed thereon with a portion of the solder pads exposed from the passivation layer; disposing a first metal layer on the solder pad and a portion of the passivation layer around the solder pad; disposing a covering layer on the first metal layer and the passivation layer, and forming an aperture in the covering layer to expose a portion of the first metal layer, wherein a center of the aperture is deviated from that of the solder pad; deposing a metal pillar on the portion of the first metal layer; and deposing a solder material on an outer surface of the metal pillar for providing a better buffering effect.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a semiconductor device and a fabrication method thereof, and more specifically, to a semiconductor device having conductive bumps and a fabrication method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Mainly, the conventional flip chip semiconductor package technique with solder bumps formed on solder pads of chips, and via the solder bumps, the chips are directly and electrically connected to a chip carrier. In comparison with the wire bonding technique, such flip chip technique has shorter circuit route, and better electricity quality, and it also has better heat dissipation efficiency for chips as its availability to be designed with uncovered chips.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,111,321, 6,107,180, and 6,586,323, an under bump metallurgy (UBM) is formed in such flip chip technique before the formation of the solder bumps in order to have the solder bumps steadily glued onto the solder pads of the chip as disclosed in the prior art. However, during a solder reflow process for directly and electrically connecting the chip to the chip carrier via the solder bumps, the solder bumps melt when the temperature reaches a certain point, which causes collapsing, namely wetting, of the solder bumps. Such collapsing will result in an undesired bridging of neighboring solder bumps, which causes electricity failure of the package.
Please refer to FIG. 1A, which is a schematic view showing a semiconductor package disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,229,220, 5,656,858, 5,466,635, and 6,578,754. A copper post 15 of about 30˜90 μm in height is formed on top of a metal layer 14 of a solder pad 11 of a chip 10, and a solder material 16 is formed on the copper cylinder 15. Thus at the time the chip 10 is electrically connected to a chip carrier (not shown) by means of flip chip technique, the copper post 15 effectively supports the chip 10 and prevents the package from the conventional problem of collapsing of the solder bumps.
Although the aforementioned conductive bump with high supporting capability is capable of absorbing more thermal stress when the difference between the thermal expansion coefficients of the chip and the chip carrier is high, it is undesirable to be applied to a large-sized chip, for example, a 15*15 mm chip for the following reason. In such case, some conductive bumps that have copper post are formed around corners of the chip, and they receive relatively high thermal stress as they are positioned far from the center of the chip. Thus the relatively high stress from the copper post still not efficiently absorbed by the under bump metal layer, and therein cracks and cracked delamination C of the under bump metal layer will happen easily as illustrated in FIG. 1B.
Hence, it is a highly urgent issue in the industry for how to provide a semiconductor device that has conductive bumps, which is applicable to large-sized chips that have conductive bumps with copper post for absorbing the stress from the copper post efficiently, and further avoiding the drawbacks of cracks and delamination of the under bump metal layer.

Fabrication method of semiconductor device having conductive bumps

Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd.


Provided are a method and device for releasing radio resource control connection, a base station, a user equipment and a computer-readable storage medium. The method includes that a base station configures radio resource control connection release control information for a user equipment before the base station is triggered to release a radio resource control connection of the user equipment; and the base station makes a decision according to the radio resource control connection release control information when the base station releases the radio resource control connection of the user equipment.

Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is an important topic of current research in the 5th generation technology (5G) and an important application domain of future wireless communication. In the M2M topic, user equipment (UE) energy saving is the key to the success of this technology. The quick release of radio resource control (RRC) connection after the transmission of UE data is a way to improve UE energy saving.
At present, the release of RRC connection is triggered by a RRC Connection Release message of Acknowledge Mode (AM). After the transceiving of UE data is completed, the UE needs to wait for the RRC Connection Release message for a certain period of time. This is power-consuming if the UE is in connected mode during this period of time. The UE needs to send a Radio Link Control (RLC) Acknowledgement (Ack) to the evolved NodeB (eNodeB) after receiving the RRC Connection Release message. This is also power-consuming. In addition, according to the current standard, to ensure that the eNodeB receives the RLC Ack, after the UE sends the RLC Ack, the UE still needs to stay in connected mode for a period of time before entering idle mode. It is also power-consuming for the UE to be in connected mode. A reduction in UE power consumption during the period of time from completing the transceiving of UE data to entering idle state is significant in improving the energy saving of M2M UE.

Method and device for releasing radio resource control connection, base station and user equipment


An attachment mount for the front end of a truck, which can fit trucks with full-width or tapering chassis. The attachment mount may include a front member for supporting a front-end truck attachment, and a distribution member, The distribution member may be attached to the vehicle chassis and to the front member, so that the attachment mount spreads stresses originating from downwardly-directed forces exerted on the front member by the attachment, to the front portion of the vehicle chassis.

The present invention relates to attachment mounts for the front end of trucks, which can be used to mount truck accessories such as but not limited to snowplows, winches and cab racks for supporting vehicles.
A variety of truck front end attachment mounts are known. These are typically after-market attachment mounts, which are often labor-intensive to install. Kenworth Truck Company (Kirkland, Wash.) manufactures Class 6 and 7 trucks, and has recently introduced a new front end, tapered chassis to these trucks. Kenworth has also introduced a front frame bracket package designed to fit its new, tapered chassis. However, Kenworth's front frame bracket package is labor-intensive and expensive to install. Other known front frame truck attachment mounts are also cumbersome, labor-intensive and not designed to work with non-standard chassis, such as Kenworth's new tapered chassis. Front end attachment mounts must also be strong and durable, as in the case of supporting cab racks, for example, the mounts must support thousands of pounds of downward force.
Accordingly, there is a need for a new truck front end attachment mount which is strong and durable, which can be obtained relatively inexpensively and quickly attached, and which can be used with different chassis, including non-standard tapered chassis.


A mobile device includes a shell; a first replaceable hardware component received within the shell; and a second replaceable hardware component received within the shell, the second replaceable hardware component configured to receive a wireless power signal from a remote device and convert the power signal into electrical energy usable by the mobile device.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of mobile phones. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to the field of hardware customizable mobile phones.
Mobile phones are notoriously cramped for space, making it difficult to include new widgetry with limited, rather than universal, appeal. Traditionally, as the volume required for essential hardware has decreased, mobile phones have also gotten smaller. Some new widgets have been incorporated into at least some of the freed up space, but to maintain economies of scale, mobile phones and the accompanying widgets are generally not customizable. Users may select a desired phone with preselected widgets, but only from a limited selection offered by the mobile phone maker or its competitors. Thus, there is a need for a hardware customizable mobile phone with user selectable components.

Customized hardware selection for a mobile phone


Therapies and assays to screen for small molecules that can have therapeutic use in the control of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and other alpha-synucleinopathies.

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and other alpha-synucleinopathies are chronic debilitating disorders for which no cure is known.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder that affects 1% of the population over 65. It is characterized by disabling motor abnormalities including tremor, slow movements, rigidity and poor balance. These impairments stem from the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Even large percentages of patients develop dementia and hallucinations when the pathology involves other brain regions as well. Although the majority of Parkinson cases appear to be sporadic, the disorder runs in families in about 15-20% of the cases. To date, five distinct genes have been identified to cause PD including α-synuclein, parkin, dj-I, pink1 and lrrk21. Understanding how mutations in these genes cause neurodegeneration is crucial in the development of new treatments that might slow or stop the disease progression. Thus there remains a need for new treatments for the disease progression and for assays to help identify agents for such treatment.
Accumulating evidence indicates that increased levels of the protein α-synuclein is deleterious to neurons and can lead to such disorders including Parkinson's disease. This invention relates to the identification of a new mechanism by which the expression of this protein can be down-regulated by targeting its RNA. The study of and control of this heretofore unrecognized mechanism can be used as a therapeutic target and to screen small molecules that can mimic the effect for therapeutic intent in these diseases.

RNA targeting in alpha-synucleinopathies

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey


Ceramic susceptor whose wafer-retaining face has superior isothermal properties, and that is suited to utilization in apparatuses for manufacturing semiconductors and in liquid-crystal manufacturing apparatuses. In plate-shaped sintered ceramic body 1, resistive heating element 2 is formed. Fluctuation in pullback length L between sintered ceramic body outer-peripheral edge 1a and resistive heating element substantive-domain outer-peripheral edge 2a is within ±0.8%, while isothermal rating of the entire surface of the wafer-retaining face is ±1.0% or less. Preferable is a superior isothermal rating of ±0.5% or less that can be achieved by bringing the fluctuation in pullback length L to within ±0.5%.

In order for the film-formation rates or etching rates in CVD (chemical vapor deposition), plasma CVD, etching, or plasma etching on a semiconductor wafer retained in a film-deposition chamber to take place uniformly, the wafer surface temperature must be strictly controlled. For the purpose of such temperature control, a heater is built into a wafer-retaining member, the surface of the wafer-retaining member is heated, and a wafer of semiconductor material is heated by thermal transfer. Ceramics endowed with heat-resistant, corrosion resistant and insulative properties, such as aluminum nitride and silicon nitride, have been employed to date as wafer retaining members of this sort.
A wafer retaining member made of ceramic into which the foregoing heater is built then has been manufactured according to a method that amounts to sintering aluminum nitride and building-in a molybdenum coil, by training a molybdenum coil into a groove formed in for example a disk-shaped aluminum nitride plate, sandwiching it with another such aluminum nitride plate, and hot-press sintering the sandwich.
In a wafer retaining member made of ceramic into which a heater is built, i.e., a ceramic susceptor, the constituent components of the heater resistive heating element are regarded as elemental impurities, even in trace amounts, with respect to a semiconductor material for silicon wafers or the like, or a liquid crystal material, and can become the source of malfunctioning in semiconductor chips and liquid crystals.
Given the impurity threat, either a resistive heating element must be completely embedded into a ceramic susceptor so as not to appear on the surface, or else a resistive heating element formed superficially on a ceramic must be coated with a protective layer, within the chamber of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. Consequently, an area in which the heating element is not buried, i.e., a non-heating area, will necessarily be present on the outer peripheral portion of the ceramic susceptor. The heat generated by the resistive heating element is transmitted through the ceramic, reaching the surface, and from the surface then radiates or escapes via gases due to heat transfer. This means that in disk-shaped or rectangular plate-shaped ceramic susceptors the outer peripheral margin is therefore the place where heat is most liable to escape.
Owing to the above-noted two causative factors taken together, the outer periphery of a ceramic susceptor is the portion where temperature is most prone to drop. To address this issue, elimination of difference in temperature by using for the ceramic a material whose thermal conductivity is high, to swiftly diffuse toward the outer periphery the heat generated by the resistive heating element, has been practiced. Likewise another expedient has been to try to eliminate the temperature difference by increasing the winding density of the coil and the pattern density of the resistive heating element the more toward the outer periphery of the resistive heating element they are, to raise the heating density along, compensating with heat in, the outer periphery.
When a coil trained into an indefinite shape and the outer peripheral edge of the resistive heating element in its substantive domain becomes disrupted. The consequence of this has been that despite a resistive heating element being isothermally designed by strictly reckoning how much heat it puts forth and compensation for heat dispersion to its non-heated portions and for heat escape from its edge portion, in practice, the substantive heat-issuing domain becomes disrupted in the edge portion, which has made it impossible to obtain desired isothermal rating in the surface entirety of the ceramic susceptor.
Meanwhile, with the scaling-up of semiconductor wafer size in recent years, isothermal demands on ceramic susceptors for heating the wafers have become stricter, with an isothermal rating in the wafer-retaining face of at minimum within ±1.0%, preferably within ±0.5% being required.


An elongate photovoltaic (PV) module for use in a solar energy conversion plant for the production of electricity from incident light, the PV-module comprising a top portion with a support panel (G) carrying on a front side a plurality of electrically connected PV cells (D), and a transparent protective layer (A) sealed to the support panel (G) so as to encapsulate the PV-cells (D) between the support panel (G) and the protective layer (A), wherein prior to installation of the PV-module at the deployment site a collapsible portion of the PV-module is configured to be collapsible in a longitudinal direction by folding and/or rolling, wherein the collapsible portion includes at least the top portion, wherein the PV-module further comprises one or more integrated ballast chambers (I) in a bottom portion of the PV-module arranged on a rear side of the support panel (G), wherein said integrated ballast chamber (I) after installation of the PV-module at the deployment site contains an amount of a ballasting material (H) with a weight sufficient to immobilize the PV-module on a supporting surface of the deployment site under predetermined characteristic climate conditions for the deployment site.

Solar power plants produce electric power on a large scale by collecting incident light and converting the collected light into electricity by means of a large number of PV-modules. Conventional PV-modules for electricity production may be based on many different kinds of PV-cells such as c-Si (e.g. mono-crystalline, multi-crystalline, quasimono-crystalline or "string-ribbon"), a-Si (amorphous silicon), a-Si/NC-Si (amorphous silicon/nano-crystalline silicon), a-Si/SiGe (amorphous silicon/silicon-germanium), CdTe (cadmium telluride), GIGS (copper indium gallium selenide), CIS (copper indium sulphide), but a common feature of conventional PV-modules is that they are limited in their electrical power (typically to less than 300 W) by limitations on their physical size. Typical PV-modules used in large scale installations are planar and have a frontal- and sometimes also rear face which is made from planar glass. The frontal glass is often of special low-iron (Fe) content and is typically hardened. The glass-content in these panels, which is on the order of 15-20 kg in a PV-module with a nameplate power of 200-300 W, makes them very heavy and expensive. Furthermore, such conventional glass-plate PV-modules are rigid which places a practical upper limit on their size—and therefore also places upper limits to their electrical power. PV electricity production in large installations of several megawatts (MW) typically uses such rigid modules which must be mounted manually onto metallic racking hardware in order to avoid wind-induced damage and such that the modules are fixed in a beneficial angle with respect to the sun. After mounting, the PV-modules must be connected electrically from one PV-module to the next PV-module using external connectors, which is typically also a manual process. A conventional PV power plant with a name plate power of 250 MW will therefore contain on the order of 1 million such PV-modules and an equally large number of connectors which is a source of reliability- and maintenance problems.
For these reasons, the traditional way to construct a PV power plant carries very high costs, due to high consumption of materials, such as glass in the PV-modules and steel in the racking hardware, cost of transportation to the deployment site, and the large amount of manual labour involved with the installation of the large number of small modules. As a consequence, a PV power plant carries a large capital cost in its construction. To summarize, there are two fundamental problems with traditional PV-modules. The first problem is that that they and their mounting hardware are heavy and contain large amounts of materials like glass, steel, aluminium and other structural materials compared to their electrical power. The second problem is that the individual PV-modules are limited to a very low electrical power compared to typical generators on the electrical high-voltage power grid. As a consequence, it is impractical to erect and maintain PV power plants of just a few hundred MW as they contain more than 1 million individual PV-modules. Furthermore, since conventional glass-plate PV-modules cannot be scaled up because of transportation- and handling problems these rigid PV-modules are poorly suited for large-scale PV power plants. Therefore, there is a need for a new, scalable and resource-efficient technology for making PV power plants.
The prior art discloses collapsible PV-modules, which are fully or partially flexible and may be collapsed by folding or rolling. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,492 discloses a flat, carpet-like PV-module comprised of a number of discrete, but flexible sub-modules which are hinged together. However, even though referred to as a "large area module" the PV-module disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,492 is intended as a mobile power supply that can be stowed away after temporary use. This design is not suited for use in a large-scale solar power plant producing electricity to a power-grid.
A flexible PV-module comprising solar energy converters enclosed within an inflatable envelope is disclosed in US 2001/0054252 A1. The disclosed PV-module is configured for transmitting diffused light, while collecting directional light on the solar energy converter. The design of US 2001/0054252 A1 thus has a very sparse distribution of the actual active solar energy converters results in an ineffective utilisation of footprint which is incompatible with use in a large-scale solar power plant. Furthermore, the PV-module of US 2001/0054252 A1 is intended for integration in a building, and requires at least an additional frame structure as a support.
Another inflatable PV-module is disclosed in DE 198 57 174 A1. The disclosed PV-module is intended for floating deployment on a water surface and therefore inevitably requires a light weight structure with sufficient buoyancy to keep the PV-module afloat.

Collapsible photovoltaic module for a large-scale solar power plant


A radiological imaging device has a panel section which houses radiation conversion panels for converting radiation to a radiological image, and a control section which is disposed on the panel section and which controls the radiation conversion panels. The control section is thicker than the panel section, or protrudes from the panel section.

In the medical field, there have widely been used radiographic image capturing apparatus, which apply radiation to a subject and guide radiation that has passed through the subject to a radiation conversion panel, thereby capturing a radiographic image of the subject. Known forms of radiation conversion panels include a radiation film for recording a radiographic image by way of exposure, and a stimulable phosphor panel for storing radiation energy representing a radiographic image in a phosphor and retrieving the radiographic image as stimulated light, which is emitted in response to application of exciting light. The radiation film with the radiographic image recorded therein is supplied to a developing apparatus to develop the recorded radiographic image. The stimulable phosphor panel with the radiographic image recorded therein is supplied to a reading apparatus to produce a radiographic image as a visible image.
In operating rooms or the like, it is necessary to immediately read radiographic images from radiation conversion panels and to display the radiographic images in order to treat patients as subjects quickly and appropriately. Radiation conversion panels that have been developed to meet such requirements include a direct-conversion-type radiation conversion panel, which employs a solid-state detector for converting radiation directly into electric signals, and an indirect-conversion-type radiation conversion panel, which employs a scintillator for converting radiation into visible light and a solid-state detector for converting the visible light into electric signals.
A direct-conversion-type or an indirect-conversion-type of radiation conversion panel is housed in a panel unit. A radiographic image recorded in the radiation conversion panel is read by a controller that controls the radiation conversion panel. The panel unit and the controller jointly make up a radiographic image capturing apparatus, which is referred to as an electronic cassette.
Such an electronic cassette should preferably be constructed so that the electronic cassette can be carried by a doctor or radiological technician (user).
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-256685 proposes a controller having an integral grip, which is removably connected to a panel unit and can be gripped by the user.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-077641 proposes an electronic cassette with a grip attached to a side surface thereof and which is movable along the side surface.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-082172 proposes an electronic cassette having a center of gravity disposed on the central line of a grip.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-080103 proposes a panel unit and a controller, which are carried while being integrally coupled to each other. After the panel unit and the controller have been carried, a radiographic image is captured by the panel unit while the controller is spaced from the panel unit.


A universal socket device comprises a plurality of sockets arranged in one interface panel, and transformer circuits disposed inside a body. The interface panel is arranged on top of the body, while a male connector is arranged on the lower side of the body adapted to connect to the output power. The male connector includes a plug with 8-shaped cross sections, arranged along the outside wall of the body in parallel. The base of the plug is disposed on a bulge protruding from the body, and a plane is arranged on the outer surface of the bulge, where a groove extends following the same direction of the plug. Due to the male connector structure disposed on the lower side of the body, the center of gravity of the socket device is stabilized, and the socket device is easy to plug and use.

Universal sockets have been pretty common in the prior art. Usually, their interface panels are arranged with multiplexed interfaces, which may adapt to a plurality of plugs, including European styles, American styles, Chinese styles, Hong Kong-styles and more. However, the existing sockets, especially portable sockets, are usually designed as an integrated module with one whole body, which is impossible to adapt to some special plugs having special characters, such as the 8-shaped plug of Apple Inc.
Therefore, the prior art needs to be improved and developed.


A method for treating plants with a plant growth promoter comprising 5-aminolevulinic acid or a salt thereof as an active ingredient. This treatment method is effective in enhancing the photosynthetic activity of a plant, enhancing its ability to absorb CO.sub.2, suppressing its respiration, increasing its chlorophyll content and promoting its growth. As a result, the treatment greatly contributes to the promotion of rooting, the reduction of lodging, an increase in yield, an improvement in cold resistance, maintenance of freshness, an improvement and maintenance of green color, the growth of good seedlings, the promotion of organs, an increase in tillers, a shortening of the time required for growth, a relief of chemical damage and an increase in the rooting ratio in, for example, cutting.

A number of attempts have been made in order to improve the yield of plants. Among them, studies on plant growth regulators have been rapidly developed in recent years since plant hormones, which are physiologically active substances in common to all plants, were discovered. Six plant hormones, namely, gibberellin, auxin, cytokinin, ethylene, abscisic acid and brassinolide are known at present.
However these plant hormones mainly affect only a part of a plant organ. For example, indoleactic acid promotes rooting, gibberellin is usable in the formation of seedless grapes, ethephon promotes maturing of fruits and maleic hydrazide is usable as a sucker inhibitor for tobacco. Thus, none of them affects the whole plant or increases its yield.
On the other hand, chemicals improving the photosynthetic capability of a plant have attracted public attention since they affect the whole plant and thus increase its yield. For example, it has been found that N-allyl-N-methylglycine and N,N-dimethylglycine improve the photosynthetic capability in cultured cells (refer to Proceedings of Society of Plant Chemical Regulation in 1990). It is known, further, that choline chloride and its derivatives improve photosynthetic capability, though this function is still unsatisfactory.

Method for promoting plant growth using 5-aminolevulinic acid or a salt thereof


The composite turbomachine blade of the present invention comprises a preform made of yarns or fibers woven in three dimensions and a binder maintaining the relative disposition between the yarns of the preform. Said preform is made up of warp yarns and of weft yarns, the direction of the warp yarns forming the longitudinal direction of the preform. In characteristic manner, said preform comprises at least a first portion made using a first weave forming the airfoil of the blade, and a second portion made using a second weave forming the root of the blade, and the first and second portions are united by a transition zone in which the first weave is progressively modified to end up with the second weave, thereby obtaining a reduction at least in the thickness of the blade between the second portion and the first portion. The invention is applicable to making a fan blade for a turbojet.

In usual manner, fan blades made of composite material, in particular using carbon fibers, are made from a stack of pre-impregnated unidirectional plies which are placed in a mold with the successive plies being oriented differently, prior to compacting and polymerizing in an autoclave. That technique is very difficult and requires plie-stacking operations to be performed manually, which is lengthy and expensive.
Proposals have also been made to prepare woven preforms using dry fibers which are subsequently assembled together by stitching, prior to being impregnated with resin by injection into a closed mold. An alternative has consisted in making a single woven preform which is assembled together with one or more solid inserts prior to injection. Those techniques (U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,417 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,216) nevertheless present the drawback of requiring a plurality of parts to assembled together and of creating, in such assemblies, zones constituting privileged sites for weakness, e.g. by delamination, which is very harmful in terms of mechanical strength, in particular for ability to withstand impacts.

Turbomachine blade, in particular a fan blade, and its method of manufacture


A method performed in an Internet of Vehicles data transmission system is provided in the present disclosure, where the Internet of Vehicles data transmission system includes a plurality of clusters and at least one road-side unit connected to the Internet, each cluster includes at least one on-board unit, and the at least one on-board unit includes a cluster head on-board unit, and the method includes: transmitting data in the on-board unit to one of the at least one road-side unit, via the cluster head on-board unit of the cluster where the on-board unit belongs. An on-board unit and an Internet of Vehicles data transmission system are further provided.

The Internet of Vehicles is a subdivision application of the Internet of Things in the automotive field. It is the only way for the mobile Internet and the Internet of Things to develop into the essence and depth of the business. It is a fusion technology for the future development of information communication, environmental protection, energy conservation and security.
The Internet of Vehicles is mainly composed of a road-side base station and a communication unit carried by the vehicle. The vehicle communicates with the outside world by using the communication unit, and the road-side base station serves as an access point for connecting to the Internet, and the communication unit connects to the road-side base station to access the Internet through wireless transmission. However, due to the cost, the deployment of road-side base stations on the current road may be sparse, which means that the deployment of base stations is not spatially dense or relatively large. Therefore, in this environment, most vehicles may not be able to communicate with the outside world.

Method performed in internet of vehicles data transmission system, on-board unit and internet of vehicles data transmission system

BEIJING BOE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.


A multi-rate encoder and decoder system is disclosed. The multi-rate encoder and decoder system is capable of operating with a mother code or a subset code of the mother code and includes a trellis encoder having a set of inputs and a set of outputs corresponding to the mother code and a select unit capable of removing the set of inputs into the trellis encoder that correspond to the mother code but not the subset code prior to encoding. The multi-rate encoder and decoder system further includes a decoder having a set of decoder inputs and a set of decoder outputs corresponding to the mother code and a decoder select unit capable of ignoring transitions in the trellis code produced by the encoder that belong to the mother code but not to the subset code.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of communications. In particular, the invention relates to digital communication systems capable of encoding digital communication signals.
2. Related Art
The utilization of digital communication systems is growing at a rapid pace in today's society. Specifically, digital communication systems are becoming more common because they typically provide a higher level of performance than analog communication systems. Common examples of digital communication systems include digital radios, digital cellular telephones (utilizing frequency division multiple access "FDMA," time division multiple access "TDMA," code division multiple access "CDMA," global system for mobile communications "GSM," etc.), digital modems (utilizing such modulation schemes such as V.34, V.90, V.92, xDSL, etc.), satellite communications, and digital reproduction systems (i.e., compact disk "CD," digital video disks "DVD," digital audio tape "DAT," digital video "DV," MPEG, MP3, digital television "DTV," high-definition television "HDTV," etc.).
Digital communication systems generally provide a higher level of performance because they utilize digital modulation (such as amplitude phase keying "APK," phase shift keying "PSK," frequency shift keying "FSK," pulse coded modulation "PCM," pulse amplitude modulation "PAM," quadrature amplitude modulation "QAM," or a similar modulation scheme). Further, error detection and correction techniques allow for increased quality transmission of information data in a transmitting environment such as a communication channel. Typically, these digital communication systems utilize digital encoding schemes that reduce the effects of noise. These encoding schemes may include dependency among a large number of the transmitted digital symbols, thus enabling the receiver to make a more accurate detection of the received symbols. This is generally known as "error control coding" or utilizing "error correction code techniques."
FIG. 1 shows an example implementation of a known digital communication system 100. In FIG. 1, communication occurs via the transmission of data information 102 from a transmitter 104 to a receiver 106, over a channel 108. The transmission is generally a random experiment because the transmitter 104 typically transmits one of a number of possible messages that depend on the data information 102 (that is not known ahead of time). The receiver 106 has no knowledge of which message is transmitted by the transmitter 104, however, the transmitted message is chosen from a set of messages that are known to both the transmitter 104 and the receiver 106. The transmitted message depends in part on the modulator 110 and may be an information data signal that is modulated by a carrier wave signal. The carrier wave signal is determined by the modulation scheme utilized by the modulator 110 such as, for example, APK, PSK, FSK, PCM, PAM, QAM or other similar schemes. Additionally, the transmitted message is received by a demodulator and detector 112 at the receiver 106. The demodulator and detector 112 demodulates the received signal utilizing a demodulation scheme that corresponds to the modulation scheme of the modulator 110. After demodulation, the demodulator and detector 112 detects the received information data signal.
Error control coding is utilized to reduce the effects of errors in the data transmission and reception because the data information transmitted to the receiver 106 should be received ideally at the receiver without any errors. However, if errors exist in the data transmission, error control coding helps detect and/or remove the errors at the receiver. The error control coding may include, as an example, block coding, concatenated coding, waveform coding, turbo coding and convolution coding, all of which are well known in the art. As a result, FIG. 1 shows that transmitter 104 may include an encoder 114 and that the receiver 106 may include a decoder 116.
Besides improved resistance to channel noise, digital communication systems also include the advantages of improved resistance to interference, increased capacity, and improved security of communication through the utilization of encryption. Digital communication techniques generally optimize the data throughput of a digital communication system that has a limited signal-to-noise ratio ("SNR" or "S/N"). Encoding techniques further allow the digital communication system to make tradeoffs between smaller SNRs or higher data rates that may be utilized with a same bit-error rate ("BER").
In general, a convolutional encoder maps a signal composed of a k-bit sequence of input data bits ("k") to a unique n-bit sequence of data bits ("n") based on a convolution of the input sequence, k, with itself or with another signal. The amount of redundancy introduced by the encoding of the data is measured by the ratio "n/k." The reciprocal of this ratio, k/n, is known as the "code rate." The convolutional encoder generates a convolutional code by passing k through a linear finite-state shift register. In general, the shift register consists of K (k-bit) stages and n linear algebraic function generators. Typically, K is known as the "constraint length" and it represents the number of k-tuple stages in the shift register. The constraint length represents the number of k-bit shifts over which a single information bit may influence the encoder output. However, if the encoder includes "M" memory units (not shown) the "constraint length" is typically defined as M+1 instead of K. FIG. 2 shows an example of a typical convolutional encoder 200 with constraint length K and rate k/n.
In FIG. 2, a kK-stage shift register 202 is shown in signal communication with n modulo-2 adders 204, 206 and 208. The kK-stage shift register is a linear finite-state shift register with kK bit locations (several of which are labeled 210, 212, 214 and 216 ). At each unit of time, k bits 218 are shifted into the first k stages 210, 212 and 214 of the register 202; all the bits in the register 202 are shifted k stages to the right, and the outputs 220, 222 and 224 of the n adders 204, 206 and 208 are sequentially sampled, by a sampler 226, to yield the binary code symbols or code bits 228. These code symbols 228 are then utilized by the modulator (not shown) to specify the waveforms to be transmitted over the channel (not shown). Since there are n code bits for each input group of k message bits, the code rate is k/n message bit per code bit, where k<n. FIG. 3 shows another example of a convolution-type encoder 300.
In FIG. 3, the example encoder 300 includes three memory units M1 302, M2 304 and M3 306 and two adders 308 and 310. As an example, if the encoder 300 utilizes four functions "A,""B,""C" and "D," the input 312 to the encoder 300 may be defined as "U" and the state of the encoder 300 may be defined as "S." As a result, it is appreciated by those skilled in the art that the next state of the encoder 300 would be equal to A(S) plus B(U) and the output 314 of the encoder 300 would be equal to C(S) plus D(U). As such, encoder 300 may utilize any code represented by a trellis diagram.
The decoder 116, FIG. 1, decodes the demodulated and detected signal 118 output by the demodulator and detector 112. The demodulated and detected signal 118 is a received version of the n-bit sequence of data bits 120 produced by the encoder 114. It is appreciated by those skilled in the art, that for rate k/n codes, which are typically represented by a trellis diagram, the decoder 116 may utilize a Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimator (such as the well known "Viterbi" algorithm) or a Maximum "A Posteriori" decoder (such as the "BCJR" algorithm described in "Optimal Decoding of Linear Codes for Minimizing Symbol Error Rate," by L. R. Bahl, J. Cocke, F. Jelinek and J. Raviv, pages 84-287, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, published March of 1974, which herein incorporated by reference).
However, both of these decoding schemes are based on the unique trellis structure of the code. This unique trellis structure requires that the encoder 114 and decoder 116 utilize specialize hardware, that is configured for a specific code, to encode and decode the signal. Unfortunately, this results in lack of flexibility because the encoder 114 and decoder 116 must be designed and custom fabricated for a specific code.
Therefore there is a need for a multi-rate encoding and decoding system that allows the flexibility to utilize multiple types of convolution codes with the same hardware to balance the payload capacity of the system versus the operating SNR.
Past attempts to solve this problem have included utilizing punctured codes where single bits are deleted at intervals in a low-rate convolutional code. In this approach, a puncturing coder suppresses the bits for which the puncturing algorithm contains a "0" and transmits the bits for which the algorithm contains a "1." Generally, punctured codes may be decoded in the same manner as the originally non-punctured code, however, in most situations there is a non-punctured code at the same rate that gives better performance, especially when trellis coded modulation ("TCM") is utilized. Therefore, there is also a need for a multi-rate encoding and decoding system that is capable of utilizing multiple convolution codes with the same hardware and is of low complexity.


A generator rotor lead path configuration includes a plurality of electrically conductive components attached to each other. These components may include an axial lead, a flexible connector, an intermediary, a radial lead, and/or a J-strap. The improved lead path inhibits, if not prevents, lead path failure. A method of assembling or fitting the lead path into a generator is also provided, as well as a method of replacing or retrofitting a lead path that is susceptible to failure with the improved lead path configuration. Assistance in determining causes of lead path failure and ways to overcome lead path failure are also provided.

The present invention relates in general to a lead path configuration for an electric device and, more particularly, to an improved lead path configuration for a generator rotor used in a power generation plant.
Many power generation plants produce electricity by converting energy (e.g. fossil fuel, nuclear fission, hydraulic head and geothermal heat) into mechanical energy (e.g. rotation of a turbine shaft), and then converting the mechanical energy into electrical energy (e.g. by the principles of electromagnetic induction).
Some of these power generation plants, such as a fossil-fuel power generation plant, comprise a turbine, a generator and an exciter. The turbine, generator and exciter are typically coupled to each other in axial alignment, with the generator located between the turbine and the exciter.
The turbine converts fossil fuel energy into mechanical energy in the form of turbine shaft rotation through a steam or combustion cycle. The generator then converts the rotational energy into electrical energy. The generator includes an axially extending rotor journaled in an annular stator that surrounds and sleeves the rotor. The rotor has a shaft in which conductive coil windings are axially arranged. The stator has punchings that collectively from an annular core in which conductive coil windings are positioned parallel with respect to the axial rotor coils. As the turbine shaft rotates the generator rotor, the exciter provides an electrical current to the rotor coil windings. The rotating electrically charged rotor creates a magnetic flux that induces an electrical current in the stationary stator coil windings. This induced electrical current is then drawn from the stator and constitutes the electricity that the power generation plant provides to electricity consumers.
One aspect of the above-described power generation scheme involves the electrical interconnection of the exciter and generator. An electrically conductive lead path is used to transport current in a closed loop configuration from the exciter, through the generator rotor coil windings, and then back to the exciter. It has been observed that, as a result of prolonged generator use, the lead path can physically sever or otherwise fail to properly carry current. Among other things, lead path failure can cause electric arcing or re-routing of the electric current through nearby conductive materials. Arcing and re-routing can, among other things, melt portions of the generator shaft and otherwise damage the generator.
It has also been observed that some portions of the lead path tend to fail more often than other portions of the lead path. In particular, it has been observed that lead path failure tends to occur along a portion of the lead path around area A shown in FIG. 2.
There is thus a need for a lead path that inhibits, if not prevents, lead path failure. There is also a need for a portion of a lead path that is particularly suited to inhibit, if not prevent, lead path failure path around area A shown in FIG. 2. There is further need for a lead path that improves upon the prior art.
The present invention provides a lead path that inhibits, if not prevents, lead path failure, especially around area A shown in FIG. 2. The present invention also provides a method of assembling or fitting the lead path of the present invention into a generator. The present invention further provides a method of repairing or retrofitting a lead path that has failed or is susceptible to failure with the lead path of the present invention. The present invention also recognizes that causes of lead path failure around area A shown in FIG. 2 are relatively unknown. Thus, the present invention also provides assistance in determining causes of lead path failure and identifies ways to overcome lead path failure.
One aspect of the present invention thus involves an apparatus adapted to form a conductive path for carrying an electric current in a generator. The apparatus comprises an electrically conductive axial lead having a first end and a second end, and forming a portion of the conductive path. The apparatus further comprises an electrically conductive strap having a first end and a second end, and forming a portion of the conductive path. The apparatus further comprises an electrically conductive radial lead having a first end and a second end, the radial lead forming a portion of the conductive path and coupled to the axial lead and to the strap, the radial lead not being supported by a blower hub wedge portion of the generator.
Another aspect of the present invention thus involves a method of retrofitting an electrical lead path of a generator. The method comprises removing at least a portion of an electrically conductive radial lead from the generator, the radial lead including a radially extending arm. The method further comprises removing at least a portion of an electrically conductive strap from the generator, the strap including a first end and a second end and adapted to attach to the radial lead. The method further comprises inserting at least one electrically conductive component into the generator to form at least a portion of the lead path, the at least one electrically conductive component including a modified radial lead having a radially extending portion. The method further comprises coupling the modified radial lead to the conductive strap. Whereby, the location of the radially extending portion of the modified radial lead within the lead path is inboard of the location of the radially extending arm of the removed radial lead within the lead path.
Yet another aspect of the present invention thus involves a method of choosing a plurality of electrically conductive components to inhibit electrical failure in a lead path of a generator. The method comprises identifying at least one phenomenon that may cause lead path failure. The method further comprises providing a plurality of electrically conductive components adapted to inhibit the identified at least one phenomenon from causing lead path failure, the plurality of electrically conductive components including a component constructed of a high strength conductive material capable of withstanding the stress and load forces produced by the generator during normal generator operation. The method further comprises arranging and attaching the plurality of electrically conductive components to form the lead path.
Further aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the drawings and detailed description of the preferred embodiment that follows.