A process produces 1,4-butanediol by purifying 1,4-butanediol originated from a fermentation broth, by which process 1,4-butanediol having properties suited as a material of producing a polyester is obtained, which 1,4-butanediol enables to reduce by-production of tetrahydrofuran during the esterification reaction and to reduce the delay in polymerization. The process of producing 1,4-butanediol includes adding an alkaline substance other than an ammonia or an amine to an aqueous 1,4-butanediol-containing solution originated from a fermentation broth; distilling the resulting mixture; and recovering a 1,4-butanediol-containing solution from the vapor flow.

Polyesters obtained by a polycondensation reaction between a diol and a dicarboxylic acid are widely used in various uses such as fibers, films and bottles because of their excellent properties. 1,4-butanediol (hereinafter also referred to as "1,4-BDO") is used as a material to produce polybutylene terephthalate (hereinafter also referred to as "PBT") by polymerization with terephthalic acid, and as a material to produce polybutylene succinate (hereinafter also referred to as "PBS") by polymerization with succinic acid. Since PBT has excellent moldability, heat resistance, mechanical properties and chemical resistance, polyesters are widely used not only as materials for molding electric parts and automobile parts, but also as fibers having a soft texture and stretch properties. Further, PBS is also expected as a biodegradable material attaining biodegradation of used molded articles and attaining composting.
Known industrial methods of producing 1,4-butanediol which is a constituent component of PBT and PBS include a method wherein acetylene and formaldehyde are reacted and then the reaction product is hydrogenated; and a method wherein butadiene is reacted with acetic acid in the presence of palladium catalyst to yield a 1,4-diacetoxy product, and the product is then subjected to reduction and hydrolysis. Further, in recent years, due to the concern about the rise of the price or depletion of petroleum, methods of producing a monomer originated from a biomass resource are attracting attention. Known methods of producing 1,4-butanediol originated from a biomass resource include a method wherein 1,4-butanediol is directly obtained by fermentation; and a method wherein succinic acid obtained by a fermentation method is reduced by hydrogenation to indirectly obtain 1,4-butanediol.
As a purification method of 1,4-butanediol, distillation is known. However, the problems per se of the by-production of THF during the production of polyesters, and of the extension of polymerization time were not reported. U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,970 B discloses a method wherein butanediol generated by ester exchange in the polymerization of PBT is distilled after adding thereto a base such as alkaline metal alcoholate; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,224 B discloses a method wherein the 1,4-butanediol mixture obtained by hydrogenation of a maleic acid derivative is distilled after adding an alkaline substance to obtain 1,4-butanediol with small contents of specific impurities. However, the 1,4-butanediol described in those publications is not originated from microbial fermentation, and they are silent about the problems of by-production of THF during production of polyester and of the extension of polymerization time. JP 2013-32350 A discloses a method of obtaining purified 1,4-butanediol having decreased impurities wherein a crude 1,4-butanediol originated from a fermentation broth, which contains as an impurity 2-(hydroxybuthoxy)-tetrahydrofuran, is heated in the presence of an amine. However, JP '350 is silent about 1) an alkaline substance other than an amine and 2) extension of the polymerization time during production of the polyester when the 1,4-butanediol originated from a fermentation broth is used. Further, JP 2010-150248 A discloses a method wherein a 1,4-butanediol-containing solution (not an actual fermentation broth) is treated with a nanofiltration membrane to remove impurities such as inorganic salts, saccharides and proteins to improve the distillation yield. However, those publications are silent about the problems of by-production of THF during the production of polyester and of the extension of polymerization time. WO 2010/141780 A discloses, among other things, methods of purifying 1,4-butanediol.
We discovered problems in using 1,4-butanediol originated from microbial fermentation from which the removal of the impurities is insufficient as a material to produce a polyester, which problems are that THF is by-produced, and the polymerization time is greatly extended when compared to 1,4-butanediol originated from petroleum.
Accordingly, it could be helpful to provide a process of producing 1,4-butanediol suited for a material of producing polyesters, by which process by-production of THF during the esterification reaction of 1,4-butanediol is reduced and the extension of polymerization time is reduced even though the 1,4-butanediol originates from a fermentation broth.


A latch mechanism (10) for burial or cremation caskets (12) includes a stud (22) which is press-fit in the lower edge (18) of the casket lid (16), and a latch plate (24) which resides within a transverse recess (40) in an upstanding wall (20) of the casket shell (14). The latch plate includes an elongated keyhole-shaped slot (44) which is accessible to the stud via a vertical hole (46) in the upper edge (21) of the shell wall. The slot has a wide portion (48) which allows the stud to pass through the latch plate, and a narrow portion (50) which is narrower than the distal end (52) of the stud. The stud includes a necked-down portion (54) which is narrower than the narrow portion of the slot. The latch plate is slidable within the recess from a first position in which the stud resides within the wide portion of the slot to a second position in which the necked-down portion of the stud resides within the narrow portion of the slot. The latch mechanism parts are easily fabricated out of a combustible material such as plastic, and are secured within the casket without the use of metal fasteners.

Caskets which may be used either for burial or cremation typically are made of wood, and include a shell or body portion and a cap or lid portion, the two portions fitting closely together edge-to-edge when the casket is closed. In order to assure that the lid is firmly held closed against the shell, such caskets usually include one or more latch or locking mechanisms.
In the cremation industry, it is desirable to eliminate to as great an extent as possible the use of non-combustible components in the manufacture of a cremation casket. However, most currently available latch or locking mechanisms for caskets are made of metal, which is not combusted during the cremation process. Furthermore, many prior latch mechanisms include components which must be secured in place using metal fasteners such as screws. Additionally, many prior latch mechanisms are relatively complicated, having a multiplicity of parts.


A spark plug has a cylindrical metal shell, a ground electrode and an insulator fixedly supported within the metal shell with a front end of the insulator extended beyond a front end of the metal shell. The insulator has an axial bore in which a center electrode is placed to form a spark gap with the ground electrode. The front end of the metal shell is generally flush with or somewhat recessed into an inner wall of a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine when the spark plug is mounted on a cylinder head of the engine. The front end of the insulator extends at least 4.0 mm from the front end of the metal shell.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a spark plug which is improved to optimally located a firng portion within a combustion chamber upon mounting the spark plug on a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of Prior Art
In recent years, a lean burn type engine and high output engine have been introduced chiefly with an aim to obtaining a high efficiency. In these types of the engines, when an air-fuel mixture injected into a combustion chamber is ignited by a spark plug, it often burns in laminar form because a density distribution of the air-fuel mixture greatly varies within the combustion chamber. In order to cope with the situation, it is necessary to determine where a firing portion of the spark plug is to be optimally located within the combustion chamber. On the other hand, due to the air-fuel mixture thickly concentrated around the firing portion of the spark plug, the carbon fouling is likely to deposit on a front end of an insulator.
In order to improve the carbon fouling resistance, a published Japanese application No. 5-46673 discloses a spark plug in which carbon deposit is burningly removed by thinning a front end of an insulator nose in order to quicken its temperature rise with a minimum heat capacity.
In each of a laying-open Japanese application No. 60-235379, published Japanese application No. 3-41951 and published Japanese application No. 56-47915, a spark plug is disclosed to improve the carbon fouling resistance and heat resistant property by mainly determining an extension length protracted from an inner wall of the combustion chamber to a front end of a center electrode.
However, it is found that these types of the spark plugs have a enough room for further improvement from the points of the carbon fouling resistance and heat resistant property as a result of carrying out an experimetal test with the above prior art spark plugs mounted respectively on the high efficient engine.
Therefore, it is a main object of the invention to provide a spark plug which is capable of obtaining a good carbon fouling resistance without sacrificing a favorable ignitability when mounted on an internal combustion engine which tends to carbon smolder an insulator.

Spark plug for an internal combustion engine


A boat may have a deck and a plurality of pontoons or hulls supporting the deck of the boat. The boat may include a starboard side pontoon, a port side pontoon, and possibly a middle pontoon. A positioning assembly may be provided with one or more of the foregoing pontoons. Each of the positioning assemblies may comprise a link assembly coupling the deck to the starboard side pontoon, wherein the link assembly is configured to permit pivoting of the starboard side pontoon relative to the deck from a retracted position, where the starboard side pontoon is proximate to an underside of the deck, to an extended position, where the starboard side pontoon is moved further from the underside, and an actuator provided to position the starboard side pontoon between the retracted position and the extended position. The boat may further include a leveling control system having a controller and a level sensor configured to detect an attitude of the deck, the controller in communication with the actuators and cause actuation of either or both of the actuators to extend or retract the port side pontoon and/or the starboard side pontoon based on data received from the level sensor indicative of the deck attitude.

Pontoon boats are a type of multi-hull watercraft that rely on pontoons ("toons") or air cylinders for providing buoyancy. Generally, pontoon boats are of a rectangular shape and have twin lengthwise hulls or pontoons along the longer sides of the boat (i.e., a dual pontoon pontoon boat), and some pontoon boats further include a third, middle lengthwise hull or pontoon positioned in the middle between the two side pontoons. Pontoon boats are less costly to purchase and maintain than performance boats, but are useful and popular for carrying larger groups of passengers. However, when carrying large groups of passengers and/or loads, the weight might not be evenly distributed on the boat's deck, causing it list or tilt to either the port or starboard side, or to trim (or tip) forward or rearward in the water. Not only is such listing or trimming uncomfortable for the passengers riding on the boat, but it may adversely impact performance. Accordingly, a need exists for a system for overcoming these shortcomings.


A rack supportable on a refrigerator shelf for storing a bottle of wine, a carton of eggs or a plurality of cylindrical beverage cans. The rack includes a vertical sidewall terminating in an inwardly directed top flange for engaging the refrigerator shelf, a longitudinal depression in a bottom wall for supporting the wine bottle and an incline in the bottom wall for permitting the beverage cans to automatically self-feed towards the front of the rack.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally involves the field of technology pertaining to shelving and racks for supporting articles. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved rack for use in a refrigerator to store and dispense a variety of articles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to provide a conventional household refrigerator with a separate rack for storing and dispensing different articles. Such a rack may be supported on the existing shelf structure of the refrigerator and is specifically designed for containing the desired article. For example, it is known to provide a rack that is designed to store a plurality of cylindrical beverage cans which may self-feed towards the dispensing end of the rack. It is further known to provide a rack designed to support one or more wine bottles in a horizontal position. Moreover, racks specifically designed to support eggs are also known.
Conventional refrigerator racks of this type are disadvantageous in that each rack is specifically designed for a given article, thereby requiring different racks if more than one type of article is desired to be stored and dispensed. Moreover, known racks have complex structures formed from wire or panels, and are expensive to manufacture.


A molecule comprising a saccharide bound via an O-glycosidic bond to a hydroxyl group of a toxic payload molecule is disclosed. An antibody-drug conjugate comprising an antibody covalently bound to a toxic payload molecule, optionally via a linker group, and a saccharide bound via an O-glycosidic bond to a hydroxyl group of the toxic payload molecule is further disclosed.

Antibody-drug conjugates may be useful, for instance, in the therapy of cancer. A number of potential drugs are known, and the conjugates currently available utilize various chemistries to conjugate the drus; however, many of them may not be optimal in terms of e.g. activity of the drug or aqueous solubility and stability of the conjugate. Many drugs are poorly soluble in aqueous solutions, and therefore conjugating a large number of drug molecules to a single antibody molecule tends to be challenging.
A conjugate having suboptimal solubility may not be efficiently delivered to its target. A drug may not always be efficiently released from the protein and/or delivered into cells or into various parts of cells. The activity, such as toxicity, of the payload molecule may be reduced as a result of the conjugation. In some cases, the conjugate may not be stable towards chemical or biochemical degradation during manufacturing or in physiological conditions, e.g. in blood, serum, plasma or tissues.
Cytotoxic drugs used in antibody-drug conjugates may have toxicity to normal non-target cells. The hydrophobicity of the drugs may allow a drug liberated from the conjugate to enter any cell in the body. Development of hydrophilic non-cleavable linkers to join the cytotoxic drug and antibody has contributed to better safety to non-target cells. However, a bystander effect would be desirable in a drug to be used in an antibody conjugate, i.e. ability to diffuse from the first target cell to another target cell. This is especially useful when cancer cells show heterogeneous expression of the target antigen. For the bystander effect, however, hydrophilicity is not beneficial (Doronina et al. 2006, Bioconjug. Chem. 17(1):114-24).
Drugs and conjugates comprising the drugs with beneficial properties are therefore in need.

Saccharide derivative of a toxic payload and antibody conjugates thereof


In various embodiments, the footwear comprises a sandal or a flip flop and the eyelet may be located anywhere on the footwear, for example on a strap. In some exemplary embodiments, an embellishment extends over one or more straps of the footwear without being coupled at the eyelet.

Consumers are ever searching for footwear that is comfortable, that matches outfit color schemes, that is of an appropriate dressiness (casual, fancy, etc.), that is suitable for various types of weather, that is in keeping with the latest fashions and trends, etc. Meeting all of these demands requires consumers spend an inordinate amount of money on footwear that may only be used occasionally.
Thus, others have developed customizable footwear that can be used for multiple occasions, with only the attachment or detachment of embellishments. However, others' footwear suffers from many defects. For example the embellishments may rotate out of the proper orientation, the footwear may not be worn without the embellishments, the embellishments may cause discomfort, and others.
There is thus a need in the art for improved customizable, embellished footwear. The present invention addresses this need.

Systems and methods for improved customizable, embellished footwear


A programmable bow sight having an adjustable sight pin and a display means adapted to display a value indicating a distance associated with the position of the sight pin is disclosed, wherein adjustment of the sight pin to a position where a value indicating a desired distance is displayed allows a user to accurately aim for a shot at the desired distance using the sight pin for elevation. The sight is programmable to alter the respective sight pin position(s) associated with one or more distance(s) to account for specific performance characteristics of a user's bow and/or arrow.

For various reasons, including an extended hunting season, many hunters and shooters utilize archery weapons for at least a portion of their sporting time, and with much satisfaction. One source of frustration, however, involves the difficulty encountered by archers in appropriately adjusting their aim to account for the distance to a selected target. Particularly for hunting sports, where the archer must be successful on the first shot at a given distance, proper aiming adjustment to account for range is critical in achieving the desired result.
Traditionally, in order to provide aiming assistance for a number of different ranges, bow sights have been equipped with a number of pins, wherein each pin is associated with a selected range. When aiming, the archer may align the pin associated with the range of a selected target with such target to account for the ballistic trajectory of the arrow to the target. Unfortunately, however, such multiple pin arrangements necessarily suffer from the disadvantage of only being able to provide exact aiming assistance for targets at the exact distance associated with one of the pins; when a target is at a range between the ranges of two adjacent pins, the archer may not benefit from such precise aiming assistance. Furthermore, the number of pins that may be included is typically low, such as three or four. Accordingly, such sights fail to provide precise aiming assistance with a larger number of distances. In that regard, the addition of yet further pins becomes an impractical and poor solution, inasmuch as the additional pins tend to clutter the view through the sight aperture and/or interfere with the archers aim.
Another problem with such traditional pin assemblies, and one that is often encountered by those who use their archery weapons infrequently, is that the user may forget which distance is associated with each pin. Of course, this can be particularly problematic in an exited or stressful moment during a hunt or a shooting competition. Should the archer make a mistake regarding the distance associated with a given pin, a shot made in reliance thereon will almost certainly yield a poor result, i.e. the arrow traveling too far and over the intended target, or falling short and thus failing to reach the intended target.
As such, it is clear that there is an unmet need for a sight that provides continuous precise aiming assistance, wherein every resolvable range to a selected target includes an associated position of an aiming device, such as a sight pin, and that provides a clear display of the distance associate with a current position of such aiming device.

Programmable sight and method of use thereof


A vacuum cleaner for use with a dust bag provided with a flange adapted to be slidably received in a bracket pivotally mounted in a dust collection chamber between a first position in engagement with a suction opening of the dust collection chamber and a second position removed from the first position. The dust collection chamber is provided with a lid selectively pivotable between open and closed positions. Movement of the lid to its closed position is contingent upon the flange of a dust bag having been inserted into the bracket to release the bracket from a blocking mechanism effective in the second position of the bracket and constituted by an upper edge of the bracket and a groove in the lid.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention, in general, relates to a vacuum cleaner provided with a dust collection chamber which may be closed by a lid and, more particularly, to a vacuum cleaner of the type provided with a spring-biased bracket for receiving a flange attached to a dust bag in alignment with a suction connector, whereby the bracket with the inserted flange of a dust collection allows free movement of the lid along its path toward a closing position and blocks such movement by the lid engaging a blocking cam mounted on the bracket.
In a vacuum cleaner known from German patent specification DE 19651 027 A1 the upper side of the dust collection chamber of which may be closed by a lid provided with a suction connector, the bracket for receiving a flange affixed to the dust bag is mounted in the dust collection chamber for pivoting movement against the bias of a spring about an axis of rotation extending substantially parallel to the axis of the lid. The bracket may be pivoted substantially in the plane of the lid. In the absence of a dust bag, the suction connector can, however, unimpededly penetrate through the bracket. A rib provided on the interior surface of the lid then engages a blocking cam provided on the bracket which prevents further closing movement of the dust collection chamber lid. If, on the other hand, a dust bag has been attached, the suction connector, during closing movement of the lid will engage the gasket or the flange affixed to the dust bag disposed therein. During further closing movement the bracket is pivoted downwardly against the bias of a spring by the force exerted on the bracket by the suction connector. The closure path of the rib on the lid is freed by the simultaneous pivoting of the blocking cam of the bracket so that the dust chamber lid may be moved into its full closure position.
The known arrangement can only be realized, however, in a vacuum cleaner in which, on the one hand, the suction connector is disposed directly on the dust chamber lid and in which, on the other hand, the pivot axis of the dust bag mounting bracket extends substantially parallel to the axis of the lid in the upper region of the dust collection chamber. The teaching of the prior art cannot be applied, however, to a vacuum cleaner provided with a suction collector rigidly mounted on the housing of the vacuum cleaner and extending into the dust collection chamber thereof, in which the dust bag is inserted, after removing the lid, from above, and which the pivot axis of the lid may extend transversely of the axis of the bracket. More particularly, the known arrangement suffers from the disadvantage that the lid may be unimpededly closed even if the dust bag has not been properly attached to its bracket since the suction connector moves into engagement with the flange of the dust bag even if the opening of the bag is not properly or coaxially aligned with the suction connector.
2. Objects of the Invention
It is a general object of the invention to provide a vacuum cleaner which cannot be operated unless a dust bag has been properly mounted in its dust collection chamber.
A more general objects resides in the provision of a vacuum cleaner provided with a dust collection chamber with a lid which cannot be moved to its full closure position unless a dust bag has been properly installed in the dust collection chamber.
Another object of the invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner which cannot be operated unless a dust bag has been installed in it in proper alignment with a suction opening.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

Vacuum cleaner with a dust collection chamber closeable by a lid


A shoe (and fabrication techniques therefor) on which is provided a bottom portion that includes a sole portion and a heel portion and that has a bottom surface and an upper portion extending upwardly from the bottom portion. The bottom surface of the bottom portion of the shoe has areas of a fabric material (such as cotton, nylon, polyester, any other cloth or fabric), or any of a variety of other first materials, interspersed with areas of a durable material (such as ethylene vinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride, thermoplastic rubber, any other plastic, and/or any other natural or synthetic leather or rubber), or any of a variety of other second materials.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns shoes and is particularly directed to shoe bottoms that are made from different, interspersed materials, as well as to techniques for manufacturing such shoe bottoms.
2. Description of the Related Art
Shoe manufacturers are continually looking for innovative design features to incorporate into their shoes. With regard to children's shoes, this often means a design feature that is capable of entertaining the child. In addition, the consumer often wants to be able to express some aspect of his or her personality through the styles of, and the designs upon, his or her apparel. Responding to these needs, for example, is commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/268,412, filed Mar. 15, 1999 (the '412 Application), which describes a shoe and a corresponding technique in which removable tattoos can be applied to the shoe, and which application is incorporated by reference herein as though set forth herein in full. Nevertheless, there is an ongoing need for new and different designs to satisfy these desires.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Shoe bottom having interspersed materials


A method of operating at least one node in a communication network that uses a shared communication medium has been developed. The method includes adjusting, with a controller in a first node, a resistance of a first potentiometer in the first node to a first resistance level that the controller in the first node determines randomly, the first potentiometer in the first node being connected to an output of a transceiver in the first node and to a shared communication medium, and transmitting, with the transceiver in the first node, a first data bit through the output that is connected to the shared communication medium with the first potentiometer producing the first resistance level.

The Controller Area Network (CAN) bus communications standard provides a robust communication interface that is used in a wide range of applications including, but not limited to, automobiles and other transportation vehicles, building automation, industrial systems, robotics, and other fields that require communication between embedded digital devices using a shared communication medium. Many CAN bus embodiments employ two electrically conductive wires, which are referred to as CAN-High (CANH) and CAN-Low (CANL), and electronic devices, which are referred to as "nodes" use the CANH and CANL wires as a shared communication medium to transmit and receive data using a standardized data frame format. The CAN bus typically utilizes of a pair of shielded or unshielded twisted pair of cables as the physical medium for signal transmission.
During normal operation, the nodes perform a bus arbitration process when one or more nodes wish to transmit a data frame to ensure that only one node actually transmits data on the CAN-High and CAN-Low lines at a time to provide reliable communication without "collisions" that occur when two or more nodes transmit simultaneously. In the CAN bus standard, when transmitting the dominant bit '0' on the bus, the output pins CANH and CANL are driven to different voltage levels, and the difference from CANH to CANL is the output of the CAN bus. Similarly, transmission of a recessive bit '1' occurs when CANH and CANL are not driven and will have similar voltage levels. Because the CAN bus is a shared communication medium, every node that is connected to a CAN bus can read each bit of data that is transmitted through the bus. This property of CAN bus presents problems when two nodes wish to communicate data privately that cannot be understood by other nodes that are connected to the bus.
Recent advancements to CAN bus implementations include configurations in which two nodes that are connected to the CAN bus transmit bits of data simultaneously (to produce a collision intentionally) to exchange cryptographic key data in a manner that prevents third party nodes from being able to determine which of the two transmitting nodes is actually transmitting information that forms a part of the cryptographic key. In one part of these key exchange techniques, two nodes simultaneously transmit a logical 1 and a logical 0 signal, followed by simultaneous transmission of the logical complement of the original bits from both nodes, which produces a summed voltage differential between the CANH and CANL wires that can be detected by each of the attached nodes. However, while all of the devices that are attached to the CAN bus can detect the transmission of a dominant bit (logical 0) through the CAN bus, because the two nodes transmit simultaneously the other nodes that are connected to the CAN bus cannot determine which of the two nodes is transmitting the dominant 0 or the non-dominant 1 at any one time during the transmission sequence of the 0/1 bit followed by the logical complement, and only the two transmitting nodes do know which bit is being transmitted. The two nodes transmit the logical 0 and 1 bits and their logical complements in a randomized manner (if both nodes transmit a logical 00/11 sequence or logical 11/00 sequence then the transmission is ignored since those signals do enable third parties to determine the data transmitted from each node), which prevents other nodes connected to the CAN bus from detecting the identity of the node that transmits each bit. This operation, which is repeated many times and combined with other techniques that are not described in greater detail herein, forms the foundation to enable two nodes—and indirectly even larger groups of nodes—to exchange data that form the basis for shared cryptographic keys. After the nodes have exchanged cryptographic keys, those shared keys are used to perform data encryption and authentication/verification operations using techniques that are otherwise known to the art that enable different subsets of the nodes on the bus to exchange data that cannot be decrypted or altered in an undetectable manner by other nodes that are connected to the CAN bus.
As described above, nodes that are connected to the CAN bus with standard CAN bus transceivers can detect the voltage signals corresponding to logical 0 and 1 levels through the CANH and CANL wires of the CAN bus. When two nodes transmit a logical 0 and 1 simultaneously, the transceivers of most standard CAN nodes cannot determine which of the two nodes transmitted the logical 0 and 1. However, at a physical level the electrical signals that are transmitted through the CAN bus do not perfectly correspond to the logical 0 and 1 levels of digital logic that are described above because the physical components of the CAN bus and the nodes themselves have complex and different analog electrical properties. In some instances, an adversary, which is either a legitimate hardware node in the CAN bus that has been compromised by malicious software or an unauthorized hardware device that is electrically connected to the CAN bus, performs high-precision measurements of the properties of the electrical signals that are transmitted through the CAN bus in a manner that may enable the adversary to determine which node transmits the logical 0 and which node transmits the logical 1 signal in the process that is described above. In particular, since both nodes transmit a logical 0 and logical 1 in the randomized order for each bit exchange, the adversary can monitor signal characteristics of the dominant bit signal (the logical 0) that is transmitted from each node. The adversary can then reconstruct the secret data that is shared between the two nodes and compromise the security of the CAN bus system. This class of attacks is referred to as a side-channel attack because the adversary extracts information based on precise electrical signal measurements that are affected by the physical properties of the bus and the nodes that are connected to the bus in a particular CAN bus system even though the adversary has not defeated the logical protocol for cryptographic key exchange that is described above.
FIG. 1 depicts an example of a prior art CAN network 100 that includes three CAN nodes 104, 106, and 108 that are each connected to a CANH conductor 112 and CANL conductor 116 that are terminated by resistors 118 to form a CAN bus. The adversary node 124 is also electrically connected to the CAN bus and the adversary node includes electrical signal measurement and signal processing hardware that enables the adversary to perform one or more side-channel attacks. As described above, side-channel attacks present challenges to maintaining security in shared medium communication networks such as CAN bus.
Consequently, improvements to methods and systems that reduce or eliminate the threats from these side-channel attacks would be beneficial.

Method to mitigate voltage based attacks on key agreement over controller area network (CAN)


A surveying instrument, comprising a collimation optical system and a visible laser projecting device with a visible laser light source unit for emitting a point light, wherein the surveying instrument comprises a photodetector for detecting a reflection light entering from the collimation optical system, and a control means for controlling light emission of the visible laser light source unit based on a detection result of the photodetector.

The present invention relates to a surveying instrument enabling to confirm a collimating point and a target by emitting a visible point light and by confirming a projecting position of the point light.
When surveying operation is carried out at a building site or a construction site, a surveying instrument provided with a visible laser projecting device is often used to confirm a collimating point of the surveying instrument or to identify a target for surveying.
In the surveying instrument, a visible laser beam projected from the visible laser projecting device fulfills a function of a point light to indicate a point to be measured for an operator at the surveying target. The operator performs operation such as marking of a measuring point at the position indicated by the visible laser beam.
In particular, when operation is to be performed in dark conditions such as in a tunnel, a measuring position can be clearly defined by projecting a point light. For instance, excavating operation is carried out according to a projecting point of the point light.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a surveying instrument provided with a visible laser projecting device.
It is designed in such a structure that the visible laser beam is projected along a collimation axis of a telescope as a light to be projected to a collimation point. A semiconductor laser is now used instead of a conventional gas laser type light source, and the visible laser projecting device and the visible laser beam can be incorporated in the surveying instrument.
First, description will be given on a collimation optical system 1.
The collimation optical system 1 comprises a collimation optical axis 2. On the collimation optical axis 2, there are provided an objective lens 3, a focusing lens 4, an erect image prism 5, a focal plate 6, and an ocular lens 7. By moving the focusing lens 4 along the collimation optical axis 2, an image of a collimation point is formed on the focal plate 6 under focused condition.
A polarization beam splitter 8 is provided between the focusing lens 4 and the erect image prism 5. The polarization beam splitter 8 has a polarizing reflection surface 8a. The polarizing reflection surface 8a reflects a s-polarized light and allows a p-polarized light to pass, for instance.
Next, a visible laser projecting device 9 has a projection optical axis 10. The projection optical axis 10 crosses the collimation optical axis 2 within the plane of the polarizing reflection surface 8a and commonly shares (with the collimation optical axis 2) a portion closer to the collimation target from the polarization beam splitter 8.
On the visible laser projecting device 9, there is provided a semiconductor laser 11, which serves as a light source to emit the visible laser beam. A condenser lens 12 is disposed between the semiconductor laser 11 and the polarization beam splitter 8. In this case, the output from the semiconductor laser 11 is limited to about several milliwatts because the laser beam has directivity and high energy density.
In the surveying instrument as described above, a collimation light from a target for surveying forms an image on the focal plate by the objective lens 3 and the focusing lens 4, and the surveying operator can see the image of the target for surveying on the focal plate 6 via the ocular lens 7.
The point light from the visible laser projecting device 9 is a s-polarized light. It is reflected by the polarizing reflection surface 8a and is projected to the target for surveying through the focusing lens 4 and the objective lens 3.
The visible laser beam reflected by the target for surveying passes through the objective lens 3 and the focusing lens 4 and reaches the polarizing reflection surface 8a. When the visible laser beam is reflected by the target for surveying, uniformity of the polarization is disrupted, and the reflected visible laser beam contains a p-polarized component. Therefore, the p-polarized component of the reflected visible laser beam passes through the polarizing reflection surface 8a. The surveying operator can recognize the reflected visible laser beam and can confirm the projecting position of the visible laser beam on the target for surveying.
A surveying instrument with the above arrangement is described, for instance, in JP-A-10-132557.
When the target for surveying is made of a retroreflection prism or there is an object such as glass with high reflectivity in the measuring direction, and if the visible laser beam is reflected by the retroreflection prism or the glass, etc., the surveying operator must directly see the strong visible laser beam converged via the collimation optical system 1.
As described above, the output of the visible laser beam is low in itself, but the laser beam has directivity and high energy density. When the surveying operator directly sees the visible laser beam, he may feel dizziness. Also, after directly seeing the visible laser beam, the operator is often turned to a condition not suitable for adequate operation because of an afterimage remaining for some time.
There is another type of surveying instrument, in which a distance is measured by a visible light instead of a visible laser beam. In such type of surveying instrument, the operator often directly sees a distance-measuring light reflected by a prism. In such case, the surveying operator often feels dizziness in the same matter, or is turned to a condition not suitable for operation because of an afterimage.
In the conventional type surveying instrument as described above, a visible laser projecting device is used to illuminate a point to be measured. In case the visible laser projecting device emits a point light to indicate a measuring point, light density is increased. When the surveying operator directly sees the reflected point light, he may feel much higher dizziness.


A mechanism is described for facilitating smart spill/fill data transfers in computing environments. A method of embodiments, as described herein, includes facilitating dividing a kernel into regions including low pressure regions and high pressure regions, where the low pressure regions are associated with low use of registers hosted by a processor of a computing device, while the high pressure regions are associated with high use of the registers. The method may further include transferring of data between memory and the registers based on at least one of the low pressure regions and the high pressure regions.

Conventional schemes for efficient spill/fill end up causing too much single-data memory read and write operations which, in turn, affects performance of kernel execution. None of the conventional solutions available today can avoid performance degradation in the presence of spill/fill code when attempting to enable compilation in high single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) modes.

Smart performance of spill fill data transfers in computing environments


A wireless mobile telecommunications network tags an image or other multimedia message that it receives from wireless user equipment (UE) with geographical information indicating the location of the UE. The network can determine the UE location using a conventional method such as those used in Location-Based Services.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wireless telecommunications networks and, more specifically, to geotagging digital photographs transmitted via a wireless mobile telecommunications network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Geotagging, also referred to as geocoding, is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to digital data files or data sources. The data file can represent any medium, with an image (e.g., photograph) being the most common. This data generally includes a geographic location in the form of latitude and longitude coordinates, but can also include a place name, altitude and other characteristics of a specific location. In theory, every part of a digital photograph can be tied to a geographic location, but in most instances only the position of the camera is associated with the entire digital image.
The most common method for geotagging a digital photo involves using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. When a photo is taken, the location of the camera is recorded as digital data along with the digital data representing the image itself Although there is currently no universal geotagging standard, some well-known digital image file format standards do specify formats for storing geographical coordinates along with the digital data representing the image. For example, the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) and Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) standards specify that geographical coordinates can be included in an Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF) header. The EXIF header is commonly used in digital cameras to record the date and time a photo was taken. Although commercially available digital cameras generally do not contain a built-in GPS receiver, the photographer can use an external GPS device to identify and keep track of the location and time at which each photograph was taken, and later use commercially available software to incorporate the locations into the JPEG or TIFF files. A few specialized digital cameras have been developed that can be electronically connected to an external GPS receiver to facilitate geotagging photos.
Photographers often desire to upload their digital photos to a remote server computer. A photographer can upload photos by coupling the digital camera to a (client) computer with a cable or other local communication link and then uploading the photos from the client to the server via a network such as the Internet. It is also common for users of wireless mobile telecommunications network user equipment (UE) that include built-in digital cameras (sometimes referred to as "camera phones") to upload photos taken with the UE via the wireless telecommunications network. The wireless telecommunications network service provider typically provides a server on which the user can at least temporarily store the uploaded photos and with which the user can transfer them via the Internet to other computers, such as a server operated by a third-party photo hosting service or the user's home computer. It is also known to couple a digital camera to a UE via a cable, wireless local area network (WLAN) link such as WIFI, or wireless personal area network (WPAN) link such as BLUETOOTH, and upload the images from the camera to the wireless telecommunications network via the UE.
It is known to geotag uploaded photos, including photos taken with camera phones or similar UE. YAHOO!, Inc., which provides the FLICKR Internet photo hosting service, has developed a geotagging client application (software) known as ZONETAG that runs on camera phones and operates in conjunction with YAHOO!'s FLICKR photo uploader utility and service. A user can access FLICKR to view and manipulate uploaded photos via the Internet. When a user indicates through the ZONETAG application that a photo is to be uploaded, ZONETAG determines the identity of the cell (i.e., base station) through which the camera phone or other UE is then communicating with the network and tags the photo with an identifier that identifies the network and cell ("Cell 10") before uploading it to FLICKR. Once the photo has been uploaded, FLICKR attempts to translate the identifier into a geographic location. FLICKR has several ways in which it can gather information to assist it with the translation. When the user chooses to upload the photo, the user can enter a city name or ZIP code, which ZONETAG causes the camera phone to transmit along with the photo. Alternatively, the user can access FLICKR via the Internet and enter a ZIP code associated with the location where the user knows the photo was taken. The FLICKR server maintains a database that relates cell identifiers to city names, ZIP codes or other such identifying information. If a FLICKR user enters the city, ZIP code, etc., at which a photo was taken, FLICKR applies that information to not only that photo but also to other photos that the user may have taken within that same cell (i.e., that bear the same identifier) as well as the photos of other FLICKR users that were taken within that cell.
Wireless telecommunications network technologies such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) have made it easier than ever for users to upload photographs from their UE. In a network employing such technologies, a received MMS message that includes a photo is routed to a Multimedia Messaging Service Center (MMSC), which performs many of the functions necessary to forward and otherwise handle the image.
The geographic location of a UE can be determined to an accuracy level greater than that defined merely by the cell in which the UE is located. The earliest use of sub-cell-level UE location related to emergency calling (e.g., the E911 system used in the United States), in which the network determines with sub-cell accuracy the location of a caller's phone and routes the call to an emergency operator who can, if necessary, dispatch emergency personnel to the user's location. Location-Based Services (LBS) are now expanding far beyond emergency calling, to such diverse uses as navigation, mapping, tracking and gaming.
Cell phones generally do not include built-in full-function GPS receivers because the phone would be undesirably large, and use of the GPS receiver would rapidly drain the cell phone battery. One common method by which UE location can be determined is known as Assisted GPS (A-GPS). An A-GPS-enabled UE contains a limited processing power GPS receiver, which is smaller and more power-efficient than a full-function GPS receiver. In A-GPS, the wireless telecommunications network transmits "assistance data" to the UE to aid the UE GPS receiver in finding and utilizing signals transmitted by the GPS satellites, as the GPS satellite signals that reach the receiver are sometimes weak or few in number due to shielding and reflection from buildings or terrain and, to the extent they can be detected at all, would otherwise require the processing power of a full-function GPS receiver to establish a location using them. As minimizing size and weight and maximizing battery charge conservation remain important goals for producers of cell phones, incorporating a more powerful GPS receiver capable of rapidly determining location without assistance data is not considered a commercially viable option. Some cell phones whose designs emphasize portability and battery conservation simply do not include even a limited processing power GPS receiver. Nevertheless, A-GPS is only one method by which a network can determine UE location. Other methods are based upon triangulation from known locations of base stations. Examples of such triangulation methods include Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Forward Link Trilateration (FLT), and Observed Time Difference (OTD). In networks generally of the Global System for Mobile telecommunications (GSM) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) types, the network element that responds to an LBS query by determining the user equipment location is known as a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC).
It would be desirable to provide a method and system for geotagging photos in a wireless telecommunications network that does not require the UE to determine its own location and tag its photos, thereby conserving battery and processing power and other resources. It is to the provision of such a method and system that the present invention is directed.


The present portable pool cleaner is provided with an improved annular impeller, which facilitates the possible use of a fore receptacle without a filter bag, operating as an eddy trap for large debris, and also facilitates having an aft receptacle incorporating a filter bag or direct connection to in pool filtration systems. The annual impeller is able to effectively limit object size passing to the next stage, within impeding or striking objections passing through the inside gap in the annular impeller. The impeller duct/annular shape, with internal spiral blades, forms a through hole for the light sewage to more easily pass, while heavier particles in the sewage are trapped. The optional fore and aft receptacles may be detachable to facilitate cleaning, replacement and access to the impeller for cleaning or replacement. The handheld design facilitates underwater use.

While modern swimming pool and/or spa facilities typically include a filtration unit containing appropriate filter media, it is often desirable to use additional devices to clean portions of the pool where solid debris, such as fine grit, silt, twigs, leaves, insects and other particulate matter accumulate notwithstanding the built in filter system.
Electric motor driven pumps for use with swimming pools and/or spas are generally known in the art, wherein a battery operated motor drives a pump or blade to pull water and impurities through a strainer, then the pump/blade and finally ejecting the liquid back into the pool.
There is a desire for an improved handheld pool vacuum cleaner in which larger items are more probably collected prior to the strainer/filter to avoid damage to the filaments in the strainer/filter.
There is a desire for an improved handheld pool vacuum cleaner with greater suction force or to process a greater volume of water in a given period of time.
There is a desire for an improved impeller for a handheld pool vacuum cleaner.


A traveling chain mechanism has spaced sprockets with an endless chain trained around them. A traveling chain is transferable between the sprockets radially inward of the endless chain. The speed ratio between the sprockets is dependent upon which sprocket has the traveling chain connected thereto. By transferring the traveling chain between the sprockets, the speed ratio is changed. A derailer mechanism initiates the transfer of the traveling chain from one sprocket to the other. The derailer mechanism incorporates a pair of axially spaced derailer arms that are axially movable into the path of a long pin on a lead link of the traveling chain. The long pin engages the arms to cause pivoting thereof thereby aligning a ramp thereon with the shorter pins on each link. The derailer arms guide the traveling chain to a guide track for transportation by the endless chain to the other sprocket.

Traveling chain mechanisms, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,688, issued Apr. 13, 1993, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, have a traveling member disposed around a sprocket radially inward of an endless chain trained around the spaced sprockets. The traveling member increases the effective diameter of the sprocket thereby affecting the drive ratio between the sprockets. The sprockets have the same diameter and therefore the traveling chain member will change the ratio from an under drive to an overdrive between input and output sprockets, depending upon which sprocket is currently supporting the traveling member.
To transfer the chain from one sprocket to another, a derailer mechanism, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,341, issued Jan. 19, 1993, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, is provided at each sprocket to release the traveling chain member. The derailer mechanism shown in the above patent includes a flexible plate member which has apertures in which the pins of each link of the traveling chain are entrapped. When the plates are separated or spread, the pins are released and the centrifugal action throws the lead link radially outward to engage a guide member which directs the traveling chain to the other sprocket.
The traveling chain has inner teeth which mesh with the sprockets and outer teeth which mesh with the endless chain. Thus, the traveling chain is driven by the endless chain during travel between the sprockets.


A inexpensive and time saving method and system for reducing the use of gummed service stickers and the completion by hand of special forms for specialty mail is disclosed. This invention also reduces the amount of trips that have to be made to the post. The foregoing may be accomplished by replacing the standard (fixed) graphic cartridge that is normally supplied with a standard digital postage meter with an addressable "ram" image cartridge. The addressable ram image cartridge may also be linked to a personal computer, where a program would allow the user to request specialty mail services. Once the desired service (services) are selected, the required postal graphic images are downloaded into the ram cartridge. Next, postal payment, if any, is totaled and the additional postal value is totaled and passed to the postal meter vault for totaling and printing in an accountable way. Finally, the personal computer meter or postage meter cycles normally first printing the indicia and then the graphics and bar codes as specified by each postal service that was selected by the user.

Historically postage meters have been mechanical and electromechanical devices that: maintain through mechanical or "electronic registers" (postal security devices) an account of all postage printed and the remaining balance of prepaid postage; and print postage postmarks (indicia) that are accepted by the postal service as evidence of the prepayment of postage. With the introduction of postage meters that print a postal indicia by means of digital printing it became possible to print slogans and advertising material in the vicinity of the postal indicia.
The United States Postal Service currently handles large volumes of normal mail, i.e., first class mail, second class mail and third class mail. However when it comes to specialty mail, i.e., priority mail, certified mail and registered mail, the United States Postal Service uses gummed service stickers, and forms to indicate and process the specialty mail. The unnecessary use of gummed service stickers and completion of forms by hand is time consuming, error prone and hence raises the expense for receiving these services. Furthermore, the use of some services, i.e., certified mail requires the mailer to physically deliver the mail piece to the post.

Digital printing, metering, and recording of other post services on the face of a mail piece


A method and apparatus for providing advertising information to a caller of a telecommunications call. The advertiser provides data for the advertising message to a database and the message is transmitted prior or during the application of a ringing signal to a called telecommunications station. Advantageously, the telecommunications carrier can receive revenue from the advertising announcements.

There are many sources of information provided to a telephone user in addition to the telephone communication. Examples include signals such as dial tone (signifying that the user may start dialing); busy tone indicating that the called party is busy; fast busy indicating that the network is overloaded and that the call cannot be completed at this time; call waiting tone indicating that another party is trying to reach the party to which the call waiting tone is applied; and announcements such as the fact that the called party telephone number is no longer in service. These types of signals have been enhanced in recent years by signals such as the calling party identification displayed to a called telephone customer; and announcements that the caller may automatically notify the called party of his/her number in case the called party does not answer a call. Special audible logos are frequently applied to a call to identify the carrier of the call. U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,788 describes arrangements for transmitting information such as an identification of the called party and providing further information useful to the caller from the called party. U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,204 discloses arrangements in the telephone switching network for allowing a caller to select the music on hold to be provided while the caller is waiting for an answer from a busy automatic call distributor network.

System for providing commercial advertising to a telephone user


A toy finger board kit includes a board and at least one shoe. Each shoe includes a finger hole in an upper of the shoe and at least one bracket on a sole of shoe. The at least one bracket is configured to removably attach the at least one shoe to the board. In some instances, the board is formed by inserting a flange portion of a toy finger skateboard truck into a flange receiver of a toy finger skateboard deck. Then, the toy finger skateboard truck is moved such that a column portion of the toy finger skateboard truck is received by a through hole of the toy finger skateboard deck. Finally, a top end of the column portion of the toy finger skateboard truck is affixed to the toy finger skateboard truck to the toy finger skateboard deck.

In the toy industry, toy finger boards have become an extremely popular and well-known play option for both children and adults. Directed largely to children and collectors, these toy finger boards typically resemble and have features similar to the life-sized boards used for the corresponding sport. Some of the most popular toy finger boards are toy finger skateboards, however, other toy finger boards such as toy finger snowboards, surfboards, wakeboards, and wakeskate boards have been made. However, while the appearances and physical size, as well as other design properties, have been stressed and improved upon to provide greater cohesiveness with the corresponding life-size boards, the functionality and manufacture of toy finger boards has remained relatively unchanged and, thus, is in need of constant enhancement and improvement.
The functionality of existing toy finger skateboards is limited because the existing toy finger skateboards are not configured to be removably attachable to the user's finger tips. In this regard, a user playing with an existing toy finger skateboard may only be limited to performing tricks on a flat surface such as a floor, desk, or table. Tricks performed with toy finger skateboards on flat surfaces are often referred to as flat ground tricks and are generally difficult to perform using toy finger skateboards, especially for children. Further, it is even more difficult to perform aerial tricks using existing toy finger skateboards, i.e., without the user grabbing the toy finger skateboard with the user's fingertips, which would obviate the preferred manner of play in which the user uses only two fingers to imaginatively replicate the legs of a life-size skateboarder. Therefore, existing toy finger skateboards limit the play modes with which the toy finger skateboard can be used. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a toy finger skateboard with additional enhancements and play modes.
Additionally, the existing processes by which toy finger skateboards are manufactured are in need of constant enhancement and improvement. Toy finger skateboards are typically manufactured such that the constituent elements of the toy finger skateboards largely correspond to the constituent elements of life-size skateboards. For example, existing toy finger skateboards often use miniature nuts and bolts to connect miniature trucks to a miniature deck of the toy finger skateboard in a similar way that nuts and bolts are used to connect the trucks to the deck of a life-sized skateboard. The many components used to manufacture and assemble existing toy finger skateboards frequently complicates the manufacturing process because several different machines and processes are often required to manufacture and assemble the many individual components.
Further, in instances in which existing toy finger skateboards are packaged and sold in a disassembled manner, packaging is more complicated due to the individual components, and the small components may be cumbersome to assemble for the user with poor eyesight or a user that is not particularly dexterous, which may be the case for many children. These small components may also be easily lost or misplaced. If one or more of the small components are lost or misplaced, the structural integrity of the toy finger skateboard may be compromised or the toy finger skateboard may be rendered inoperative. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method of manufacturing a toy finger skateboard that reliably secures the miniature trucks to the miniature deck in a cost effective manner and/or in a manner that avoids the use of small removable structural components that are hard to see, hard to use, and easy to lose.

Toy finger board with removably attachable finger shoes and method of manufacturing the same


A method for identifying a time at which first data was written to a data store. A data store is configured to respond to data requests made to the data store with the data in the data store at a first time in the past. The method can be used to identify a time, for example, at which a data store was corrupted.

Business enterprises rely increasingly on computer systems that allow the sharing of data across a business enterprise. The data storage systems that have evolved to store large amounts of data typically are critically important to an enterprise. As a result, the disruption or failure of the data storage system can cripple operation of the entire enterprise.
Data used by applications running on computer systems are typically stored on primary storage devices (e.g., disks) and secondary storage devices (e.g., tape and cheaper disk drives) for protection. As these applications run, the data changes as a result of business operations. Information technology departments typically deal with a number of problems concerning data storage systems. Generally, however, these fall into two broad categories: hardware failure and data corruption.
The business significance of data storage systems and the importance of the integrity of the data that they store and maintain has generated a correspondingly high interest in systems that provide data protection and data recovery. At present, mirroring and snapshot technology are the two primary approaches available to enterprises interested in data recovery. In the event of a system failure, data recovery allows an enterprise to recover data from a prior point in time and to resume operations with uncorrupted data. Once the timing of the hardware failure or corrupting event, or events, is identified, recovery may be achieved by going back to a point in time when the stored data is known to be uncorrupted.
Typically, data storage devices include individual units of storage, such as cells, blocks, sectors, etc. Read commands generated by a host system (used generally to mean one or more host systems) direct the information system to provide the host with the data specified in the request. Traditionally, the information is specified based on its location within the data storage device, e.g., one or more specific blocks. Write commands are executed in a similar fashion. For example, data is written to a specific unit of storage in response to an I/O request generated by a host system. A location identifier provides direct association between the data and the unit of storage in which it is stored. Thereafter, the location identifier is employed to read and update the data.
On the hardware failure side of the data protection problem, vendors provide a few different mechanisms to help prevent hardware failure from affecting application availability and performance, for example, disk mirroring. This is a mechanism where multiple disks are grouped together to store the same information, allowing a disk to fail without preventing the application from retrieving the data. In a typical setup, the user will allocate 1-4 mirror disks for each application data disk. Each write request that is sent to the application primary disk is also sent to the mirror copies, so that the user actually has N (where N is between 2 and 5 typically) disks with the exact same data on it. As a result, the mirroring approach provides at least one complete backup of the then current data. Thus, if a disk failure occurs, the user still has application data residing on the other mirror disks. A redundant array of independent disks ("RAID") provides one example of a mirroring system.
However, mirroring is ineffective when data corruption occurs. Data corruption comes in many forms, but it generally is recognized when the user's application stops functioning properly as a result of data being written to the disk. There are many possible sources of data corruption such as a failed attempt to upgrade the application, a user accidentally deleting key information, a rogue user purposely damaging the application data, computer viruses, and the like. Regardless of the cause, mirroring actually works against the user who has experienced data corruption because mirroring replicates the bad data to all the mirrors simultaneously. Thus, all copies of the data are corrupted.
Additionally, because the disks are continuously updated, a backup of historical data, i.e., a snapshot of the data present in the data storage device at a past time T, can only be created if the system is instructed to save the backup at or prior to time T. Thus, at time T+1 the system is unable to provide a backup of the data current at time T. Further, each unit of storage is saved regardless of whether the data stored in it is unchanged since the time that the previous backup was made. Such an approach is inefficient and costly because it increases the storage capacity required to backup the data storage device at multiple points in time. Also, the mirroring approach becomes less efficient and more error prone when employed with larger data storage systems because large systems span hundreds of disks and the systems cannot assure that each disk is backed up at the same point in time. Consequently, complex and error prone processes are employed in an attempt to create a concurrent backup for the entire data storage system.
As described above, snapshots, also referred to as single point in time images, are frequently created in conjunction with a mirroring system. Alternatively, a snapshot approach may be employed as an independent data storage and recovery method. In the snapshot approach, the user selects periodic points in time when the current contents of the disk will be copied and written to either a different storage device or an allocated set of storage units within the same storage device. This approach suffers, however, from the same shortcomings as mirroring, that is, all snapshots are created at the then current point in time either in conjunction with the users request or as a result of a previously scheduled instruction to create a snapshot of the stored data. Whether alone or in combination, neither data mirrors or data snapshots allow the user to employ hindsight to recreate a data set that was current at some past time. Because the data stored in each of the storage units is not associated with an individual time identifier, a user is unable to go back to view data from a particular point in time unless coincidentally a historical backup was previously created for that time. There is no way to restore the data at an intermediate time, for example time (T−1), between the current time (T) and the time that the last backup disk was saved (for example T−2). Also, generation of single point in time images generally is a lengthy process. Image generation time has become even more significant as the storage capacity and data set sizes have increased.
The storage industry, as a result, has focused on providing both faster and more frequent image generation. Suppliers of data recovery systems that employ tapes have attempted to provide larger, more scalable tape libraries by increasing system capacities and the quantity of tape heads in order to allow parallel operation. Suppliers of disk based systems have focused on how to use disk drives to provide more single point in time images with improved response times. In one approach, one of a quantity N mirror disks is brought offline at a specified time in order to create a single point in time image at that time. The approach may allow for an increased number of images provided that the quantity of mirror disks is increased sufficiently. However, this approach significantly increases the required storage capacity with each point in time, for example, for a 5 terabyte application, 30 terabytes of storage are required to support 2 standard mirror disks and 4 point in time images. Because these solutions are only attempts at fixing existing approaches they do not provide a solution that is workable as the capacity of data storage systems continues to increase.

Method for identifying the time at which data was written to a data store


A tape-fixed leadframe is provided, which prevents ion migration of metal contained in leads with a simple configuration. The leadframe is comprised of electrically-conductive lead fingers and an electrically-insulating tape for fixing the lead fingers. The tape includes an electrically-insulating base film and an electrically-insulating adhesive layer formed on a surface of the base film. The adhesive layer of the tape is adhered to the lead fingers, thereby fixing the lead fingers at their original positions. The adhesive layer has protruded parts located at respective sides of each of the lead fingers, intervening parts between two adjoining ones of the protruded parts, and depressed parts opposite to the lead fingers. The protruded parts are thicker than the intervening parts. The depressed parts are thinner than the intervening parts. Ionized atoms of a metal contained in the lead fingers are trapped by the protruded parts and as a result, ion migration of the metal is prevented from occurring with a simple configuration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a leadframe used for plastic-molded semiconductor devices and more particularly, to a leadframe whose inner leads are fixed by an electrically insulating tape to prevent short circuit between the inner leads, and a method of fabricating the tape-fixed leadframe.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, the integration level of Large-Scale Integrated circuits (LSIs) has been becoming higher and higher, and the capacity of the LSIs have been becoming larger and larger. According to the tendency, the LSI package has been miniaturized and at the same time, the lead count has been increased, resulting in decrease of the lead pitch.
In plastic-molded or encapsulated LSIs, to cope with the decreasing lead pitch, a leadframe whose inner leads are fixed by an electrically insulating tape, which is termed the tapefixed leadframe, was developed. In this tape-fixed leadframe, the inner leads are prevented from being shifted from their original positions by flow of a molten encapsulation material (for example, epoxy resin) during a plastic molding process. Therefore, no short circuit phenomenon will occur among the inner leads.
A conventional tape-fixed leadframe is schematically shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. in FIG. 1, a fixing tape 101 is formed by an electrically-insulating base film 101a and an adhehsive layer 102 coated on one side of the base film 101a. The base film 101a is made of an electrically-insulating, organic material such as polyimide. The adhesive layer 102 is made of a mixture of a Nitrile-Butadien Rubber (NBR) and a synthetic resin such as phenol resin.
The reference numeral 116a denotes aligned inner leads 116a of the conventional tape-fixed leadframe, which is typically made of a copper (Cu)-system alloy. The fixing tape 101 attached to the inner leads 116a by pressing the adhesive layer 102 to the inner leads 116a by a weak force. Thus, the inner leads 116a are fixed at their original positions by the adhesion strength of the adhesive layer 102 so that two adjacent ones of the inner leads 116a are prevented from being contacted with one another.
The pitch of the inner leads 116a is, for example, 0.2 mm.
After the plastic molding process, the inner leads 116a and the fixing tape 101 are buried in a molding or encapsulating material 107 such as epoxy resin, as shown in FIG. 2.
When an electric potential difference (i.e., voltage) is generated between two adjacent ones of the inner leads 116a during operation of the LSI using the conventional tape-fixed leadframe, copper (Cu) atoms contained in the inner leads 116a tend to be ionized due to the electric field generated by the electric potential difference. The ionization of the copper atoms occurs at the positive-side ones of the inner leads 116a. The ionized copper atoms then diffuse in the adhesive layer 102 of the fixing tape 101 toward the neighboring negative-side ones of the inner leads 116a, resulting in deposition of metallic copper 104. This phenomenon has been termed the "ion migration" of copper.
As a result, finally, electrical short circuit takes place between the adjoining positive- and negative-side ones of the inner leads 116a due to the deposited metallic copper 104. This means that the LSI is defective.
It is known that the ion migration of copper is caused by the fact that the copper ions readily move or diffuse within the adhesive layer 102 of the tape 101, and that the electrical conductivity of the adhesive layer 102 is higher than that of epoxy resin serving as the molding or encapsulating material 107.
With the conventional tape-fixed leadframe, as shown in FIG. 1. the thickness of the adhesive layer 102 is substantially uniform over the whole length. In this case, the deposited metallic copper 104 exists in the surface region 108 of the adhesive layer 102 between the two adjoining ones of the inner leads 116a. The deposited metallic copper 104 seems to grow from one of the inner leads 116a to adjoining another.
To prevent the ion migration of copper, an improvement has been developed in which depressions or recesses are formed between the adjoining ones of the inner leads 116a. This improvement corresponds to an application of the technique relating to a printed wiring board which is disclosed in the Japanese Non-Examined Patent Publication No. 61-268090 published in November 1986.
In this improvement, since the depressions or recesses increase the necessary distance of the ionized copper atoms to be diffused for electrical short circuit, the ion migration of copper is prevented or suppressed.
However, in the above improvement, there arises a problem that the lead-fixing operation for the inner leads 116a disappears or largely degrades. This is caused by the fact that the fixing tape 101 has a thickness as small as approximately 50 .mu.m and consequently, the mechanical strength of the tape 101 is lowered to an unsatisfactory level because of the depressions or recesses.
The mechanical strength of the fixing tape 101 having the depressions or recesses may be increased to a satisfactory level by reinforcing the base film 101a. However, there arises another problem that the fabrication cost is raised due to the use of the reinforced base film 101a, the process of forming the depressions or recesses is essentially added, and the adhesion strength of the tape 101 is decreased.
Consequently, the above improvement is not practical and any other solution is necessary.


Dual connection device for memory mediums and a mobile communication terminal including the same. The dual connection device has a body portion electrically connected with a mobile communication terminal, a first receiving portion formed to the body portion for receiving therein a first memory medium, a second receiving portion formed to the body portion as to be arranged piled up to the first receiving portion for receiving therein a second memory medium, a first connection terminal installed in the first receiving portion so as to be electrically connected with a terminal of the first memory medium, and a second connection terminal installed in the second receiving portion so as to be electrically connected with a terminal of the second memory medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dual connection device for memory mediums and mobile communication terminals with the same, and more particularly to a dual connection device for memory mediums and mobile communication terminals with the same, in which connection devices that had been separately constituted in a mobile communication terminal as to respectively connect various corresponding memory mediums, are formed into an integrated one, making the mobile communication terminal have a slim and compact size and accomplishing a simplified assembly process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally known in the art, mobile communication terminals include memory mediums for authentication of personal information and credit settlement or for storage of data upon using of various kinds of contents, and connection devices that are independent to each other, each connecting the corresponding memory medium.
In considering such memory mediums, first, memory mediums for authentication include Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards, R-User Identity Module (R-UIM) cards, Moneta cards, Bank-On cards and the like.
Meanwhile, memory mediums for storage of data in use of various kinds of contents include Mini Secure Digital (SD) cards, Smart Media cards, Memory Stick, eXtreme Digital (XD) Picture cards, Compact Flash cards and the like.
In case of memory mediums for authentication, in order to reduce a risk of loss, the connection device thereof is installed partially exposed at a back face of the mobile communication terminal to which a battery pack is attached. In this case, if the battery pack is not detached from the mobile communication terminal, memory medium for authentication cannot be replaced.
Also, in case of the memory medium for storage of data, the connection device thereof is disposed exposed at a side of the mobile communication terminal so as to directly replace the same at that place.
Thus, in the prior art, the connection devices for authentication and for storage of data have been respectively fabricated and installed to the corresponding place of mobile communication terminal. Herein, the connection devices have been respectively and separately installed so that it has required wider installing space and area, making it difficult to accomplish a slim and compact size of the mobile communication terminal causing also a problem in that installing of other parts for additional new function is difficult.
Further, if the connection devices are separately fabricated, an assembly process will be naturally complicated to reduce productivity because of being hardly obtained a reduction of assembly time and to increase fabrication costs due to increased assembly processes.

Dual connection device for memory mediums and mobile communication terminals with the same


A method and apparatus for controlling flight control surfaces on an aircraft. Commands are sent onto a data bus system from flight control modules. The flight control modules and actuator control modules determine whether an error is present in the commands sent onto the data bus system. Point-to-point connections between the flight control modules and the actuator control modules are managed based on whether the error is present in the commands sent onto the data bus system.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to aircraft and, in particular, to controlling movement of the aircraft. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for controlling the position of flight control surfaces on an aircraft to control movement of the aircraft.
2. Background
A fly-by-wire (FBW) system for an aircraft is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The flight controls in the cockpit are not connected to the flight control surfaces, engines, or other systems by cables, linkages, or other mechanical systems, as with more conventional aircraft. Instead, the movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, optical fibers, over an air-interface, or some combination thereof.
For example, flight control computers in a fly-by-wire system use these signals to identify how to move the actuators for each flight control surface to provide the response to the movement of the flight controls. Further, the flight control computers also may perform functions without input from a pilot. For example, the flight control computers may automatically help stabilize the flight aircraft without needing input from the pilot. The flight control computers generate commands to control flight control surfaces, an engine, or other devices that control movement of the aircraft.
An aircraft with a fly-by-wire system can be lighter in weight than when using conventional controls. Also, the electronic systems in a fly-by-wire system require less maintenance as compared to mechanical systems and hydraulic systems.
Redundancy is present in fly-by-wire systems for aircraft. Multiple flight control modules in the fly-by-wire system are used to generate commands in response to receiving signals from the movement of flight control-external sensing devices. The redundancy takes into account that a flight control module may not always perform as desired.
The different components in a fly-by-wire system may communicate with each other using different types of communications architectures. For example, some fly-by-wire systems use wires that connect the components directly to each other. In this example, multiple wires can be used to provide redundant connections between the components.
In other examples, a fly-by-wire system may use a data bus, such as those used in computer systems. The data bus may reduce the amount of wiring between components. Depending on the amount of traffic on the data bus, commands may reach intended components later than desired. This situation is a timing issue in which commands sent to a component, such as an actuator control module, may not reach the component within a desired amount of time. As a result, the fly-by-wire system may not provide for a desired level of performance in the aircraft.
For example, the delays in inputs to control an engine may result in lower than desired fuel efficiency. Delays in inputs for controlling a flight control surface result in degraded human-machine handling quality and the aircraft generating greater noise than desired or lower passenger comfort.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that take into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues. For example, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that reduce issues that may be caused by inputs having delays in reaching components.

Input congruence system for flight control surfaces


A vane, a valve timing control device at least including a vane, or a sliding member include at least one of chromium and manganese with 10–20 weight %, and carbon with 0.70 weight % or less wherein the vane is formed by nitriding treatment.

Hydraulic device such as an oil pump and a hydraulic actuator will be explained as an example of background of the present invention. For these hydraulic devices, a tool steel (e.g. SKH51, etc.) has been frequently used as a vane material. The main purpose of the vane is as follows. Namely, in the case of an oil pump, function of a pump is achieved by pushing out of oil filed in a cavity formed between a housing and the vane using the vane via driveshaft. On the other hand, in the case of a vane type hydraulic actuator, required function is achieved by driving a driveshaft fixed to a vane which is actuated by taking oil in and out in a cavity formed between a housing and the vane.
Mechanical properties required to the vane are strength to bear with required oil pressure, especially bending strength and fatigue strength, and abrasion resistance against sliding between the vane and the housing or the other members surrounding the vane.
In recent internal combustion engine, hard carbon soot tends to increase in lubricating oil since fuel supply system has been alternated to direct injection type and so on. Abrasion resistance against hard carbon soot floating in the oil has been required for the vane with the exception of abrasion resistance against surrounding members with relative motion.
In addition, abrasion resistance has been required for the other hard particles such as fine silica (generally 0.2 mm or less) which is floating in oil by entering in unavoidable condition of device using and production.
Another example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication published as Toku-Kou-Hei 1 (1989)-18985. This rotational fluid compressor includes a vane and an opposed member. The vane is made of a steel system material which includes 0.50–1.30 weight % of carbon, 11.0–20.0 weight % of chromium and iron with hardening, tempering and nitrocarburizing treatment. And the opposed member made of a cast iron, which includes 0.10–6.00% of carbide and have a graphite shape of A, B, D, and E in ASTM standard with HRC 40–55 in hardness.
Another example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H5-78792. This rotational fluid compressor includes a vane and an opposed member. The vane is made of a steel system material which includes 0.50–1.30 weight % of carbon, 11.0–20.0 weight % of chromium and iron with hardening, tempering and ion nitriding treatment. And the opposed member made of a cast iron, which includes 0.10–6.00% of carbide and have a graphite shape of A, B, D, and E in ASTM standard with HRC 40–60 in hardness.
According to the above described vane made of iron system material typified by SKH51, carbon content included in the steel exceeds 0.85 weight %. Then, carbide such as Fe3C is generated in the vane body matrix. This compound can improve abrasive resistance of the vane.
However, additional improvement of slidability of the vane has been required in these years. For example, frequency of oil change by user is getting decrease since engine parts and so on are changed to have high performance in these years. Under this condition, carbon soot and silica hard particles floating in the oil contribute to generation of erosion and abrasion in high speed flow. Accordingly, only soft portion of the vane body matrix has a tendency to abrade away, thus carbide which is hard particles (such as Fe3C) has a tendency to be exposed at the surface of the vane. Therefore, the vane has a tendency to attack the surface of the opposed member such as a housing and a rotor.

Vane, valve timing control device, and sliding member


A bumper cover mounting structure of a carrier includes a carrier provided at the front of an engine chamber in a vehicle frame, a bumper cover provided at the front of the carrier that serves as a buffering member upon collision, the bumper cover including a plurality of establishment pieces, and a plurality of mounting brackets corresponding to the plurality of establishment pieces, respectively, and integrally formed on the supporting bracket and the head lamp mounting portions of the carrier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bumper-cover mounting structure of a carrier, and more particularly to a bumper-cover mounting structure of a carrier which has mounting brackets integrally formed at the center-front of the carrier, for clamping the inside of a bumper-cover while being horizontal to establishment pieces of the bumper-cover in a straight line, thereby reducing the assembly process of the mounting bracket and the carrier, as well as lowering manufacturing costs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, regarding the technology of integrally assembling a headlamp, a radiator, a condenser, a bumper, and the like to a frame panel of a vehicle to enhance assembly efficiency at a jobsite, and to ensure precise assembly thereof, an FEM (Front End Module) is applied to a carrier of the vehicle.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a carrier 10 comprises a headlamp mounting portion 11 formed at either side of an upper portion of the carrier 10; a cooling-module mounting portion 12 for mounting a cooling module (not shown), such as a radiator and a condenser, at the front of the cooling module mounting portion; a supporting bracket 14, connected downwardly from the middle of an upper frame 13 of the cooling module mounting portion 12 for mounting a horn speaker of the vehicle thereon; and a lower frame, 15 formed at a lower portion of the cooling motor mounting portion 12, for mounting a bumper and a fog lamp thereon.
The carrier 10 is coupled at the front thereof to a bumper-cover 20.
Here, the carrier 10 has mounting brackets 30 fastened to the headlamp mounting portion 11 and the supporting bracket 14 in a straight line, respectively.
Specifically, with one end of each of the mounting brackets downwardly bent to face the headlamp mounting portion 11 and the supporting bracket 14, respectively, the mounting brackets 30 are fastened to the headlamp mounting portion 11 and the supporting bracket 14 by screws 32, respectively.
Here, each of the mounting brackets 30 is coupled at the other end thereof to the inside of the bumper-cover 20, so that the bumper-cover 20 is firmly mounted on the carrier.
However, in order to mount the bumper-cover on the carrier, it is necessary to additionally provide a mounting bracket, and to clamp the mounting bracket to the carrier with the screws, resulting in an increase in the number of assembly processes, thereby reducing operational efficiency and productivity.

Bumper-cover mounting structure of carrier


A switched gain antenna array comprising a plurality of dipole elements disposed in series with a phasing stub coupled between adjacent ones of the dipole elements. An antenna feed line is coupled to a first one of the dipole elements to couple the RF signals into and out of the plurality of dipole elements. The phasing stubs are adapted to adjust phase of the RF signals provided to each of the dipole elements so that the dipole elements operate in phase. A switch is disposed between the first one of the dipole elements and a second one of the dipole elements. The switch is adapted to disconnect the first one of the dipole elements from remaining ones of the dipole elements during transmit operations of the antenna array and to connect each of the dipole elements together during receive operations of the antenna array. As a result, the antenna array has greater gain during receive operations than during transmit operations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to a collinear antenna array for a portable wireless communication device that permits enhanced system performance by increasing antenna gain without exceeding radiated power requirements.
2. Description of Related Art
Portable wireless communications systems are increasingly prevalent in the art as a convenient way to permit remote elements of a system to operate together. A particularly useful application of wireless communication is that of a wireless local area network (WLAN) in which a plurality of remote computing devices communicate together using radio frequency (RF) signals. The remote computing devices include a radio transceiver adapted for RF communication with each other as well as with the other elements of the WLAN. The WLAN may also include a central host processing unit, or network master, that sends information to and receives information from any one of the plurality of remotely disposed computing devices. Such WLAN systems offer increased flexibility over conventional wired LAN systems by enabling operators of the remote computing devices substantial freedom of movement through the environment, and may be found in diverse data collection applications such as inventory control, manufacturing and production flow management, and asset tracking.
A significant drawback of wireless communication systems is their limited range due in part to compliance with governmental communication regulations. In order to prevent interference between competing communications systems operating in the same general vicinity, governmental regulatory agencies limit the maximum amount of transmitted power from an RF transceiver. The limit in transmitted power tends to limit the operational range of the communication systems, which impairs the overall usefulness of the wireless communication system.
Currently, there are two methods under which regulatory agencies specify the maximum allowable output power. A first type of regulation specifies the maximum power (dBm/Hz of bandwidth) that can be sent from the transceiver to the antenna and/or to restrict the amount of gain that may be provided by the antenna. A second type of regulation specifies a maximum radiated power level measured at a predetermined distance from the transceiver. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has adopted regulations under this second type of regulation. According to the ETSI regulations, for example, a maximum radiated power level of 20 dBm (100 mW) is permitted, and gain antennas may not be used to bring the signal level above the radiated power limit.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to provide a wireless communication system having a greater operational range without exceeding radiating power regulations.

Switched gain antenna for enhanced system performance