Antisense compounds, compositions and methods are provided for modulating the expression of Sentrin. The compositions comprise antisense compounds, particularly antisense oligonucleotides, targeted to nucleic acids encoding Sentrin. Methods of using these compounds for modulation of Sentrin expression and for treatment of diseases associated with expression of Sentrin are provided.

Posttranslational modifications of proteins are required for many cellular functions including the mediation of protein-protein interactions, enzymatic activity, degradation, localization of proteins to cellular compartments and maintenance of stability. Ubiquitination, one type of protein modification, occurs when the protein ubiquitin becomes ligated to a target protein. The attachment of one or more ubiquitin molecules then signals the destruction of the protein substrate.
Recently a novel family of ubiquitin-like molecules were described which modify proteins by a similar mechanism. Sentrin (also known as UBL1, PIC1, GMP1, and SUMO-1) is the prototype member of the ubiquitin-like family of protein modifiers and was isolated by several labs independently (Boddy et al., Oncogene, 1996, 13, 971-982; Mahajan et al., Cell, 1997, 88, 97-107; Okura et al., J. Immunol., 1996, 157, 4277-4281; Shen et al., Genomics, 1996, 36, 271-279).
Sentrin shows only a slight sequence homology to ubiquitin (18%) and, unlike ubiquitin, the attachment to a protein substrate is reversible and only forms in a one to one stoichiometry with the targeted protein. In addition, Sentrin conjugation results in protein trafficking and localization and not in labeling of target proteins for degradation.
In an effort to identify proteins involved in double strand break repair of DNA, Shen et al. demonstrated that Sentrin interacts with RAD51/RAD52, a protein complex formed during DNA repair and recombination (Shen et al., Genomics, 1996, 36, 271-279).
Other studies isolated Sentrin as a factor which binds to the `death domain` of the TNFR1 receptor and therefore plays a role in apoptosis. These studies showed that when overexpressed, Sentrin provided protection against both Fas/APO-1 and TNF-induced cell death (Okura et al., J. Immunol., 1996, 157, 4277-4281). Northern blot analysis of Sentrin showed ubiquitous expression in all tissues, with the highest levels being in the heart, skeletal muscle, testis, ovary and thymus.
Sentrin was also shown to be involved in nuclear protein import by conjugating to the 70 kD RanGAP1 protein which could then interact with RanBP2 resulting in a complex which is necessary for nuclear protein import (Mahajan et al., Cell, 1997, 88, 97-107). Since then, Sentrin has been shown to conjugate to the mammalian homolog of the UBC9 enzyme, an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme active during cell cycle progression (Gong et al., J. Biol. Chem., 1997, 272, 28198-28201; Schwarz et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1998, 95, 560-564), and to interact with PML and Sp100, two nuclear dot proteins associated with the development of acute promyelocytic leukemia and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) (Boddy et al., Oncogene, 1996, 13, 971-982; Sternsdorf et al., J. Cell Biol., 1997, 139, 1621-1634).
Finally, disclosed in WO98/20038 are claims to the nucleic acid sequences of the human, mouse and yeast Sentrin, antibodies to the Sentrin protein, cell lines or a transgenic animal expressing the protein, methods of detecting said protein with an antibody and methods of detecting the nucleic acid encoding Sentrin. Also claimed are shorter segments of the nucleic acid sequence 14 contiguous nucleotides in length that have the same sequence or are complementary to the Sentrin sequence intended for use as primers, probes, and templates (Yeh, 1998).
Currently, there are no known therapeutic agents which effectively inhibit the synthesis of Sentrin. Consequently, there remains a long felt need for additional agents capable of effectively inhibiting Sentrin function. Therefore, antisense oligonucleotides may provide a promising new pharmaceutical tool for the effective and specific modulation of Sentrin expression.

Antisense modulation of Sentrin expression


A reaction apparatus for atomic layer deposition includes a vacuum chamber having a gas inlet, a gas outlet, and a gas flow path for connecting the gas inlet and the gas outlet; a reactor located in the vacuum chamber, including a reaction chamber where a first gas, which is input through the gas flow path, reacts with a specimen in the reaction chamber, the reactor further including a gas distributor, which is located in the reaction chamber to evenly supply the gas; a specimen location controller for moving the specimen located in the vacuum chamber to the reaction chamber; and an analyzer, which is connected to the reaction chamber, for analyzing a second gas generated in the reaction chamber. The apparatus is able to deposit uniform atomic layers on a specimen by maintaining the pressure and flow of reactant gas and can deposit and analyze an atomic layer simultaneously.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reaction apparatus for atomic layer deposition (ALD). More particularly, the present invention relates to a reaction apparatus for ALD that is able to maintain the pressure and the flow of a reactant gas in a reaction chamber.
2. Description of the Related Art
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology, wherein reaction mixtures are sequentially input and removed, is one of several possible thin-layer growing technologies necessary in the fabrication of semiconductor devices. A reaction apparatus for ALD deposits atomic layers on a surface of a specimen using reactant gases that react with the surface of the specimen.
FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic view of a conventional reaction apparatus for ALD using a traveling method. Here, the traveling method, i.e., a continuous gas flow method, continuously supplies gases to a specimen in order to deposit atomic layers. Referring to FIG. 1A, gases are continuously supplied through a gas inlet 11, which is connected to a reaction chamber 13, wherein input gases react with a specimen 17 arranged in the reaction chamber 13 to form atomic layers on the surface of the specimen 17. Thereafter, the gases are exhausted to the outside through a gas outlet 15.
The conventional reaction apparatus for ALD using the traveling method reduces the amount of time required to switch gases and forms atomic layers having excellent uniformity; however, it is difficult to apply to a large-sized substrate.
FIG. 1B illustrates a schematic view of a conventional reaction apparatus for ALD using a showerhead method. Here, in the showerhead method, reactant gases are sprayed onto a specimen via a showerhead arranged in a reaction chamber. Referring to FIG. 1B, gases are input to a reaction chamber 23 via a gas inlet 21 and evenly sprayed onto a specimen 27 through a showerhead 29. Thereafter, the gases are exhausted to the outside through a gas outlet 25.
The conventional reaction apparatus for ALD using the showerhead method easily forms atomic layers on a large-sized substrate; however, it is difficult to adjust a distance between the specimen 27 and the showerhead 29.
The reaction apparatuses for ALD of FIGS. 1A and 1B have gas outlets 15 and 25 having a size larger than a size of the corresponding gas inlets 11 and 21, respectively. Accordingly, whereas residual reactant gases after the reaction process can be easily exhausted to the outside, the apparatuses require a large amount of reactant gases because these structures require the reactant gases to be continuously supplied during the reaction process. In addition, the conventional reaction apparatus for ALD is fabricated in a single unit so that it is difficult to additionally install an analyzer that measures reaction by-products generated during the reaction process or that measures the thickness, the density, or the chemical binding state of the atomic layers.

Reaction apparatus for atomic layer deposition


A method and apparatus are provided for determining a chain of individual functions associated with a service. The functions are designed to be interconnected in order to supply the service to a client entity in a communications network. The method includes the following steps implemented by a determination device: receiving from an access node to the service a temporary chain of individual functions associated with the service requested by the client entity together with a context associated with the client entity; determining an action to be performed on the temporary chain of individual functions associated with the service as a function of the context associated with the client entity; implementing the determined action on the temporary chain in order to obtain a final chain of individual functions; and sending the final chain to the service access node. This method can be implemented for supplying the service to the client entity.

In a communications network, a plurality of nodes may form an overlay network and thus be connected to one another. By way of example, the overlay network may be of the peer-to-peer type, referred to below as a P2P network. In such an overlay network, the nodes, referred to as "peers", are interchangeable and possess capacities and responsibilities within the network that are equivalent, in contrast to an architecture of the client-server type. Such an overlay network does not rely on its own infrastructure, but on one or more communications networks that are already in place. It makes use of the resources of said underlying network(s) but without necessarily having any knowledge of their physical topology(ies). A communications network is said to underlie the overlay network.
The article entitled "Towards autonomic service control in next generation networks" by A. Klenk et al. and published in the ICAS08 Conference proposes a method of enabling a service to be introduced in autonomic manner in the overlay network. In an initial stage, an operator seeking to offer access to the service and a supplier of the service negotiate a contract prior to receiving a first request to implement the service, with the contract, referred to as a "multimedia transport service agreement", including at least one constraint for implementing the service, e.g. a quality of service constraint. This first stage of negotiation serves to break down a service request into a chain of individual functions. For example, such functions are a video stream transcoding function, an error correction function, a watermarking function, . . . . In a second stage, implemented when a service access request is received from a client entity, nodes having processing modules needed for implementing the individual functions are then determined. Thereafter, depending on the result of this determination, the interconnections that are needed between the processing modules are in turn determined, while taking account firstly of the constraint(s) for implementing the service as specified in the contract and secondly of the costs of implementing the service. During a third stage, the service is supplied to the client entity while using the connections between the processing modules as set up during the second stage.
Once the first negotiation stage has terminated, the chain of individual functions associated with the service is "frozen" and can no longer be modified. Thus, a client entity requesting access to the service runs the risk of being refused because of incompatibility between the client entity's own quality of service constraint and those requested for implementing the service. In order to accommodate client entities presenting different quality of service constraints, it is then necessary to provide a distinct chain of individual functions for each potential quality of service constraint. Furthermore, the client entity may make a mistake when selecting a service corresponding to that entity's own quality of service constraint. The service can then not be supplied.

Technique for determining a chain of individual functions associated with a service


A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) structure and fabrication method are provided in which a doped polysilicon filled trench is utilized to form both the extrinsic base contact region and a vertical field plate. A sacrificial mandrel of dielectric material is formed over regions that will become the BJT active area. This allows the polysilicon filled trench to be extended above the original semiconductor substrate surface. In this way, the base-collector and emitter-base junctions are both self-aligned to the field plate trench. The field plate is utilized to control and shape the electric field in the base-collector depletion region, allowing heavier collector well doping for the same breakdown voltage. This results in improvement in both the breakdown/Ron ratio and the fT*BVcbo product.

As discussed by Raymond J. E. Hueting et al., "A New Trench Bipolar Transistor for RF Applications", IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 51, No. 7, July 2004, it is well known that, for a high-voltage transistor, the tradeoff between the drift resistance and the breakdown voltage is improved by the reduced surface field (resurf) effect. The objective is to reshape the electric field distribution in the collector drift region for a reverse bias situation to form a more uniform field distribution with a reduced maximal field.
Hueting at al. propose a vertical trench SiGe junction bipolar transistor (BJT) that improves the tradeoff between the cutoff frequency fT and the off-state collector-base breakdown voltage BVcbo. Their simulations show that an increased fT*BVcbo product can be obtained by providing a BJT having a trench field plate connected to the emitter and a linearly graded doping profile in the collector drift region.
While the Hueting et al. publication provides a theoretical concept for improving the performance characteristics of a BJT device, it does not disclose a practical BJT device structure or fabrication method for realizing the concept.
Co-pending, commonly-invented and commonly-assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 11/003,095, titled "Bipolar Transistor Structure With Field Plate", and filed on the same date as this application, discloses a structure and fabrication method for realizing the Hueting et al. concept. U.S. application Ser. No. 11/003,095 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Referring to FIG. 1, the above-cited application Ser. No. 11/003,095 discloses a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) structure 100 formed in a silicon substrate 102. An N+ collector buried layer (BL) 104, typically formed by conventional implant, is provided at the upper surface of the substrate 102. An epitaxial silicon layer 106 is formed on the substrate 102 over the N+ buried layer 104. An isolation structure that includes deep trench isolation (DTI) and shallow trench isolation (STI) is provided and an N+ sinker region 108 is formed in the epitaxial layer 106 in the conventional manner. Field plate trenches 110 are etched into the BJT active region to surround the collector active well region. The conductive field plates 112, which may be doped polysilicon or tungsten silicide, are formed in the field plate trenches 110 and isolated from the surrounding epitaxial silicon 106 of the collector well by intervening trench liner dielectric material 114 (e.g., TEOS). The field plate trenches are filled with dielectric material (e.g., TEOS). A doped polysilicon emitter contact 116 is formed in electrical contact with a SiGe intrinsic base region 118 and extrinsic base polysilicon 120. Dielectric material 122 (e.g., TEOS) separates the base poly 120 from the poly emitter contact 116.
The field plate 112 of the FIG. 1 BJT structure 100 may be separately contacted or shorted to the emitter terminal. As discussed above, the presence of the field plate 112 modifies the shape of the electric field in the collector well region. The doping level in the collector well region is graded from the collector buried layer 104 to a lower concentration at the base junction. In a properly optimized structure, the equivalent device breakdown characteristics can be realized with substantially higher net collector well doping levels. As further discussed above, this increase reduces the collector series resistance and, therefore Vcesat, and delays the onset of base pushout, resulting in a substantially higher peak fT.
However, the FIG. 1 emitter shorted field plate approach requires that an alignment tolerance be observed in formation of the field plate trench structures.

Super self-aligned BJT with base shorted field plate and method of fabricating


A photographic film cassette contains photographic film, of which a leader is separated from a roll of film while the spool rotates under a condition of clamping the roll between two spool flanges, and is thereby caused to advance outside a cassette shell. A circumferential lip projects from around a first flange toward the roll, and is in contact with one lateral edge of an outermost turn of the roll. A passage ridge is formed on the lower surface of a film passageway, supports one lateral edge of the film during passage through the passageway after being flexed transversely by the lip, and prevents the film edge from contact with the lower surface. The first passage ridge is formed to satisfy the following conditions, and prevents the film from being worn down by a rub while advanced outward: EQU 0.4.ltoreq.D.sub.1 .ltoreq.6, and EQU 0.5.ltoreq.D.sub.2 .ltoreq.E;. where D.sub.1 mm is a distance between the passage ridge and a periphery of the lip; D.sub.2 mm is a height at which the passage ridge projects from the lower surface; and E mm is a height at which the first flange extends upward from an extended plane of the lower surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photographic film cassette of which rotation of a spool causes photographic film to advance to the outside of a cassette shell. In particular, the invention is an improvement of the cassette shell which protects the film from damage.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
A known photographic film cassette includes a photographic filmstrip (hereinafter referred to as film) positioned so that the film leader does not protrude from the cassette shell prior to loading the cassette in a camera. Such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,776. Simple film-advancing mechanisms of the camera are used with this type of cassette and include a construction which rotates a spool to unwind the film, thereby causing the leader to move through a film passageway and exit from the cassette.
In this construction, the roll of the film wound about the spool is prevented from loosening in order to transmit rotation of the spool to the leader. In such a cassette, the spool is constituted of a pair of spool pieces which are slidable relative to each other. A first spool piece is provided with a first flange, whereas the second spool piece is provided with a second flange. When one of the spool pieces is rotated, a cam mechanism associated with both spool pieces operates so as to shorten the interval between the flanges by sliding the spool pieces relative to one another. The first flange is provided with a circumferential lip which projects from around its peripheral edge for contact with a side of the outermost turn of the roll of film in order to prevent the roll from loosening. When sliding the spool pieces, the outermost turn of the roll is clamped between the second flange and the inside of the lip so that the roll is rotatable integrally with the spool and is thus prevented from loosening.
There is, however, a problem in this type of film cassette where the flanges are brought closer to one another to clamp the roll of film. A lateral edge of the film is contacted with, and rubbed against, the lip of the flanges with considerable force during the advancement of the film. Accordingly, the film edge may be worn by contact with the lip. This wearing gives rise to fine dust which may collect in the cassette. Also, the film edge is partially deformed or bowed in a successive manner by the interaction with the lip. The film edge, however, remains straight upstream from the lip. This causes an abrupt flexure of the film and, due to the rigidity of the film, a fracture may occur in the film edge due to the lateral deformation of the film in a sharp angular manner.


In a communication method for transmitting a multipath characteristic measurement signal and a plurality of data transmission signals, the multipath characteristic measurement signal and data transmission signals are a signal array formed by a plurality of coefficient matrices that are orthogonal to one another within the matrices and which comprise at least one coefficient array that is common in the column direction or row direction. The multipath characteristic measurement signal formed by the coefficient matrices is the same signal array formed by the one common coefficient array. As a result, the transmission wait time and the signal reception time required for transmission of a multiplicity of data transmission signals are shortened in the simultaneous transmission of the multipath characteristic measurement signal and the plurality of data transmission signals by the spread modulation of transmission data by means of a spread spectrum, whereby the scale of the reception processing device is miniaturized.

There has been a need for technology that increases the usage efficiency of wireless frequency resources in accordance with the increased demand for data communications in a variety of mobile environments and cellular wireless communications. The CDMA system, for example, is known as a system that increases the usage efficiency of wireless frequency resources by differentiating a plurality of users. In a communication system using the CDMA system, the interchannel interference caused by a spreading sequence correlation characteristic and a transmission line multipath characteristic is a primary factor that limits the frequency usage efficiency.
A system that employs Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) involves frequency multiplexing using a sine wave and there is therefore the problem that the multipath effect is represented as fading of the signal power and separation of the transmission sine signal and multipath sine signal is problematic.
As a spreading code sequence for separating the source transmission signal and the multipath signal, a communication system that employs a complete complementary sequence, for example, has been proposed. A complete complementary sequence is a sequence that comprises an autocorrelation characteristic for which the sum of the autocorrelation functions of the respective sequences is 0 for all shifts other than a zero shift and a mutual correlation characteristic for which the sum of the mutual correlation functions of the respective sequences is always 0 for all the shifts. A ZCZ (zero correlation zone) signal without side lobes and interchannel interference and so forth is formed by using the complete complementary sequence such that the transmission signal frequency spectrum is uncorrelated. As a result, the same frequency and same time can be allocated to the pilot signal and transmission signal.
The present applicant proposed, in Patent Application No. 2002-255405, a signal design such that all of the multipath characteristic measurement signals and the plurality of data transmission signals transmitted simultaneously do not interfere with one another in transmission data modulation using a spread spectrum.
FIG. 16 is an example of a conventionally proposed signal design method. A square orthogonal matrix in which the row vectors and column vectors are orthogonal to one another is used to perform spread spectrum modulation on a multipath characteristic measurement signals An and a plurality of data transmission signals Bn, Cn, and Dn. For example, for the multipath characteristic measurement signals An, the signal array (An, An, An, An) is formed and, for the data transmission signals Bn, Cn, and Dn, the respective signal arrays (Bn, −Bn, Bn, −Bn), (Cn, Cn, −Cn, −Cn) and (Dn, −Dn, −Dn, Dn) are formed, whereby all the multipath characteristic measurement signals and plurality of data transmission signals do not interfere with one another. Further, here, a case where the square orthogonal matrix is a 4 by 4 matrix is shown.
As mentioned earlier, in a signal design such that all the multipath characteristic measurement signals and plurality of data transmission signals do not interfere with one another, a large matrix is required when transmitting a multiplicity of data transmission signals. As a result, there is the problem that the scale of the processing device required for data reception on the reception side is then large and the processing time is long and the problem that the wait time required for data transmission on the transmission side is long.
In FIG. 17, when all of the P signals of the multipath characteristic measurement signals An and the multiplicity of data transmission signals Bn to Zn are transmitted, a P×P square orthogonal matrix must be used in accordance with the number of signals P. The length of the signals in the time axis direction of the signal array formed by the square orthogonal matrix increases in accordance with the number of columns P. Therefore, the greater the number of signals transmitted, the longer the wait time required for transmission and the longer the time required for the signal reception. Further, the scale of the matching filter that extracts a predetermined signal from the reception signal also increases in accordance with the number of columns P.

Communication method, transmission signal forming method, and data structure of transmission signal


An aqueous dispersion of core/shell type composite particles having colloidal silica as the cores and having an organic polymer as the shells is disclosed, comprising an aqueous dispersion of particles obtained by carring out a reaction operation of coupling reacting (a) colloidal silica and (b) an organoalkoxysilane in an aqueous medium in the presence of a dispersion stabilizer and thereafter polymerizing the coupling reaction product and (c) a vinyl monomer having at least one ethylenically unsaturated group, and further a method for producing the aqueous dispersion is disclosed.. The aqueous dispersion has a good dispersion stability, by-produces less polymer sole particles, and a high coating degree of a polymer on the surfaces of the silica particles.

Colloidal silica is widely utilized as a reinforcing agent for elastomers such as sealants, rubbers, etc., as a sedimentation inhibitor in the systems containing fillers or pigments, a thickener or a thixotropic agent of liquid resins, and a blocking inhibitor for films for the purposes of increasing the stiffness, strength and/or the dimensional stability of materials, increasing the toughness and/or the impact resistance of materials, increasing the heat strain temperature of materials, increasing the mechanical decay of materials, decreasing the permeability of materials to gases and liquids, improving the electric properties of materials, reducing the cost of materials, and the like.
When colloidal silica particles are filled in a polymer, the various properties shown by the composite material of the polymer containing the colloidal silica fine particles are decided by the characteristics of the components constituting the composite material, the dispersed state of the colloidal silica fine particles, and the interface characteristics between the colloidal silica fine particles and the matrix. It is known, in the properties described above, the morphology (the dispersed state of colloidal silica fine particles) of the composite film and the interface characteristics are important as the parameters inherent to the composite material and give large influences on the performance of the composite material.
In general, in the case of dispersing inorganic fine particles in a polymer, a method of increasing the affinity of the inorganic fine particles and the polymer matrix by treating the inorganic fine particles with a coupling agent for improving the dispersed state of the inorganic fine particles in the polymer matrix is known but there are many cases that a good dispersibility is not obtained and the physical strength is insufficient in the coupling agent treatment. Accordingly, in place of the method described above, investigations for improving the dispersibility of inorganic fine particles by coating or grafting the inorganic fine particles with a polymer have been carried out.
As the method of coating inorganic fine particles with a polymer, there are generally "a method of using a previously prepared polymer" and "a method of polymerizing a monomer on the surfaces of inorganic fine particles and coating the particles with the formed polymer".
"As the method of using a previously prepared polymer", there are a method of adsorbing or chemically bonding the previously prepared polymer to the inorganic fine particles, a coacervation method, a heteroaggregation method, a dry blend method, and the like but in these methods, there are many restrictions for optionally controlling the coating amount of the polymer on the surfaces of- the inorganic fine particles, and also when the particle sizes of the inorganic fine particles are small, the application of these method is difficult.
On the other hand, "the method of polymerizing a monomer on the surfaces of inorganic fine particles and coating the particles with the formed polymer" is an excellent method in the point capable of carrying out the formation of a polymer and coating of the inorganic fine particles with the polymer formed in one stage and also in the point of imparting functions to the coated particles such as easily introducing polar groups and/or functional groups to the coating polymer. The researches about the surface treatment of inorganic powders by such a polymerization method are described in detail in Kroker et al., Progr. Org. Coatings, 1, 23(1972) and Nagai et al, Kobunsi Kako (High molecular Processing), Vol. 39, No. 11, 537-542(1990).
Also, as to "the method of polymerizing a monomer on the surfaces of inorganic fine particles and coating the particles with the formed polymer", various methods such as a polymerization method by the active species on the surfaces of inorganic fine particles, a polymerization method by the adsorption or bonding of an initiator, a polymerization method by the adsorption, bonding, or intercalation of a monomer, a polymerization method by the solubilization of a monomer to the surface adsorption layer, a polymerization method by the precipitation and adsorption of-growth groups, and the like are proposed in K. Nollen et al., Angew. Makromol. Chem., 6 1(1069), F. Runge et al., Makromol. Chem., 81, 68(1965), K. Furusawa et al., J. Colloid Interface Sci., 109, 69(1986), M. Hasegawa et al., J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Chem. Ed., 25, 3117 and 3231(1987), etc. However, in the methods described above, there are many problems that the control of the amount of the polymer formed is difficult, a large amount of aggregation is formed, thereby it is difficult to keep the stability of the dispersion, a large amount of homopolymer particles is separately formed, the monomer species which can be applied are restricted and thus, the methods are poor in general uses, and also reaction process of many stages is required, whereby the methods are poor in the practical use.
Furthermore, a method wherein a polymerization functional group (vinyl group) is introduced by the chemical modification of the hydroxyl group on the surfaces of silica fine particles and by the copolymerization of the inorganic fine particles having the vinyl group at the surfaces of the particles and a vinyl monomer, a polymer is grafted to the surface of the particles is disclosed in M. Chaimberg et al., J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 37, 2921(1989). This method has a definite effect for obtaining the composite particles of a water-soluble polymer and silica but in the method, there are problems that the graft efficiency is very low and a large amount of polymers which are not bonded to the particles are by-produced.
Also, E. Bourgeat-Lami et al reported the result of carrying out an emulsion polymerization while adding dropwise ethyl acrylate and dodecyl sodium sulfate using silica particles modified by hydroxyethyl methacrylate as cores in the presence of a nonionic surface active agent in ACS Symposium Series 585 (1995), "Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Composites", Chapter 10 but in this case, although the synthesized composite particles are partially grafted to the silica particles, the particle form obtained is an aggregate form and uniform polymer coating is not performed while keeping the dispersibility. E. Bourgeat-Lami et al. stated that in the case of polymer coating of silica particles in an aqueous system, silica particles were liable to form aggregates and in addition to silica particles, which became the seeds, the polymer sole particles were liable to form, whereby it was very difficult to carry out the formation of uniform composite particles.
Moreover, JP-B-4-48832 (the term "JP-B" as described herein means an "examined published Japanese patent application") discloses an aqueous dispersible composition of the organic-inorganic hybrid type polymer particles obtained by emulsion-polymerizing a (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer, a monomer containing a polymerizable unsaturated double bond and an alkoxysilyl group together in the molecule and colloidal silica in an aqueous medium in the presence of an anionic surface active agent and/or a nonionic surface active agent. However, the production method- described in the above patent publication is a method of polymerizing by simultaneously adding the vinyl monomer and the monomer containing the polymerizable unsaturated double bond and the alkoxysilyl group together in the molecule to an unmodified colloidal silica dispersion and as the result of out investigations, it has been clarified that even in the method, coating by the polymer on the surfaces of the colloidal silica particles proceeds only partially and also many polymer sole particles are by-produced.
As described above, by the conventionally known methods, it has been difficult to obtain an aqueous dispersion of core/shell type composite particles having colloidal silica as the cores and having an organic polymer as the shells, which can optionally control the amount of the forming polymer, has a high dispersion stability, does not by-produce polymer sole particles, and has a high uniformity of polymer coating.

Aqueous dispersion of core/shell-type composite particles with colloidal silica as the cores and with organic polymer as the shells and production method thereof


A printing blanket and method of reducing corrosion and abrasion of printing blankets and printing blanket cylinders is provided. The printing blanket includes a metal base ply having first and second surfaces, a surface layer on the first surface of the base ply, and a polymer on the second surface of the base ply. The polymer functions to protect the metal base ply as well as a blanket cylinder surface from abrasion and exposure to moisture and corrosive agents used during a printing process. The polymer preferably comprises ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers, nylon, polyester, polyurethane, or polyethylene. The polymer may be applied to the in the form of an emulsion which is coated or sprayed onto the base ply, or the polymer may be provided in the form of a film or sheet which is adhered to the base ply with an adhesive. Preferably, the polymer includes corrosion inhibiting additives which are released when the blanket is compressed during a printing operation, further reducing corrosion.

This invention relates to a printing blanket and method of reducing corrosion and abrasion of printing blankets and printing blanket cylinders, and more particularly, to a metal-backed printing blanket including a protective polymeric film layer on the outer surface of the metal backing which contacts the surface of the printing cylinder when the blanket is mounted thereon.
One of the most common commercial printing processes is offset lithography. In this printing process, ink is offset from a printing plate to a rubber-surfaced printing blanket mounted on a printing cylinder before being transferred to a substrate, such as paper. The blanket cylinder generally comprises a chrome or nickel-plated steel cylinder having an encircling rubber printing blanket which is releasably mounted to the cylinder.
The printing blanket is generally reinforced with either a fabric backing or a metal backing. Unlike the fabric backing, which exhibits a high degree of stretch, the metal backing avoids stretching of the blanket when it is tensioned on the blanket cylinder, which provides better print quality and eliminates the need for frequent retensioning of the blanket.
However, the use of metal-backed printing blankets has resulted in a greater potential for corrosion and abrasion of the printing blanket as well as the blanket cylinder surface. The use of water, inks and chemicals during the printing process results in an accumulation of moisture between the printing blanket and the cylinder surface. After extended use, this accumulation of moisture can cause corrosion of the metal backing on the printing blanket as well as the surface of the blanket cylinder. In addition, the intimate contact of the metal backing of the printing blanket with the metal surface of a blanket cylinder and the rapid rotation of the two results in a build-up of friction which abrades the surface of the blanket cylinder, also contributing to corrosion.
Many efforts have been made to reduce or eliminate corrosion of printing blanket cylinders. For example, blanket cylinders have been developed which are comprised of corrosion-resistant materials such as stainless steel. More recently, blanket cylinders have had ceramic materials applied to the surfaces thereof in an attempt to reduce or eliminate corrosion. However, the use of such materials alone has not been found to fully eliminate corrosion and abrasion problems.
Printing blankets have also been modified in an attempt to reduce corrosion. For example, metals such as zinc have been incorporated into the backing layers of printing blankets. Such metals act as sacrificial metals which are more chemically active than the metal contained in the cylinders. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,784 and EP Patent No. 0593593.
Other attempts have been made to apply a rubber coating on the fabric base of a printing blanket to restrict the wicking of moisture beneath the blanket and/or to eliminate abrasion during contact of the blanket with the cylinder surface. See, for example, Spöring, U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,011, and Pinkston et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,400. However, such methods have been used in conjunction with fabric backings. It would be desirable to be able to provide corrosion and abrasion resistance while maintaining the benefits provided by the use of metal-backed blankets.
Accordingly, there is still a need in the art for a base or backing for printing blankets used in offset printing operations which provides the desired printing properties while reducing corrosion and/or abrasion of the blanket and/or blanket cylinder.

Printing blanket and method for reducing corrosion and abrasion of printing blankets and blanket cylinders


An opening/closing body control device for a vehicle is provided with a drive section configured to drive an opening/closing body of a vehicle, and a controller configured to control the drive section. In response to detection of an external force input intended to accelerate the opening/closing body in operation, the controller controls the drive section to increase the operating speed of the opening/closing element. The drive section determines that the external force intended to accelerate the opening/closing body has been input if, as one example, the acceleration of the opening/closing body in an operation direction reaches a predetermined value or higher.

Opening/closing body control devices for vehicles have been proposed that allow an opening/closing body of a vehicle to be opened and closed by a drive source like a door opening/closing apparatus disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. Such a control apparatus detects the manipulation speed of a handle provided on a door and determines the operation speed of the door based on the manipulation speed.
That is, there is a correlation between the manipulation speed of the door handle and the operation speed of the door that the user desires. With the above configuration, the operation speed of the opening/closing body is easily changed by intuitive manipulation input to the door handle by the user. This improves convenience for users.

Device for controlling vehicle opening/closing element


Design data of a cell group is copied to obtain design data of an antecedent cell group and of a subsequent cell group. Design data of a combinational circuit is copied to generate the combinational circuits in plural corresponding to a given number of cycles n (n=2, 3, 4 . . . , where n=3 in FIG. 4). The design data of the combinational circuits are connected in series between the design data of the antecedent cell group and the design data of the subsequent cell group. As a result, design data of an input constraint circuit representing an input constraint(s) of the circuit can be generated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to estimating large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) power consumption.
2. Description of the Related Art
In LSI circuits, electric power is consumed when an output signal from a device changes. When estimating the power consumption of an LSI at the design stage, how frequently the output signal from each device changes is estimated, and power consumption is estimated based on this value.
Among various power consumption values estimated at the design stage, the maximum power consumption is an important value. If the maximum power consumption is obtained, whether power supply is sufficiently assured or whether a temperature increase, even at a maximum, falls within a guaranteed operation temperature range can be verified by using this value.
When estimating the maximum power consumption at the design stage, the maximum operation ratio of operation ratios indicative of percentages of signal transition is first obtained, and the maximum operating power is estimated from this value. As techniques of estimating the maximum operation ratio, the following techniques have been proposed (see, for example, "Analysis of Maximum Switching Activities in Sequential Circuits for Power Supply Integrity Validation", ACM/IEEE International Workshop on Logic and Synthesis 2006).
FIG. 14 is a schematic of the first technique of estimating the maximum operation ratio. As shown in FIG. 14, according to the first technique, (1) values of flip-flop circuits (hereinafter, "FFs") in an LSI 1400 are set. (2) Then, simulation of a combinational circuit 1401 is executed by using the set values. (3) Subsequently, the number of times (signal transition number) that a signal from the combinational circuit 1401 changes is counted. Thereafter, (1) to (3) are repeatedly executed by changing the set values of the FFs.
Another technique involves using the first technique to some extent, storing the maximum operation ratio among the obtained ratios as a maximum operation ratio candidate, and then using the second technique to obtain an input pattern that provides an operation ratio greater than the maximum operation ratio candidate.
FIG. 15 is a schematic of the second technique of estimating the maximum operation ratio. As shown in FIG. 15, according to the second technique, (1) several simultaneous transition candidate points (indicated by marks x in FIG. 15), where the operation ratio increases when simultaneous transition occurs, are selected in the LSI 1400. (2) Then, based on a back calculation, it is confirmed whether an input value of the FF that induces simultaneous transition of the simultaneous transition candidate points is present.
(3) If an input value of the FF that induces simultaneous transition is present, a signal transition number is counted with respect to a pattern of the input value of the FF to calculate the operation ratio. (4) If the operation ratio calculated at (3) is higher than the maximum operation ratio candidate obtained by the first technique, the maximum operation ratio candidate is replaced by the currently selected simultaneous transition candidate point.
Thereafter, various simultaneous transition candidate points are selected, and (1) to (4) are repeatedly executed. Based on this operation, an FF input value pattern that provides a higher operation ratio is obtained. After sufficiently repeating this loop, the obtained maximum operation ratio candidate is regarded as the maximum operation ratio.
A third technique of adding a circuit that represents an input constraint before the LSI also exists (see, for example, "Symbolic Model Checking using SAT procedures instead of BDDs", DAC1999, pp. 317-320 2; and "Improved SAT-based Bounded Reachability Analysis", International Conference on VLSI Design 2002, pp. 729-734). According to this third technique, a circuit that represents an input constraint is generated and coupled before the LSI whose operation ratio is to be obtained.
FIG. 16 is a schematic of the first technique to which the third technique is applied, and FIG. 17 is a schematic of the second technique to which the third technique is applied. As shown in FIG. 16, (1) values of antecedent FFs, which are provided preceding a circuit representing input constraints 1601, are first set. (2) Then, simulation of the combinational circuit 1401 is executed by using the set values. At this time, the values of the FFs provided preceding the combinational circuit 1401 are set based on an output from the circuit representing input constraints 1601, and operation of the combinational circuit 1401 is simulated by using the set values. (3) Subsequently, the number of times (signal transition number) that a signal from the combinational circuit 1401 changes is counted.
Thereafter, the set values of the antecedent FFs are changed to repeatedly execute (1) to (3). According to the first technique having the third technique applied thereto, the values of the antecedent FFs are changed to count the signal transition in the combinational circuit 1401.
As shown in FIG. 17, (1) several simultaneous transition candidate points (indicated by marks x in FIG. 15) at which the operation ratio is increased when simultaneous transition occurs are first selected in the LSI. (2) Then, the presence of an input value of the antecedent FFs that induces simultaneous transition is confirmed by a back calculation.
(3) If the input value of the antecedent FFs that induces simultaneous transition is present, a signal transition number is counted with respect to a pattern of this input value of the FF to calculate an operation ratio. (4) If the operation ratio calculated at (3) is higher than the maximum operation ratio candidate obtained by the first technique, the maximum operation ratio candidate is replaced by the currently selected simultaneous transition candidate point.
According to the second technique to which the third technique is applied, whether a pattern of the values of the antecedent FFs that induces transition of a target circuit in the combinational circuit 1401 is present is checked.
However, according to the first technique, if the number of changes in signals can be counted with respect to all patterns of values of the FFs, a maximum value in operation ratios obtained from this counting can be acquired as the maximum operation ratio. In reality, 2n patterns of values of n FFs are present. Therefore, an enormous number of combinations are present, and hence covering all the combinations is difficult. That is, trying covering all the combinations results in a problem of increased design burden and a prolonged design period.
According to the second technique, a possibility of obtaining an operation ratio with respect to a pattern that is not actually present is increased. Specifically, when n FFs are present in the LSI, 2n patterns of values of these FFs are present, but all the patterns are not patterns that can be actually achieved.
2n becomes an enormous number if a value of n is large; however, for the majority of designs, only a very small part of patterns can be actually realized. Therefore, when the maximum operation ratio of the circuit is simply obtained, the possibility of acquiring an operation ratio with respect to a pattern that cannot be actually realized is increased. Accordingly, the maximum power consumption is estimated to be higher than the actual maximum power consumption, resulting in a factor of an operation failure.
FIG. 18 is a circuit diagram of an example of an input that is impossible in reality. As shown in FIG. 18, since an FF 1 and an input are inverted by an inverter INV, the FF 1 and an FF 2 do not take the same value. However, when a pattern that provides a maximum operation ratio is obtained, a pattern that the FF 1 and the FF 2 take the same value is attempted.
Therefore, when an operation ratio is the maximum in this pattern, this operation ratio is determined as the maximum operation ratio. As a result, an operation ratio higher than a true maximum operation ratio is rendered as the maximum operation ratio.
When applying the third technique, a designer must know what kind of constraints a value of the FF has in advance, and obtaining this input constraint is difficult, resulting in a problem of increased design burden and prolonged design period.

Apparatus, method, and computer product for estimating power consumption of LSI


Provided are sensor devices, methods, systems, and kits for measuring the concentration of at least one target analyte. Sensor devices may be mounted into an optical system for measuring the target analyte. Example sensor devices may also be removably mounted in a holder that enables the sensor device to be inserted into a container that allows the sensor device to contact an analyte containing sample. Further provided are methods that include contacting a sensor device with an analyte-containing sample; determining analyte concentration; and optionally repeating these steps to determine if the analyte concentration spikes or exceeds a predetermined level, which may trigger an alarm response.

Fiber optic sensors, especially fluorescence or photoluminescence-based sensors, have been used to determine analytes in solution at concentrations as low as picomolar in real time. In particular, fiber optic sensors have enabled the determination of metal ions, such as Zn(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), Co(II) and Ni(II), Fe(II), Mn(II), Pb(II), and Hg(II) in aqueous solutions such as fresh water, sea water, and cerebrospinal fluid. Fiber optic sensors to determine analytes may include a binding protein or other photoluminescent or calorimetric indicator system on the fiber optic sensor, which binds with the analyte and emits a signal that can be measured. Fiber optic sensors are well suited to determining metal ions in remote (e.g., at depth in the ocean) or inaccessible (e.g., inside the living brain) circumstances. The optical design of a fiber optic probe, however, necessarily introduces background that reduces signal-to-noise ratio. Moreover, the use of fiber optic sensors is expensive and unnecessarily complex in certain circumstances, for example in the case of finite samples that have been collected and stored in bottles.
An issue with respect to binding-type assays with trace analytes in finite samples is the potential for inaccurate measurement due to the amount of binding agent. For example, if one has 20 picomolar free zinc in a liter of water and a probe is introduced (fiber optic or otherwise) that contains one nanomole of a zinc binding protein or other reversible binding zinc indicator with a zinc binding affinity (Kd) of 4 picomolar, the binding protein may bind up essentially all of the free zinc because the concentrations of both the free zinc and the binding protein are above the 4 picomolar Kd for zinc binding to the protein. The problem arises because the fractional occupancy of the binding protein may be less than 10% because all of the free zinc available in the liter of water is bound and additional binding protein remains. If instead of a liter of water, the sample were a very large, essentially infinite bath, the fractional occupancy of the binding protein would be roughly 90%, and the measurement would be more accurate. Thus, for an accurate measurement in a finite bath, a small amount of binding protein is required to obtain a higher fractional occupancy. A fiber optic may be used to introduce a small amount of binding protein on a tip of the fiber optic, but has the disadvantages mentioned above. If binding protein is dispersed throughout the water sample, the concentration of fluorophores associated with the binding protein becomes very low, and any signal is difficult to acquire.

Analyte sensor devices and holders, and methods and systems utilizing the same


Method and passive target data acquisition system operable continuously from an observation point for passively sighting a target and acquiring the target on a DTM for passively deriving target data and associated information without emitting radiations prone to detection. The location of the target is shown on a display, and so is an error-area due to measurement inaccuracies. When terrain topography causes the system to indicate more than one error-area, the target and the accompanying error-areas are displayed. The distance between error-areas indicates dead terrain zones. A north finding procedure provides accurate north direction correction to rough north readings taken with a coarse north-indicating device. The system is small enough for integration with handheld personal binoculars, and is operable from static and mobile observation points, possibly on a stabilized platform, on land, at sea, in the air, and in space.

Sighting means for target data acquisition are well known per se. These optical instruments are used by geodesists and by artillerists for example. Such equipment is comparable to a theodolite or transit compass, with a turntable for pointing a telescope toward a target. Typically, a compass, a computer with a CPU for running computer programs, an I/O unit, a memory, and a display device, or simply display, are included. Tilt and yaw angles from an observation site to a target are measured with a vernier. Most often, an active range-measuring device, such as an LRF, is also included.
It is taken for granted that modern sighting devices all include an optical device, e.g. a telescope or binoculars, and have to be powered-up and leveled before use. Optics, power-on, and leveling are standard and common practice in the art, and will therefore not be mentioned in the description below.
Also known in the art is the acronym DTM (digital terrain model), or DEM (digital elevation model) referring to a digitized topographic model, which provides a representation of a portion of terrain surface contour in the form of a three-dimensional digital map. Parties performing surface or volumetric calculations with respect to the modeled terrain, possibly make use of such a DTM. When the DTM is stored in a computer memory, it can be used as a unit in a terrain database. The stored DTM then provides the basic data for running surface and volumetric calculations implemented by a computer program associated with a computer and a computer memory. Various engineering, military and environmental related applications frequently refer to DTMs for surface or spatial calculations. A graphic illustration of a DTM is given in FIG. 1, to which reference is now made.
FIG. 1 shows a DTM surface S derived from a DTM database, associated with an (x,y,z) Cartesian-coordinate system, having a plane of grid points with (x,y) coordinates in the x-y plane. A (z) height-coordinate is defined for each discrete couple of (x,y) coordinates. Each point sampled on the terrain surface contour is represented by a junction of X and of Y lines in the grid. The height of each sampled point is given by values along the Z axis. The resolution of the sampling points of the DTM in the X–Y plane, and the accuracy of the height measurement of each sampled point depend on several factors, for example, on the quality of aerial photography from which the map was prepared.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,396, Waruszewsky Jr. discloses "an aircraft navigation system" including "an inertial navigation system, a map of the terrain with elevation information stored in a digitized format as function of location, a typical energy managed of narrow (radar or laser) beam altimeter, a display system, and a central processing unit for processing data according to preselected programs. "This is an example of the use of a DTM for navigational purposes. Waruszewsky Jr. further points out that "The correct position of the aircraft with respect to the digitized map can permit the aircraft to engage in terrain following procedures using only the difficult to detect altitude range finding apparatus as a source of emitted electromagnetic radiation." Hereby, Waruszewsky Jr. hereby refers to the problems associated with the detection of active sensors.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,464, Tinkel et al. divulge "A method of automated scan compensation in a target acquisition system for reducing areas of potential threat surrounding an aircraft. The target acquisition system includes a scanning device with adjustable scan limits for scanning a desired area in the vicinity of the aircraft. "In their invention, Tinkel et al. make use of adjustable scanning limits to define a scanned area. In the published US Patent Application No. 20020180636 Al, Lin, Chian-Fang, et al. teach a passive ranging/tracking processing method that provides information from passive sensors and associated tracking control devices and GPS/IMU integrated navigation system, so as to produce three dimensional position and velocity information of a target. The passive ranging/tracking processing method includes the procedure of producing two or more sets of rection measurements of a target with respect to a carrier, such as sets of elevation and azimuth angles, from two or more synchronized sets pf passive sensors and associated tracking control devices, installed on different locations of the carrier, computing the range vector measurement of the target with respect to the carrier using the two or more sets of direction measurements, and filtering the range vector measurement to estimate the three-dimensional position and velocity information of the target. Use is made of passive sensors, but there are needed two or more synchronized sets of passive sensors.

Passive target data acquisition method and system


Multiple communication types are integrated into a call center. The communication types can be chat, email, Internet Protocol (IP) voice, traditional telephone, web page, digital image, digital video and other types. Features of the invention include allowing a single agent to handle multiple customers on multiple channels, or “endpoints.” Prioritizing and assigning calls to agents based on a specific criteria such as the number of endpoints assigned to an agent, the agents availability, the priority of a customer call, the efficiency of a given agent and the agent's efficiency at handling a particular communication type call. An agent user interface is described that allows the agent to have control over accepting multiple calls. The agent can drag and drop canned responses, images, URLs, or other information into a window for immediate display on a customer's computer. The system provides for detailed agent performance tracking. The system provides failure recovery by using a backup system. If the network server fails, then the customer is connected directly to an agent. When a failed computer comes back on line, the statistics gathered are then used to synchronize the returned computer. The system provides extensive call recording or “data wake” information gathering. The system provides flexibility in transferring large amounts of historic and current data from one agent to another, and from storage to an active agent. The system integrates human agents' knowledge with an automated knowledge base. The system provides for an agent updating, or adding, to the knowledge base in real time. The system also provides for “blending” of different communication types.

Automatic call distribution centers, also called ACDs or "call centers," route telephone calls from customers: who place the calls, to agents who respond to the calls. A typical application for a call center is in a customer support department where customers seek information to assist them in using a product.
Modem call centers provide many features to make the handling of calls and exchange of information more efficient. Not only do call centers strive to assist the customers in stating and categorizing their questions, and the agents in responding to the questions, but the call centers also provide supervisors who manage the agents with information so that the supervisors can make decisions on how to best operate the call center. Also, call centers provide information to assist product manufacturers, or service providers, in improving the quality of their customer service department, particular product or service, etc.
For example, a common feature of call centers today is to allow a customer/caller to select from a menu of choices to help categorize their needs. Often, this pre-selection by the customer allows the call center to screen and categorize customers so that customers can be matched up with the proper resources to handle the calls. Call centers also have mechanisms for "queuing" the calls according to the screening information, availability of agents, etc. Call centers can also maintain a database of previous calls from the same caller, or customer. This database can be available to an agent so that an agent will be familiar with the history of the callers' problems, needs, etc. Call centers also log data on calls and call handling. For example, the time each agent spends per call may be a statistic that is of interest to a supervisor in order to judge agents' performances. Also, analysis of the types of calls being received as where, for example, recurring problems appear, can be used to identify problems in a product or service.
The products and services available in today's information age have become more complex and implicate complex technology. The knowledge necessary to use, configure and upgrade products has grown, inevitably translating into a need for more customer support. Unfortunately, today's call centers do not always provide optimum exchange of information. The almost exclusive use of the telephone as the sole communication channel between a customer and agent does not always provide flexible and efficient exchange of information. The shortcomings of today's call centers are especially deficient in light of the increasing volume of calls that call centers must handle. It is not uncommon for call centers to have hundreds of agents handling thousands of calls each day. A call center's operating overhead can be in the millions of dollars per year. The impact of a good customer support center, however, can be reflected in revenues in the hundreds of millions, thus making an efficient and effective call center vital to a company's successful operation. However, today's call centers have failed to adapt to provide an efficient exchange of information between the call center and the customers in light of to day's products and technology.
For example, it is common for computer users to download software applications, software updates, drivers, data, etc. from the Internet. In order to support these software products companies provide online documentation in the form of notes, instructions, lists of "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs) and other documentation. However, the Internet's presentation of information is often inadequate to ail but the most sophisticated computer and Internet users. Even when looking at a single manufacturer's website, a customer may spend a long time only to determine that the answer to their question does not exist within the wealth of information provided at the website. Customers are left to their own devices to figure out how to search among web-based information and often can not make effective automated searches because they don't know how to characterize their problems in a few keywords.
As an alternative to online documents, some manufacturers allow more customized assistance by providing, for example, an e-mail form or address to which the customer may send a question. However, in some cases, the customer may desire immediate response to which an e-mail response is not sufficient. Also, it is often awkward to state a problem without interactive communication. This is especially true with computer-related products where a discussion of a problem is often a mix of acronyms, abbreviations, syntax symbols and other peculiar uses of the written word beyond mere conversational text. Also, questions about using a user interface are difficult to state with text alone since locations, controls, objects, button presses, etc. need to be discussed.
Another form in Internet communication that is sometimes used in the customer support arena is "real-time chat," or, simply, "chat." The chat form of communication allows typed text to appear immediately on another person's screen so that two or more people may have a typed "conversation" by using their computers over a network such as the Internet. In customer support, moderated chat is another communication type that can be used to give information to customers but it represents the same type of personnel drain to the customer service provider that voice communication presents and, thus, is not a popular form of customer service support unless some screening or prioritizing can be performed. Typically, this means a customer must submit a request for a chat with an agent. In these systems, the customer is at the disadvantage of not knowing when an agent will appear and may thus have to wait online whether they desire to be in front of their computer or not.
Of course, the customer can revert to the traditional communication method of picking up the telephone and dialing a customer support center. However, this reduces the customer to voice descriptions of their problem which, in the computer and software world, may not translate well. For example, anyone who has tried to relay a long uniform resource locator (URL) by calling out the slashes and sub-domain names of text that is a collection of garbled non-words at best, and then having to verify the name when it is repeated back by the person at the other end, can understand the value of being able to use text or other images in a conversation to describe a problem. Also, many of to day's customers use their single telephone line to connect to the Internet. This means it is not possible for a customer to simultaneously converse about a problem with an Internet-related product and test out a suggested solution in real time.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a call center system that enhances the ability of a call center to exchange information with a customer. Such a call center should provide benefits in efficiency and effectiveness to both customers, agents, supervisors, and the manufacturer of a product, or provider of a service, to which the call center services are directed.

Automatic call distribution system using computer network-based communication


An electronic device including a circuit board, a first housing, a second housing, and a third housing is provided. The circuit board has at least one connector on at least a first side of the circuit board. The first housing and the second housing are connected and form a containing space and an opening. The circuit board is disposed in the containing space and the first side thereof is at the opening. In addition, the third housing covers the opening and has at least one connector hole. Furthermore, the connector is at the connector hole. The housings of the electronic device are easy to be assembled and maintained and the cost of replacement is low.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic device. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electronic device which is easy to be assembled and maintained and has low assembly and maintenance cost.
2. Description of Related Art
Along with the development of electronic industry, the functions of electronic devices are increasing rapidly, and the appearances of various electronic devices are becoming lighter, slimmer, shorter, and smaller. With notebook computer as example, which can be used anywhere, anytime because of its portability. Notebook computer has much smaller volume than desktop computer and is becoming the mainstream of the market. However, notebook computer is less convenient in assembly, maintenance, or function upgrade than desktop computer due to the spatial structure thereof.
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a conventional notebook computer. Referring to FIG. 1, the notebook computer has a structure of stacked layers, which includes a host 1, a top housing 11, a bottom housing 12, a motherboard 13, a keyboard 14, a touch pad 15, and a CPU 16. This notebook computer is assembled by assembling the motherboard 13, the CPU 16, the keyboard 14, and the touch pad 15 in sequence in the bottom housing 12 of the host 1. Then the top housing 11 is locked with the bottom housing 12. Thus, when users need to maintain or upgrade components in the notebook computer, for example, to fix the motherboard 13 or modules and CPU 16 on the motherboard 13, the top housing 11, bottom housing 12, and the internal components have to be disassembled. Accordingly, the design of the notebook computer in FIG. 1 may cause inconvenience in the maintenance of the notebook computer.
In addition, the motherboard 13 is usually disposed with a plurality of connectors (not shown) which receive power supply or transmit signals to/from external through the opening (not shown) of the bottom housing 12. However, usually different motherboard has different type of connectors or connector positions, thus, the bottom housing 12 has to be replaced too if the motherboard 13 needs to be replaced, which will increase the maintenance cost considerably.


A laminate battery comprising: a flat electrode assembly having a main face and a side face having a smaller area than the main face; and a laminate casing having a cup portion that is capable of housing therein the electrode assembly. The laminate casing is sealed with the electrode assembly housed in the cup portion and has a reduced pressure interior. The cup portion includes a base portion that covers the main face of the electrode assembly, a side portion that extends along the side face of the electrode assembly, and a bend portion that extends from the base portion beyond the side face of the electrode assembly, forms a bend towards the side face of the electrode assembly, and connects with the side portion. An angle of a vertex of the bend is within a range of 40° to 85° inclusive.

A non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery is used as a power source for portable devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and PDAs.
As for types of electrode assemblies used in lithium-ion batteries, there are two types, one being a spiral electrode assembly, in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate are spirally wound with a separator therebetween, and the other being a stacked electrode assembly, in which a plurality of quadrilateral electrodes are stacked one on top of another. Further, as an outer casing for a lithium-ion battery, a laminate casing composed of laminate film that is formed so as to have a cup-shape is used.
As disclosed in Patent Literature 1, such a laminate battery is manufactured by disposing, so as to be contained in a laminate casing formed to have a cup-shape, a flat electrode assembly and a non-aqueous electrolyte and by weld sealing the laminate casing while putting an interior of the laminate casing in a reduced pressure state.
Furthermore, laminate batteries having large sizes, which are used as drive power sources for driving robots, electric vehicles, etc., are being manufactured.

Laminate battery housing flat electrode assembly and manufacturing method therefor


The present invention relates to optical fiber coating systems capable of providing a high degree of microbend protection to an optical fiber, and an optical fiber coated therewith. According to one embodiment of the invention, an optical fiber coating system includes a primary coating and a secondary coating, wherein when a ribbon having twelve large effective area optical fibers coated with the coating system is subjected to the ribbon optical performance test at a wavelength of 1550 nm, the average change in attenuation is about 0.020 dB/km or less.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to optical fiber, and more particularly to coating systems for optical fiber and coated optical fibers.
2. Technical Background
Optical fiber has acquired an increasingly important role in the field of telecommunications, frequently replacing existing copper wires. This trend has had a significant impact in all areas of telecommunications, greatly increasing the amount of data that is transmitted. Further increase in the use of optical fiber is foreseen, especially in metro and fiber-to-the-home applications, as local fiber networks are pushed to deliver an ever-increasing volume of audio, video, and data signals to residential and commercial customers. In addition, use of fiber in home and commercial premise networks for internal data, audio, and video communications has begun, and is expected to increase.
Optical fiber is typically made of glass, and usually has a polymeric primary coating and a polymeric secondary coating. The primary coating (also known as an inner primary coating), is typically applied directly to the glass fiber, and when cured forms a soft, elastic, compliant material encapsulating the glass fiber. The primary coating serves as a buffer to cushion and protect the glass fiber during bending, cabling or spooling. The secondary coating (also known as an outer primary coating) is applied over the primary coating, and functions as a tough, protective outer layer that prevents damage to the glass fiber during processing, handling and use.
The secondary coatings conventionally used in optical fibers are typically crosslinked polymers formed by curing a mixture of an oligomer (e.g., a urethane (meth)acrylate) and at least one monomer (e.g., a (meth)acrylate monomer). Generally, a high Young's modulus is desired in order to provide increased hardness of the protective material. However, an increase in Young's modulus generally serves to increase the brittleness of the material, making it more likely to fracture during use. As such, current optical fiber secondary coatings tend to have lower than desirable Young's moduli in order to ensure the necessary fracture toughness.
Microbending can be source of significant attenuation in conventional coated optical fibers. Microbending is conventionally thought of as being due to microscopic, but sharp curvatures in the optical fiber, which causes coupling between the guided mode with cladding and/or radiation modes. Microbending may be caused by packaging or deployment processes. The coating systems used in conventional coated optical fibers do not provide sufficient protection against microbending losses.

Optical fiber coating system and coated optical fiber


A memory device having a redundant memory block according to the invention is disclosed. The memory device includes a main memory block, a redundant memory block, a first decoder, a second decoder and an address control circuit. The address control circuit is used to set an address corresponding to another address where a certain defective byte of memory bytes is located. When an external address signal is identical to the address set by the address control circuit, the address is transferred to a redundant memory block, so that the defective byte of memory cells can be replaced with a spare byte of memory cells, thereby increasing manufacturing yield.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a memory device, and more particularly to a memory device having a redundant memory block.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1A and 1B are a circuit diagram and an address and data arrangement of a conventional memory device, respectively.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a storage capacity of 1K.times.8 bits is taken as an example. In this case, 10 address lines A.sub.0 -A.sub.9 are required to address an entire main memory block (MMB) 113 via a row decoder 111 and a column decoder 112, wherein address lines A.sub.0 -A.sub.4 are electrically connected to the row decoder 111 while address lines A.sub.5 -A.sub.9 are electrically connected to the column decoder 112.
During memory device (such as random access memories (RAM)) manufacture, defects on several memory cells of memory devices can cause themselves and even the entire memory devices to function abnormally, resulting in low manufacturing yield. The more storage capacities the memory devices have, the higher density the memory devices will have. As a result, the probability of defects on memory devices is greatly increased, leading to low manufacturing yield. In order to improve manufacturing yield, a redundant memory block (RMB) is designed in each memory device. Thus, defective parts of memory cells in memory devices can be replaced with spare memory cells in the redundant memory block so as to maintain better manufacturing yield.
FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram showing a memory device 210 having a redundant memory block 214 according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 2, in addition to a main memory block 213, the memory device 210 includes a redundant memory block 214. The redundant memory block 214 consists of a plurality of rows of memory cells. When there are defects on parts of one row of memory cells in the main memory block 213, a spare row of memory cells in the redundant memory block 214 is used to replace the defective row of memory cells.
Referring further to FIG. 2, an address signal IA is input to access data stored in a corresponding row of memory cells of the memory device 210. At this time, if the corresponding row of memory cells is normal, it can be correctly addressed by the address signal IA via a row decoder 211 and a column decoder 212. Inversely, if the row of memory cells is abnormal, the row decoder 211 is disabled after the address signal IA is compared by an address comparator 220, and then a spare row of memory cells in the redundant memory block 214 is selected to replace the defective row of memory cells. Consequently, the memory device 210 having the redundant memory block 214 can function normally even though the main memory block 213 has local defects, thereby improving manufacturing yield.
However, the unit of the redundant memory block 214 is estimated by row. Under this circumstance, if there is only one memory cell with defect in a row of memory cells of the main memory block 213, the entire row of memory cells must be replaced with a spare row of memory cells selected from the redundant memory block 214. Therefore, the problem with how many redundant memory cells should be reserved during memory device designs is faced. Now, taking a 1K.times.8-bit memory device as an example, a row decoder can be used to address one of 32 rows of memory cells. Under the worst condition that each row of memory cells has only one defective memory cell, it is necessary to have 32 rows of redundant memory cells for replacement. As a result, the areas of the main memory block 213 and the redundant memory block 214 must have a ratio of 1:1. It is obviously unpractical.

Memory device having a redundant memory block

6F, No. 144, Shuang-Feng Rd., Shuang-Hsi Tsun


An ignition apparatus for an internal combustion engine realizes a stable ignition control by ensuring an adequate capacitor charge voltage even in a high-speed engine operation. The apparatus comprises a trigger circuit (50) which includes a pulse generator (30) for sustaining a trigger signal for a predetermined period required for a capacitor (8) to discharge, and a switch (40) for applying a voltage to a gate of a thyristor 12 by opening a short-circuit between gate and cathode thereof. The gate-cathode path of the thyristor is short-circuited upon charging of the capacitor and after discharging thereof, to thereby set a hold current for the thyristor at a high level so that after lapse of a predetermined time and a turn-off time from the beginning of the discharge of the capacitor, the DC-DC converter (2) is restarted to secure an adequate capacitor charge voltage (d).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a capacitor discharge type ignition apparatus for an internal combustion engine (hereinafter also referred to simply as the engine). More particularly, the invention is concerned with an ignition apparatus for the engine which can ensure an adequately high charge voltage of a capacitor even in a high-speed operation of the engine to thereby stabilize ignition control.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, there is known such a capacitor discharge type ignition (CDI) apparatus for internal combustion engines in which a boosted voltage charged previously in a capacitor is discharged through a primary winding of an ignition coil, to thereby generate a spark discharge at a spark plug. This capacitor discharge type ignition apparatus is advantageous in that the ignition for firing a fuel mixture with an associated engine cylinder can positively be ensured even when the spark plug is in a stained state or when a battery of a small capacity is employed, because this type ignition apparatus features a short discharge time and a steep rise-up of the discharge current.
As a booster circuit for charging the capacitor of the ignition apparatus of the type mentioned above, a DC-DC converter is employed which includes a power transistor for turning on and off a booster coil in a repetitive manner.
FIG. 5 shows a circuit configuration of a capacitor discharge type ignition apparatus known heretofore in which a DC-DC converter is employed. Referring to the figure, a reference numeral 1 denotes a battery serving as a power supply source for supplying electric energy to the whole apparatus. Connected to the battery 1 is a DC-DC converter 2 which is comprised of a transformer type booster coil 3, a power transistor 4, a resistor 5, and diodes 6 and 7, which are connected in a manner as shown in the figure, to constitute a booster circuit for generating a boosted voltage by repeatedly turning on and off the power transistor 4 connected to the battery 1.
More specifically, the booster coil 3 includes a primary winding 3a having one end connected to the battery and the other end connected to a collector of the power transistor 4, a secondary winding 3b for outputting a boosted voltage from one end thereof through the diode 7 and a switching secondary winding 3c for turning on and off the power transistor 4 at a high frequency on the order of 20 kHz. Applied to a base electrode of the power transistor 4 together with a source voltage from the battery 1 via the base resistor 5 is an output voltage from the switching secondary winding 3c of the transformer type booster coil 3. The diode 6 serves to prevent a reverse bias voltage from being applied to the base of the power transistor 4.
A capacitor 8 is connected to an output terminal of the DC-DC converter 2 to be thereby charged with the boosted voltage which is outputted from the DC-DC converter 2. An ignition coil 9 has a primary winding 9a connected to the capacitor 8 and a secondary winding 9b connected to a spark plug 10 which serves to fire a fuel mixture within an associated engine cylinder. A fly-wheel diode 11 is connected across the primary winding 9a of the ignition coil 9.
A thyristor 12 is inserted in a discharge path of the capacitor 8 which includes the primary winding 9a of the ignition coil 9. This thyristor 12 is turned on in response to a trigger signal (described hereinafter) applied to the gate thereof. A resistor 13 of about 1 k.OMEGA. is connected between the gate and the cathode of the thyristor 12 and serves for determining a current value, i.e., a hold current I.sub.H in the off-state of the thyristor 12.
At this juncture, it should also be mentioned that a voltage detecting circuit is provided for detecting attainment of a capacitor charge voltage d to a predetermined voltage level, to thereby interrupt operation of the DC-DC converter 2, although illustration of such voltage detecting circuit is omitted.
An electromagnetic pickup or sensor 14 is disposed in opposition to an output shaft (not shown) of the engine for generating a ignition timing signal a at every predetermined crank angle. The ignition timing signal a is rectified by a diode 15 so that it assumes a positive polarity after the rectification. A resistor 16 serves to output the rectified ignition timing signal as the aforementioned trigger signal which is applied to the gate of the thyristor 12. As can easily be understood, the electromagnetic pickup 14, the diode 15 and the resistor 16 cooperate to constitute a trigger circuit for turning on the thyristor 12 in synchronism with the ignition timing signal generated at an ignition timing required for the desired engine operation.
A monostable multivibrator 17 is provided for generating a pulse c for stopping the voltage boost operation in response to the gate voltage b of the thyristor 12 derived from the trigger signal. More specifically, the monostable multivibrator 17 is so designed as to generate the boosting operation stop pulse c which has a duration extended by a turn-off period t1 taken for the thyristor 12 to become completely nonconducting upon falling of the gate voltage b. A transistor 18 which is turned on in response to the boosting operation stop pulse c is connected between the resistor 5 of the DC-DC converter 2 and the ground.
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing, by way of example, a configuration of the monostable multivibrator 17. Referring to the figure, this monostable multivibrator 17 includes an input terminal 21 to which the gate voltage b is applied, an output terminal 22 for outputting the boosting operation stop pulse c, an emitter-grounded transistor 23 having a base connected to the input terminal 21, an emitter-grounded transistor 24 having a collector connected to the output terminal 22, a capacitor 25 inserted between the ground and a junction between the collector of the transistor 23 and the base of the transistor 24, and a resistor 26 inserted between the capacitor 25 and the battery.
In the monostable multivibrator shown in FIG. 6, when the gate voltage b is at a low level "L", the transistor 23 is in the off-state with the base potential of the transistor 24 being high "H". Consequently, the transistor 24 is also in the off-state. The boosting operation stop pulse c is thus at the low level "L". Assuming that the gate voltage b rises up to a high level "H", starting from the state mentioned above, the transistor 23 is turned on, to thereby render the base potential of the transistor 24 to be low "L". Accordingly, the transistor 24 is turned off, whereupon the boosting operation stop pulse c of the level "H" is outputted from the output terminal 22. At this time point, the electric charge stored in the capacitor 25 is drained to the ground through the collector-emitter path of the transistor 23. Subsequently, the gate voltage b falls to the level "L", and the transistor 23 is turned off. However, so long as the capacitor 25 is electrically charged, the base potential of the transistor 24 is inhibited from becoming high "H". After lapse of the charging time t1, the transistor 24 is turned on, as a result of which the boosting operation stop pulse c assumes the low level "L". The charging time t1 is previously so set as to coincide with the turn-off timing of the thyristor 12 by selecting appropriately the values of the capacitor 25 and the resistor 26.
FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram illustrating waveforms of the signals generated in the apparatus shown in FIG. 5. The signals a, c and d have already been mentioned. A waveform e is of a current which is discharged from the secondary winding 3b of the booster coil 3 when the thyristor 12 is turned on.
Now, by reference to FIG. 7, description will be directed to the operation of the known ignition apparatus shown in FIG. 6.
Ordinarily, the capacitor 8 is charged with a boosted voltage supplied from the DC-DC converter 2. When the electromagnetic pickup 14 generates the ignition timing signal a at a predetermined ignition timing determined by the engine operation as desired, starting from the above-mentioned state, the ignition timing signal a of positive polarity is applied to the gate of the thyristor 12 as the trigger signal by way of the resistor 16.
Thus, the thyristor 12 is turned on, whereby the charge voltage d of the capacitor 8 is instantaneously discharged through a discharge path including the primary winding 9a of the ignition coil 9 and the thyristor 12. Usually, the time taken for this discharge is on the order of 20 .mu. sec. Consequently, a high voltage is induced in the secondary winding 9b of the ignition coil 9, resulting in that a spark discharge takes place at the spark plug 10 to fire or ignite the fuel mixture within the associated engine cylinder at the desired ignition timing.
In the conducting state of the thyristor 12, the gate voltage b is continuously outputted. When the conducting current, i.e., the discharge current of the capacitor 8 becomes lower than the hold current I.sub.H, the thyristor 12 is instantaneously turned off (i.e., becomes nonconducting).
On the other hand, when the trigger signal is outputted via the resistor 16, the monostable multivibrator 17 produces the boosting operation stop pulse c to thereby turn on the transistor 18, whereby the base current of the power transistor 4 is broken to stop the operation of the DC-DC converter 2. Subsequently, the thyristor 12 is turned off and the gate voltage b thus falls. After lapse of the turn-off period t1 of the thyristor 12, the boosting operation stop pulse c falls. Thus, operation of the DC-DC converter 2 is restarted to charge again the capacitor 8. In this manner, only after the thyristor 12 have assumed the intrinsically nonconducting state, the boosting oscillation takes place, whereby loss in the oscillation energy can be prevented.
More specifically, when the battery voltage is applied to the base of the power transistor 4 from the battery via the resistor 5, the power transistor 4 is turned on to allow the current to flow through the primary winding 3a of the booster coil 3. At that time, voltages of opposite polarities are induced in the secondary windings 3b and 3c, respectively. In that case, an alternating voltage of ca. 20 kHz is generated across the switching secondary winding 3c, whereby the power transistor 4 is turned on and off at a high frequency, to interrupt the conduction of the primary current. Thus, a boosted voltage is generated from one end of the secondary winding 3b to charge the capacitor 8.
Incidentally, the diode 6 functions to cut the component of negative polarity from the voltage generated across the switching secondary winding 3c to prevent a reverse bias from being applied to the base of the power transistor 4. Protection of the power transistor 4 against the reverse bias can thus be ensured.
When the charge voltage d of the capacitor 8 has attained a predetermined voltage due to repetition of the charging operation, the voltage detecting circuit (not shown) interrupts the operation of the DC-DC converter 2 to thereby protect the capacitor 8 from being overcharged.
In the normal operation, the trigger signal for the thyristor 12 is generated after the operation of the DC-DC converter 2 is stopped by the voltage detecting circuit. Thus, the DC-DC converter 2 is restarted upon lapse of the turn-off period after the discharge of the capacitor voltage d. However, in the high-speed operation of the engine, the time interval at which the ignition timing signal a is generated becomes shorter. Consequently, the trigger signal is generated during operation of the DC-DC converter 2, i.e., during electric conduction of the booster coil 3.
When the situation mentioned above takes place, the electromagnetic energy of the booster coil 3 which has usually a high impedance is discharged as a discharge current e (refer to FIG. 5). As a result of this, the conducting period of the thyristor 12 is correspondingly extended. In this conjunction, it is noted that since the gate voltage b continues to flow until the booster coil discharge current e diminishes below the hold current I.sub.H.
For the reason described above, when the boosting operation stop pulse c is extended, as shown in FIG. 5, the DC-DC converter 2 remains inoperative during an correspondingly elongated period, involving a time lag in the timing for the restart of the DC-DC converter, which means that no adequate charge voltage d of the capacitor 8 can be obtained in the succeeding boosting oscillation cycle. In particular, in the high-speed engine operation, the trigger signal derived from the ignition timing signal a is generated at a short periodic interval, whereby the charge voltage d is further decreased to prevent the spark discharge at the spark plug 10 from occurring at a desired timing.
As is apparent from the foregoing discussion, in the known ignition apparatus for the internal combustion engine, the hold current I.sub.H of the thyristor 12 is determined by the resistor 13. Further, the ignition timing signal a generated in every ignition cycle is utilized as the trigger signal for discharging the capacitor 8. Accordingly, when the electromagnetic energy stored in the booster coil 3 of the DC-DC converter 2 is released through the thyristor 12 in the high-speed engine operation, the thyristor 12 continues to remain in the conducting state for an elongated period, resulting in that the DC-DC converter is caused to remain in the interrupted state for a longer time than the period actually required. Consequently, the succeeding charging period is correspondingly shortened to render it impossible to charge the capacitor 8 adequately, providing an obstacle in realizing the stable ignition process. In particular, in the high-speed engine operation state, the trigger signal based on the ignition timing signal can not be generated at a shorter time interval, as a result of which the charge voltage d becomes further lowered, preventing the firing of the spark plug at a predetermined timing.

Ignition apparatus for internal combustion engine


A retainer device for securing a displayed electronic device with a hinged member and a base portion to a support includes a grooved track secured to the support. First and second retainers are positionable in the track to define a space for the electronic device and include shoulder portions for engaging the grooved track and apertures for receiving elongated fasteners. First and second sets of spacers having complementary recesses and protrusions and through-holes for receiving the elongated fasteners are disposed over the retainers. A slotted member, through which the hinged member of the electronic device can be inserted, is supported by the first and second sets of spacers. Elongated fasteners are insertable through the slotted member and the sets of spacers and are engagable with the retainers for securing the electronic device to the support. A front grip secures a front of the base portion of the electronic device to the support.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to retainer devices for securing and preventing unauthorized removal of displayed items. In particular, the invention relates to a mechanical device for securing electronic devices having a hinged member and a base portion to a support.
2. The Prior Art
Devices for securing electronic equipment are known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,166,910 and 5,052,651 relate to devices for securing computer equipment. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,216,499; 6,006,557; 5,836,183; 5,709,110; 5,632,165; 5,595,074; 5,447,044; and 5,351,508 relate to devices for securing laptop personal computers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,937 relates to a device for locking peripheral devices to portable computers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,906 relates to a cord management apparatus for managing cords associated with small electronic devices on retail display.

Laptop computer security retainer device