A buffer circuitry buffers a radio-frequency (RF) signal. The buffer circuitry includes a complementary pair of switches and a power source. The a complementary pair of switches has an input terminal and output terminal. The input terminal of the complementary pair of switches responds to the RF signal. The output terminal of the complementary pair of switches couples to an output of the buffer circuitry. The power source includes a capacitor coupled to a current source. The power source couples to the complementary pair of switches. The power source supplies power to the complementary pair of switches in a manner that the buffer circuitry supplies a substantially constant power level at its output.

The proliferation and popularity of mobile radio and telephony applications has led to market demand for communication systems with low cost, low power, and small form-factor radio-frequency (RF) transceivers. As a result, recent research has focused on providing monolithic transceivers using low-cost complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. One aspect of research efforts has focused on providing an RF transceiver within a single integrated circuit (IC). The integration of transceiver circuits is not a trivial problem, as it must take into account the requirements of the transceiver's circuitry and the communication standards governing the transceiver's operation.
From the perspective of the transceiver's circuitry, RF transceivers typically include sensitive components susceptible to noise and interference with one another and with external sources. Integrating the transceiver's circuitry into one integrated circuit may exacerbate interference among the various blocks of the transceiver's circuitry. Moreover, communication standards governing RF transceiver operation outline a set of requirements for noise, inter-modulation, blocking performance, output power, and spectral emission of the transceiver. Unfortunately, no technique for addressing all of the above issues in high-performance RF receivers or transceivers, for example, RF transceivers used in cellular and telephony applications, has been developed. A need therefore exists for techniques of partitioning and integrating RF receivers or transceivers that would provide low-cost, low form-factor RF transceivers for high-performance applications, for example, in cellular handsets.
A further aspect of RF apparatus, such as RF transceivers, receivers, and transmitters, relates to providing local oscillator (LO) signals. Typical RF apparatus employ LO circuitry that generates and supplies LO signals. The RF apparatus use LO signals in the receive-path circuitry and/or in the transmit-path circuitry. Consequently, the stability of the LO signal impacts the performance of the RF apparatus. Conventional LO circuitry suffer from variations in the output power of the LO output signals. The variations result, for example, from semiconductor manufacturing process variations and temperature changes. Regardless of the source, the variations in the output power of the LO output signals degrades the performance of the LO circuitry and, consequently, the performance of the RF circuitry. A need therefore exists for LO circuitry that provides a relatively constant output power over physical variations, such as process and temperature variations.

Apparatus and methods for output buffer circuitry with constant output power in radio-frequency circuitry


A board to board interconnection is provided for interconnection of parallel stacked printed circuit boards, with a like array of plated through holes on each of the boards. One connector assembly is insertable from the outside of one of the stacked printed circuit boards, and another electrical connector assembly is insertable from the opposite side of the stacked parallel boards. One of the connector assemblies includes a compliant portion connectible with a plated through hole and including a socket contact. The other connector includes terminals with compliant portions for interconnection with the other board, and includes a pin terminal extending from the compliant portion which is insertable through the printed circuit boards and into interconnection with the socket of the other electrical connector assembly.

It is common to provide interconnections to and from printed circuit boards to other devices and or to other printed circuit boards. It is also common place to provide multi-layer printed circuit boards in specific applications. For example, it is common place to provide multi-layer stacked printed circuit boards in such instances as control technology where the boards are stacked one above the other in parallel manner in a closely spaced arrangement, with an insulator providing the insulative spacing between the two printed circuit boards. It is also common to provide printed circuit boards having a like array of plated through holes where the boards are interconnected at each plated through hole by a commoning connection at each of the plated through holes.
One such application has screw machined components having hexagonal, (or other multi-sided configuration) which are press-fit into one of the plated through holes and includes another pin or other interconnection device connected to the press-fit screw machined members. In such applications, the insertion forces for press fitting the screw machined components into the printed circuit board tend to be excessive and cause the screw machine contact and/or the printed circuit board to become damaged during the assembly.
These and other objects are to be accomplished with the following embodiments and teachings.

Printed circuit board stacking connector with separable interface


Gear pumps use various types of bushings or bearings (sleeves) between a shaft and the housing of the pump. From time to time, these sleeves wear out and have to be replaced. This extractor removes the sleeves and includes three main components—a collet or sleeve engaging member, a mounting bracket, and a lift screw. The extractor may also include other components within the scope of the invention, including melting screws and washers.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to bushing and bearing pullers, and more particularly to bushing and bearing pullers for extracting bushings and bearings from blind holes.
2. Description of Related Art
Various types of pulling devices have been proposed for removing bushings or bearing from blind holes. Examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,618,053; 4,207,664; 4,724,608; 6,158,110; and 8,230,566. Each of these devices are either cost prohibitive, time consuming or cause excessive damage to some of the components involved. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,618,053, and 4,207,664, removal of a bushing causes excessive damage to the housing from which the bushing is extracted. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,724,608; 6,158,110; and 8,230,566, the extractor devices are time consuming as insertion of a member into the bushing and remove of the bushing require torque applied to the device in multiple stages, directions, or onto different parts of the device. The inventors of this invention have designed an improved extractor that can be used with basic shop tools to safely, quickly and efficiently remove a sleeve (e.g., busing, bearing) with minimal damage to components.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.


An apparatus and method for attaching a semiconductor die to a lead frame wherein the electric contact points of the semiconductor die are relocated to the periphery of the semiconductor die through a plurality of conductive traces. A plurality of leads extends from the lead frame over the conductive traces proximate the semiconductor die periphery and directly attaches to and makes electrical contact with the conductive traces in a LOC arrangement. Alternatively, a connector may contact a portion of the conductive trace to make contact therewith.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for attaching a semiconductor die to a lead frame or other type of connector. More particularly, the present invention relates to relocating electric contact points of a semiconductor die to the periphery of the semiconductor die through a plurality of conductive traces. The leads of the lead frame extend over the conductive traces proximate the semiconductor periphery and directly attach to and make electrical contact with the conductive traces in a variety of arrangements or configurations. Alternatively, a connector may be used to contact a portion of the end of a conductive trace located at the periphery of a semiconductor die.
2. State of the Art
Higher performance, lower cost, increased miniaturization of components, and greater packaging density of integrated circuits are goals of the computer industry. Greater integrated circuit density is primarily limited by the space or "real estate" available for mounting a semiconductor die on a substrate such as a printed circuit board. Conventional lead frame design inherently limits package density for a given semiconductor die size because the die-attach paddle of the lead frame must be larger than the die to which it is bonded. The larger the semiconductor die, the less space that remains around the periphery of the die bonding pad for wire bonding. Furthermore, the wire bonding pads on the standard lead frame provide anchorage for the leads when the leads and the semiconductor die are encapsulated in plastic. Therefore, as the die size is increased in relation to a given package size, there is a corresponding reduction in the space along the sides of the package for the encapsulating plastic which joins the top and bottom of the plastic body at the mold part line and anchors the leads. Thus, as the leads and encapsulant are subjected to the normal stresses of subsequent forming and assembly operations, the encapsulating plastic may crack, compromising package integrity and substantially increasing the probability of premature device failure.
Also, since lead frames are designed for use with a semiconductor die having a specific pattern of bond pads located on the active surface thereof, it is desirable to have the flexibility of changing the bond pad locations of a die so that an existing lead frame design may be used with differing types of die material.
For example, one method of chip attachment which reduces the die size is a so-called "lead-over-chip" ("LOC") arrangement. Conventional LOC devices have a plurality of leads disposed on and attached to an active surface of a semiconductor die, thus the name lead-over-chip. A primary advantage of LOC is that the ratio between the size of the semiconductor die and the size of a package which encapsulates the semiconductor die is high. This advantage is achieved because the die-attach paddle is not required since the semiconductor die is instead attached to the leads.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,245 issued Aug. 29, 1989 to Pashby et al. ("the '245 patent") illustrates a LOC arrangement on a semiconductor die (see FIG. 10). The leads 16 are extended over a semiconductor die 10 toward a central or axial line of bond pads 14 wherein bond wires 12 make the electrical connection between the inner ends of leads 16 and the bond pads 14. In wire bonding, the bond wires 12 are attached, one at a time, to each bond pad 14 on the semiconductor die 10 and extend to a corresponding lead 16 or trace end on a lead frame or printed circuit board (not shown). The bond wires 12 are generally attached through one of three industry-standard wire bonding techniques: ultrasonic bonding, using a combination of pressure and ultrasonic vibration bursts to form a metallurgical cold weld; thermocompression bonding, using a combination of pressure and elevated temperature to form a weld; and thermosonic bonding, using a combination of pressure, elevated temperature, and ultrasonic vibration bursts. Film-type alpha barriers 18 are provided between the semiconductor die 10 and the leads 16, and are adhered to both, thus eliminating the need for a separate die paddle or other die support aside from the leads 16 themselves. The configuration of the '245 patent assists in limiting the ingress of corrosive environmental contaminants to the active surface of the die, achieves a larger portion of the circuit path length encapsulated in the packaging material applied after wire bonding, and reduces electrical resistance caused by the bond wires 12 by placing the lead ends in closer proximity to the bond pads 14 (i.e., the longer the bond wire, the higher the resistance). Although this configuration offers certain advantages, it requires that bond wires 12 be individually attached between the bond pads 14 and the leads 16. Bond wires have an inherent problem called bond wire sweep. When encapsulating a bare die assembly, the die assembly is generally placed in a mold with a molten encasing material being injected into the mold whereby the encasing material surrounds the die assembly and the material conforms to the mold. However, this process causes stresses on the bond wires. Since the molten encasing material is viscous, it tends to place directional forces on the bond wires as the encasing material is injected into the mold. These directional forces cause the bond wires to stretch, which can, in turn, cause the bond wires to short with adjacent bond wires or bond pads or be pulled from a bond pad or lead to which the wires are bonded.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,853 issued Oct. 12, 1993 to Michii illustrates a LOC arrangement on the semiconductor die which does not use bond wires (see FIG. 11). The leads 22 are extended over a semiconductor die 20 toward centrally located bond pads 24 (shown in shadow). The leads 22 extend to a position over their respective bond pads 24 wherein the leads 22 are bonded directly to their bond pads 24 with TAB attachment. Although this direct bonding of the lead to the bond pad eliminates the need for wire bonding, it still requires lengthy leads to make electrical contact between the bond pads and the lead frame. Film-type alpha barriers 26 are also provided between the semiconductor die 20 and the leads 22.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to develop a technique and a device for increasing integrated circuit density by reducing lead width and reducing bond pad size, using non-complex lead frame configurations and eliminating bond wires, while using commercially available, widely practiced semiconductor device fabrication techniques.


A downhole tool includes an engaging member configured to increase in radial dimension from a run-in configuration to a set configuration, and to engage a surrounding tubular in the set configuration, and a plurality of buttons embedded in the engaging member. The plurality of buttons are positioned in radial alignment with or radially inward of an outer surface of the engaging member until at least a portion of the engaging member is increased in the radial dimension. The plurality of buttons are configured to extend radially outward of the outer surface of the engaging member and engage the surrounding tubular in when the radial dimension of the at least a portion of the engaging member is increased.

A plug is a type of downhole tool that is designed to isolate two (e.g., axially-offset) portions of a wellbore. More particularly, once the plug is set in the wellbore, the plug isolates upper and lower portions of the wellbore while the upper portion is tested, cemented, stimulated, produced, injected into, or the like.
Plugs often include one or more slips that are configured to expand radially-outward and into contact with a surrounding tubular (e.g., a casing) or the wall of the wellbore when the plug is set, to anchor the plug in place. The outer radial surfaces of the slips may include a plurality of teeth or wickers that are configured to drive or "bite" into the surrounding tubular or the wall of the wellbore to improve the strength of the anchor.
Traditionally, the slips are made from a material, such as cast iron, that is hard enough to bite into the surrounding tubular (generally steel casing). In non-retrievable plugs, that is, plugs that are set and do not provide a mechanism by which the slips can be released, the plugs are typically drilled or milled to restore fluid communication through the casing. The hard material of the slips can make removing the plugs more difficult. Accordingly, other materials have been used more recently for slips, such as composite materials (e.g., carbon-fiber reinforced materials) and magnesium. These materials are easier to mill out, or can even be configured to dissolve after a period of time in the downhole environment. However, these materials typically are not hard enough to bite into the casing. As such, inserts or "buttons" are attached to the slips. The inserts are typically made from a ceramic or carbide material, and are formed with a thin outer edge that is oriented to bite into the casing.
A challenge with using such buttons is maintaining this edge while running the plug into the wellbore. During such run-in, the exposed edge can abrade against the casing and wear down prematurely. A variety of designs attempting to protect the buttons have been implemented with varying success; however, such designs typically add to the expense of the plug or impede the operation of the buttons.


A coupling system has two coupling halves, each having a main body and a closure device arranged therein. The coupling halves can be pressed onto one another in order to release the closure devices and establish a fluid connection. By virtue of the configuration of the seals and of the closure devices, only a coarse tolerance is required for placing the coupling halves on one another.

Hydraulic quick-acting couplings for providing and interrupting fluid connections have been known for a long time and are used in a very wide variety of stationary and mobile machines. To provide rapid connection between a plurality of hydraulic components or complete systems, it is possible to use "multi-couplings", by means of which a relatively large number of fluid and electric lines can be connected and disconnected simultaneously and repeatedly in a reliable and rapid manner. By means of a fixed arrangement of individual elements of a quick-acting coupling on a carrier plate, it is possible to eliminate confusion when connecting. Multi-couplings fundamentally comprise two coupling halves, one of which is connected in a fixed manner to a structure in order to form or accept a coupling socket and the other is embodied as a loose half in order to accept or form a coupling spigot.
To guide axial coupling spigots into the corresponding coupling sockets, very accurate tolerances have to be maintained in the case of conventional principles, especially in the case of multi-couplings with three or more pairs of coupling spigots and coupling sockets. This is observable particularly in the case of multi-couplings in which both coupling halves are integrated into respective components for financial or technical reasons. Owing to the precise tolerances, joining the coupling halves together can lead to tilting and hence to more difficult assembly.

Coupling system for providing a plurality of fluid connections


An object of the present invention is to prevent irregular burrs from being created on the surface during cutting due to the cutting line crossing over the sealing material when a liquid crystal display panel is separated from a mother substrate. When the sealing material 30 is applied using a dispenser, the starting point 31 and the finishing point 32 of the sealing material are at points inside the cutting line 40, and thus, the cutting line 40 is prevented from crossing the sealing material 30 when the liquid crystal display panel is separated from a mother substrate 100. As a result, the breaking line 42 runs straight down from the scribe line 41, creating a clean cross section. Even though the starting point 31 and the finishing point 32 of the sealing material 30 are at points inside the liquid crystal display panel, the starting point 31 and the finishing point 32 are formed so as to be contained within the black matrix in frame form in the periphery, and thus, the display region is not affected.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and in particular, to the form of a sealing portion through which a TFT substrate and a facing substrate are pasted together in a liquid crystal display panel.
(2) Related Art Statement
In liquid crystal display devices, the space between the TFT substrate on which pixel electrodes and thin film transistors (TFT's) are formed in a matrix and the facing substrate on which color filters are formed is filled in with liquid crystal, so that molecules of the liquid crystal can be controlled through an electrical field, and thus, images can be formed. In general, a sealing material is applied around the periphery of the facing substrate using a sealing material applying apparatus, referred to as dispenser, and the TFT substrate and the facing substrate are pasted together.
In the case where the space between the substrates is filled in with liquid crystal in accordance with a suction method, the TFT substrate and the facing substrate are pasted together with a sealing material in between and the sealing material is cured, and after that, the inside space is vacuumed and filled with liquid crystal. Meanwhile, in the case where the space between the substrates is filled in with liquid crystal in accordance with a dropping method, liquid crystal is dropped on the TFT substrate before the TFT substrate and the facing substrate are pasted together, and then the facing substrate is pasted to the TFT substrate. After that, the sealing material is cured.
In the case where a sealing material is provided using a dispenser, the sealing material is applied in annular form around the periphery of the facing substrate in such a manner that the starting point of application using a dispenser overlaps with the finishing point, for example. "Patent Document 1" and "Patent Document 2" describe a technology for forming the finishing point or the starting point of application as described above at a distance from the display region toward the outside so that the overlapping portion does not affect the display region.    (Patent document 1) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2003-241204    (Patent Document 2) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2002-122870

Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.


In an image forming apparatus, an image carrier is configured to rotate in a first direction. An image writer is adapted to irradiate the image carrier to form an electrostatic latent image thereon. A storage stores information regarding a factor disturbing the formation of the latent image in advance. A controller controls the irradiation of the image writer so as to eliminate the disturbing factor, based on the information stored in the storage.

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method for suppressing the occurrence of the degradation factors of the image quality such as a banding phenomenon occurring in the secondary scanning direction during image formation on an image carrier.
An image forming apparatus comprises a plurality of image formation units, such as an image carrier, an image writer, a charger, a developer, and a transferee. In such an image forming apparatus, the initiation and the termination of each of the operations for rotating the image carrier, charging the image carrier, exposing the image carrier (latent image writing), developing the latent image and transferring a toner image are prescribed as a sequence. Incidentally, vibrations may occur in the apparatus in synchronization with various steps in the sequence. Further, the circumferential speed of the image carrier may fluctuate.
In the case of the image forming apparatus is a monochromatic printer, as shown in FIG. 20, a rotation signal for an image carrier turns ON at time "to". At the same time, a charging signal turns ON. Then, at time "ta", a signal for image writer turns ON, so that exposure operation begins.
After that, at time "tb", an activation signal for a developer turns ON. The activation of the developer indicates such time duration that the developer is performing any operation such as the rotation of a development roller. Then, at time "tc", an activation signal for a transfer roller turns ON, so that transfer operation begins. The transfer operation includes the operation of the transfer roller and the application of a transfer bias. At time "td", the rotation signal for the image carrier turns OFF, so that the transfer operation ends.
In this example, vibrations in the apparatus and a fluctuation in the circumferential speed of the image carrier occur at the timing that the operation of the developer is initiated or terminated. The fluctuation in the circumferential speed of the image carrier is caused by an increase or a decrease in the friction in the image carrier. These increases and decreases are caused by a fluctuation occurring at the above-mentioned timing in an electrostatic force associated with the bias (voltage). In a case where this timing of initiation or termination of the development falls within the duration of the exposure operation as indicated by time "tb", inhomogeneity occurs in the image density at that timing. Further, in case where the transfer signal turns ON during the exposure operation as indicated by time "tc", vibrations occur also at this timing, so that inhomogeneity occurs in the image density.
FIG. 21 shows a case where the image forming apparatus is a four-cycle color printer which forms a full color image by overlaying toners of four colors of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). Also in this case, a rotation signal for an image carrier turns ON at time "to". At the same time, a charging signal turns ON. Then, at time "ta", exposure operation begins. At time "tr", development operation begins. At time "ts", transfer operation begins. In such a four-cycle color printer, these exposure operation, development operation, and transfer operation are repeated on the same image carrier four times.
Also in this example, the development operation is initiated or terminated during the exposure operation at time "tr" and "tu", respectively. Accordingly, vibrations in the apparatus and a fluctuation in the circumferential speed of the image carrier occur at these timings. Further, since the transfer signal turns ON and OFF respectively at time "ts" and "tv" during the exposure operation, vibrations occur in the apparatus also at these timings. This causes color shift (misalignment) in the color image formation, and hence degrades the quality.
FIG. 22 shows a case where the image forming apparatus is a tandem type color printer in which image carriers of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) are arranged so as to form an image by overlaying these colors successively. At time "th" exposure operation is initiated. At time "ti" development operation is initiated. At time "tj", primary transfer operation turns ON (c). In such a tandem type color printer, these kinds of operations are performed in parallel for the four colors.
At time "tk", secondary transfer operation is initiated, while at time "tm", the primary transfer operation is terminated. Further, at time "tn", the secondary transfer operation is terminated. Also in the secondary transfer operation, vibrations or the like occur owing to driving operation for the transfer roller and paper feed operation. Thus, similarly to the cases of the development operation and the primary transfer operation, in a case where an ON or OFF signal for the secondary transfer is generated during the exposure operation, color shift occurs and degrades the printing quality.
The above-mentioned vibrations in the apparatus and the fluctuation in the circumferential speed of the image carrier occurring in synchronization with various steps in the sequence of the operation of the image forming apparatus have degraded the precision in the exposure position and hence have caused the problem of density inhomogeneity (banding phenomenon). Further, in the color printers in which a plurality of colors are overlaid, color shift or the like has been caused by the vibrations and the fluctuation described above. In short, the prior art has the problem that the vibrations in the apparatus and the fluctuation in the circumferential speed of the image carrier occurring in synchronization with various steps in the sequence of the operation of the image forming apparatus degrade the printing quality.
In such an image forming apparatus, when the image carrier is driven by a drive motor, the circumferential speed fluctuation is caused by the gear tooth pitch of a gear wheel linked with the image carrier.
FIG. 23 shows the characteristics of the circumferential speed fluctuation in the image carrier and the size of the image generated by exposure. The horizontal axis indicates time T, while the vertical axis indicates the circumferential speed V of the image carrier. Va indicates a normal value for the circumferential speed. The circumferential speed varies in the form of a sine wave having a period of t1 owing to the rotation error caused by the gear tooth pitch of the gear wheel linked with the image carrier.
As time advances, the circumferential speed increases starting at the normal value Va. The circumferential speed reaches the maximum Vb at time "ta1". After that, the circumferential speed decreases as time advances. The circumferential speed returns to the normal value Va at time "tb1". Then, as time advances, the circumferential speed further decreases from the normal value Va. The circumferential speed reaches the minimum Vc at time "tc1". After that, the circumferential speed returns to the normal value Va at time "td1". A half of the cycle of the circumferential speed fluctuation is designated as t2.
When the circumferential speed is at the normal value Va, an image Gx is formed in a normal circular shape. When the circumferential speed is at the maximum Vb, an image Ga is formed in an elliptical shape having the major axis in the secondary scanning direction, and has a larger exposure area than the normal case. When the circumferential speed is at the minimum Vc, an image Gb is formed in an elliptical shape having the major axis in the primary scanning direction, and has a smaller exposure area than the normal case.
As such, the inhomogeneity in the circumferential speed of the image carrier caused by the gear tooth pitch results in density inhomogeneity. This is because: (1) the inhomogeneity in the circumferential speed of the image carrier causes a difference between the spot shapes at an exposure position having a higher circumferential speed and at an exposure position having a lower circumferential speed; and (2) these spots have a difference in the exposure energy per unit area. These two reasons (1) and (2) cause the density inhomogeneity. Further, in the case of a color printer for overlaying a plurality of colors, color shift is caused.
FIG. 24A shows an example of image formation in a case where a fluctuation occurs in the circumferential speed of the image carrier as described with reference to FIG. 23. Symbol X denotes the paper feeding direction (secondary scanning direction).
A normal image Gx is formed in the pixel line Sa at a certain time. After the image carrier travels in the direction indicated by X, the next pixel line Sb reaches the exposure position. At that time, the circumferential speed has increased from Va to Vb. Thus, an image Ga is formed in an elliptical shape having the major axis in the secondary scanning direction. After the image carrier further travels in the direction X, the next pixel line Sc reaches the exposure position. At that time, the circumferential speed has decreased from the Vb to the normal value Va. Thus, a normal image Gx is formed in the pixel line Sc.
After the image carrier further travels in the direction X, the next pixel line Sd reaches the exposure position. At that time, the circumferential speed has decreased from Va to Vc. Thus, an image Gb is formed in an elliptical shape having the major axis in the primary scanning direction. In subsequent processes, a series of images Gx-Ga-Gx-Gb-Gx is periodically repeated. This indicates the occurrence of density inhomogeneity. FIG. 24B shows an example where a normal image Gx is formed in each of pixel lines Sa-Si for the comparison purpose.
In view of the above, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-98802A discloses that a flywheel is provided coaxially to a rotary shaft of an image carrier, and that the flywheel is arranged so as to rotate in association with the rotation of the image carrier. By virtue of this, the inertial moment generated by the rotating flywheel suppresses the velocity fluctuation, so that the density inhomogeneity is reduced.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-112196A teaches that a viscous-fluid damper is provided in a rotary shaft so as to avoid the influence of the vibrations of the apparatus.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-89640A teaches that the rotation of the image carrier is monitored by an encoder, and that the monitored value is compared with a reference value, so that the light emission timing is controlled.
The configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-98802A causes an increase in the number of components. Further, the flywheel having significant size and weight causes an increase in the size and the weight of the apparatus. Similarly, the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-112196A causes an increase in the number of components, and hence unavoidably results in a cost increase. In both of these documents, a countermeasure is provided in the image carrier. Although the vibrations of the apparatus transmit through also to an image writing head, no proposal has so far been made where a countermeasure against the vibrations is provided in the image writing head. This has avoided a satisfactory solution to the problem of printing quality degradation.
The configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-89640A causes unavoidably an increase in the number of components. Further, precise attachment of the encoder is difficult, and that complicated control is necessary in the timing control.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method


A preformed, self adhering single ply roofing membrane including a water impermeable membrane; a pressure sensitive, hot melt adhesive adhered to one side of the water impermeable membrane, and a release liner on the side of the pressure sensitive, hot melt adhesive opposite of the water impermeable membrane.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a self adhering membrane for roofing applications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a preformed self adhering single ply roofing membrane including a pressure sensitive, hot melt adhesive adhered to one side of a water impermeable membrane.
2. Description of the Related Art
A roofing system generally includes a roof deck which is considered the structural supporting surface of a building extending between the surrounding exterior walls of the building. The roof deck may be constructed from plywood, metal decking or concrete or any other suitable material. Depending upon the construction, the roof deck may extend over the surrounding exterior walls or the roof deck may stop short of the exterior walls thereby forming a parapet wall, i.e., a low retaining wall at the edge of the roof deck. If desired, the roofing system may also include an insulation barrier formed from polyisocyanarate or any other suitable material applied over the roof deck.
To make the roof deck and building weather resistant a single-ply membrane roof is installed over the roof deck. The single-ply membrane roof refers to a water impermeable single sheet of polymeric material. The membrane roof has heretofore been installed on the roof deck using a variety of different methods.
For example, the field or interior of the membrane roof may be held to the roof deck by the use of ballast and/or penetrating or non-penetrating fastener means as known in the art. An example of a penetrating fastener means for retaining the field of a membrane roof installed to a roof deck is by utilizing a plurality of small, circular, metal plates having a hole in the center and a roofing screw or other suitable fastener. In order to anchor the membrane roof, the small, circular, metal plates are spaced apart in rows on the membrane roof and the fastener is driven through the hole in each plate, the membrane roof, any insulation material and then into the roof deck. The metal plates are then covered by overlapping roof membrane. An example of a non-penetrating fastener means would include totally adhering the field of the membrane roof to the roof deck.
Although the many known variations for attaching a membrane roof to a roof deck have been proven to perform satisfactorily under certain conditions, further improvements on attaching a membrane roof to a roof deck are desired.
The present invention is directed to a self adhering membrane for roofing applications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a preformed self adhering single ply roofing membrane including a pressure sensitive, hot melt adhesive adhered to one side of a water impermeable membrane for application to a roofing deck and/or a parapet wall to form a water impermeable roofing membrane.

Self adhering membrane for roofing applications


The IC Card includes a main device having a microprocessor and a memory unit, and an I/O contact pad for a connection between the main device and a read write device, also referred to as a main interconnection. The IC card also includes additional device connectable to the main device via a secondary interconnection including the I/O contact pad, and a switch control for selectively switching between the main interconnection, for a transmission of data between the read write device and the main device, and the secondary interconnection, for a transmission of data between the main device and the additional device.

As it is well known, an IC Card includes a main device, including a processor and a memory portion, and a plurality of contact pads. The main device may be connected to a read-write device via a main interconnection including the contact pads. According to the ISO 7816-3 standard, the read-write device and the main device may communicate in a half duplex mode, sending and receiving data to and from the read-write device over an I/O contact pad of the main interconnection.
In particular, the IC Card is an electrically passive component; when it is connected to the read-write device it begins a power-up sequence, receiving a clock signal from the read write device and executing an operating system, for communicating with the read-write device. More particularly, the read-write device acts as a master device with respect to the IC Card, sending commands over the I/o contact pad, for example for executing an application or retrieving data stored inside the memory portion of the IC Card. The IC Card responds as a slave device, processing the commands and returning results to the read-write device over the I/O contact pad.
A disadvantage of such IC Card is that it may communicate only with the read write device, since it is powered by the read write device and, when powered, it may transmit data only over the I/O contact pad that is the unique channel available for communication. In other words, when the IC Card is powered, it is a slave device that can only establish a communication with the read write device, receiving command from the I/O contact pad and transmit data over the same I/O contact pad.
Moreover, the IC Card cannot establish a secondary communication with another device since it cannot use the I/O contact pad for the secondary communication, without damaging the ISO 7816 communication protocol with the read write device.
The problem at the basis of the present invention is that of providing an IC Card supporting a main interconnection between the read-write device and the main device, for exchanging main data over the I/O contact pad according to the ISO 7816-3 protocol, at the same time providing a secondary interconnection with an additional device, for transmitting secondary data, avoiding any modification to the main interconnection and to the ISO 7816-3 protocol, and overcoming the limitations of the current IC Card that narrow its use as a slave device with respect to the read-write device and prevent its communication with other additional devices.

IC card comprising a main device and an additional device


A nitride compound semiconductor light emitting element is made by stacking a metal layer made of one of elements: palladium (Pd), scandium (Sc), vanadium (V), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), tantalum (Ta), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir), cobalt (Co) and copper (Cu), and another metal layer made of one of elements: titanium (Ti), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W) and magnesium (Mg), to increase the adhesive strength of its electrodes with a semiconductor layer, reduce the contact resistance of the electrodes to improve the ohmic characteristics, and improve the external quantum efficiency by combination of thin-film metals with a transparent electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a nitride compound semiconductor light emitting element and its manufacturing method. More specifically, the invention relates to a nitride compound semiconductor light emitting element made by stacking GaN, InGaN, GaAlN and/or other nitride compound semiconductor layers on a substrate and having an electrode with a high adhesive force and a low contact resistance, a manufacturing method thereof, and a light emitting device including same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nitride compound semiconductors expressed by Al.sub.x Ga.sub.y In.sub.1-x-y N (0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.1, 0.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.1, x+y.ltoreq.1) have been remarked for years as materials of light emitting diodes (LED) for ultraviolet light to blue or green light. Compound semiconductors of these materials have enabled intensive emission of ultraviolet light, blue light, green light, and so on, which was difficult before. These nitride compound semiconductors are usually grown on sapphire substrates which are insulating substrates. Therefore, unlike GaAs light emitting elements, electrodes cannot be made on bottom surfaces of substrates, and both anode and cathode electrode must be made on semiconductor layers stacked by crystalline growth.
Especially in case of semiconductor elements using nitride compound semiconductors in which sapphire substrates are translucent to emission wavelengths, they are usually mounted to orient the electrodes downward so as to take out light from the sides of the sapphire substrates.
FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing construction of an existing nitride compound semiconductor light emitting element. In the element, a GaN buffer layer 2, n-type GaN layer 3 and p-type GaN layer 4 are stacked on a sapphire substrate 1 by crystalline growth, and the p-type GaN layer 4 is partly removed by etching to expose the n-type GaN layer 3. The p-side electrode 15 is made on the p-type GaN layer 4, and the n-side electrode 14 is made on the n-type GaN layer 3. The light emitting element is mounted on a lead frame 17 by orienting the surface with the electrodes downward and using a conductive adhesive 16 such as silver paste.
In the existing semiconductor light emitting element shown in FIG. 7, light generated by injecting an electric current from the p-type GaN layer 4 to the n-type GaN layer 2 is reflected by the p-side electrode 15 and taken out through the sapphire substrate 1. However, the conductive adhesive 16 is apt to spread into a gap between the lead frames 17 (shown at A in FIG. 7) and a gap at the p-n junction (shown at B in FIG. 7), and liable to short-circuit the electrodes and the junction. It is therefore a problem of the existing semiconductor light emitting element that the production yield of the mounting process of the elements decreases seriously and the element is liable to deteriorate in the long-term which may cause a reliability problem.
The existing semiconductor light emitting element involves another problem that the need for a high accuracy in positional relation between the lead frames and the element inevitably decreases the productivity. This problem can be removed by increasing the element size to enlarge the distance between the lead frames 17, but it results in decreasing the number of chips obtained from a wafer and increasing the cost so much.
On the other hand, in order to decrease the forward voltage of a light emitting element, its electrodes must be in ohmic contact with the gallium nitride semiconductor layer. In existing light emitting elements, electrodes containing aluminum (Al) were used as n-side electrodes, and electrodes containing nickel (Ni) and gold (Au) were used as p-side electrodes. These electrodes, however, were not reliable in ohmic contact, and Al and Ni spread into GaN layers and degraded the reliability.

Nitride compound semiconductor light emitting element and its manufacturing method


A method of dynamically alleviating loads generated on an aircraft by a disturbance of gust and/or turbulence. The method comprises monitoring, during flight of the aircraft, to automatically detect a disturbance due to gust and/or turbulence and determining an incidence angle or angle of attack of the disturbance. When a disturbance due to gust and/or turbulence is detected, automatically generating control commands for deflecting control surfaces dependent on the incidence angle or angle of attack, and applying the control commands to deflect the control surfaces.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to minimizing dynamic structural loads of an aircraft, introduced by an external excitation to the same.
2. Background Information
Dynamic structural loads are introduced to the structure of an aircraft by external excitations, e.g. due to wind, gusts, turbulences or similar influences, and by excitations due to pilot/flight control system demands. As a result of the flexible properties of the aircraft structure, such excitation may result in oscillations or vibrations that may exceed a given magnitude, so that they can be harmful to the aircraft structure, especially of frequencies in the range of natural or characteristic oscillations of the flexible aircraft structure. If it is desired to reduce the mass of the aircraft structure at high aspect ratio of wing and fuselage, it is necessary to take measures against excessive dynamic structural loads.
Atmospheric gusts excite dynamic wing loads especially in the wing roots as well as vertical accelerations critical for passenger safety. Besides manoeuvre loads these loads are sizing for the aircraft structure. If it is possible to reduce said loads, then a lighter wing design is possible, improving fuel efficiency and thus reducing direct operating costs. Another advantage is the increase of passenger safety due to alleviation of vertical accelerations.
Document DE 198 41 632 C2 discloses a method for compensating structural oscillations of an aircraft, which are introduced by an external excitation, comprising detecting at least one body rate of the aircraft with a sensor arrangement, providing said at least one body rate to a flight controller, and producing movements of control surfaces of the aircraft to minimize the excited oscillations.
For updraft gust the first load peak can be eliminated by a rapid deflection of spoilers on the upper wing surface, see Airbus patent US 20080265104 A. This approach is limited by control authority (reaction time, actuator power), by the loads that the rapid spoiler deflection introduces to the wing structure, as well as by the constraint that the second peak of the wing bending acceleration must not be increased by the spoiler deflection.
EP 1 814 006 A1 proposes the symmetric actuation of ailerons for gust load alleviation using a high pass filtered alpha probe signal as reference for the gust and an adaptive feed-forward controller. This approach solves the problems mentioned above, but is even more limited by the control authority of the ailerons.
Further apparatuses and methods for reducing vibrations due to gust are disclosed in DE 10 2008 014 236 A1 and in EP 1 854 717 A1. In EP 1 854 717 A1, there is disclosed how control commands for alleviating disturbances can be generated. DE 10 2008 014 236 A1 describes an apparatus and a method for adaptive control.

Method and apparatus for minimizing dynamic structural loads of an aircraft


A system for simultaneously transporting internet protocol voice traffic and power to an internet protocol telephony transport using the existing twisted pair infrastructure of a traditional phone system. The system includes a twisted pair broadband switch. The twisted pair broadband switch connects on one end to an internet protocol telephone voice switch using Ethernet wiring and connects on another end to a media converter using a twisted pair wiring on the existing twisted pair infrastructure. The media converter condition the voice traffic between a twisted pair interface and an Ethernet interface to allow connection to an internet protocol telephone. Power is simultaneously transported with the voice traffic over the same twisted pair wiring of the existing twisted pair infrastructure.

The present invention is directed to a system for providing IP (Internet Protocol) telephony transport having an in-line power back-up at a customer site, using the existing twisted pair infrastructure usually made of a conducting material such as copper. Internet protocol as used herein means the exchange of communication and information between computers and various terminals such as in this case, telephones, in a network environment. The existing twisted pair copper infrastructure, is presently used for connecting analog and digital phones, hereinafter also referred to as traditional telephones, to a traditional PBX (telephone voice switch). This twisted pair copper infrastructure uses a lower grade cable. The claimed invention on the other hand, allows the connection of new IP telephones to an IP PBX (Internet Protocol based voice telephony switch) using the twisted pair copper wiring, by introducing a twisted pair broadband switch, hereinafter TPBS, and a media converter, also referred to as MC. Currently, in order to connect a computer or an IP telephone to an IP PBX, a higher grade cable is required which is different from the twisted pair copper wiring. The difference between an analog, digital and IP (internet protocol) telephone are described below. Analog telephones are also referred to as plain old telephone or POTS. These are the commercially available phones used in business and in residences and these can connect to various vendor switches. Digital phones are an upgrade of the analog phones which uses digital transmission of sound and these phones have advanced features that are not present in analog phones. Digital phones are proprietary to a particular vendor's voice switch. A digital phone from one vendor can not connect to a phone switch from another vendor. IP phones are more advanced than either of the analog or digital phones and these phones can connect to any Ethernet based interface to be part of a LAN (local area network) or WAN (wide area network) and use standards based IP technology. Because of the use of standard technology and protocol, IP telephones from one vendor may be used with telephone switches from another vendor.
Traditionally, voice and data have been running on separate physical networks, both within and outside the customer premises.
Traditional voice networks comprise of a PBX (voice switch), which handles call control, feature delivery and power delivery to the desktop telephones. A dedicated pair of wires 2 which terminate on a line card of the PBX, as shown in FIG. 1, comprise of the connection between the PBX and the analog or digital phone which is located at a user's desktop. This traditional telephony system is still used worldwide. These voice networks usually run over a lower grade cable such as Categories 1-3 (CAT1-3) cabling. The PBX switches have battery backup to ensure operation of the PBX during power outages and also provide power to the Analog or Digital Telephones through the PBX, over the copper wiring. Operation of the telephones during times of crises, especially when the building electrical power is impaired is a must for continued availability and operation of the phone system.
Within the last few years, data ran on Local Area Networks (LANs) within the customer premises. This network consists of various technologies including Ethernet, Token Ring, and ATM. Today Ethernet has emerged as the dominant LAN technology and has the greatest market share. The physical wiring that is required to run Ethernet is different from that used with the voice network described above. It is usually done with Category 5 (CAT5) cabling which is widely deployed within buildings. In the LAN, a computer is typically connected to a data switch or a router through CAT5 cabling which carries the Ethernet traffic. Networks transporting data such as LAN are typically not provided with battery backup, and therefore, are rendered dysfunctional in the event of power loss.
There has been a push towards convergence i.e. using the data network to transport voice. This is due to the fact that data traffic volumes have exceeded voice traffic and enterprises stand to save money by sending voice on data networks. Convergence is happening at the network level as well as at the applications level and IP has emerged as the dominant protocol. A vast majority of the enterprise LAN traffic uses IP and it is a natural choice that voice should also be transported over IP. Consequently, there has been a huge industry focus on VOIP (Voice over IP) as is evidenced by the number of product offerings by existing vendors and the amount of venture investment on new VOIP startups. Convergence of voice and data on the same network and technology can be expensive, and maintenance personnel have to learn new technologies and procedures to manage the converged network.
Additionally, data traffic and voice traffic not only have conflicting requirements for the underlying network, but such sources are intrinsically different. Data traffic sources are bursty in nature and typically consume large amounts of network bandwidth. On the other hand, voice is a very well defined source in terms of bandwidth usage as it is constant bit in nature i.e. when a voice call is active it consumes 64 kbps (on a time division multiplexing, TDM, network) of bandwidth for the duration of the call. Although voice is not bandwidth intensive, it is extremely sensitive to delays. Voice as an application has severe problems when delays are beyond certain threshold values and if network delays exceed beyond a certain point, voice conversation may become impossible. The first problem associated with delay is the appearance of echo which modern DSP (Digital Signal Processor) technology has solved with the introduction of echo cancellers. However, if delays become too great, user conversation collisions are possible and communication may become downright impractical (user might have to use "over" to hand over control to the other side). The voice problems anticipated with convergence lie somewhere in the middle, i.e. there isn't much perceivable echo, nor is there collision, but voice quality is choppy depending on the prevailing conditions on the network, a condition not suitable for conducting day to day communications. If voice and data share the same data network and enterprises have not spent the resources to make the LAN "voice ready", then users will experience this patchy voice performance.
Current systems carrying both data and voice traffic over the same wiring is shown in FIG. 3. LANs have historically been best effort networks and grew without any consideration given to QoS (Quality of Service) for handling delay-sensitive traffic like voice. At the time of inception no one had envisioned that someday LANs might be called upon to carry voice. During the last ten years there has been an astronomical growth in LAN traffic and this growth has mostly been "uncontrolled" i.e. corporations have installed LAN equipment to cope with the immediate need of accommodating increased data traffic without much thought given to performance guarantees. This has been acceptable because most LAN protocols are not delay sensitive and have recovery procedures at higher layers. They are concerned with information integrity, and getting information to the destination within reasonable time. LAN networks can tolerate delays that are of the order of seconds (even tens of seconds).
Until recently, providing timely delivery of voice traffic to the end-points was an issue as there was no way of ensuring QoS on a customer's LAN; when voice and data shared the network, traffic was switched on a first come first served basis. This set up is unsuitable for transporting voice over a LAN. The IEEE 802.1 committee released two specifications—802.1p and 802.1q, which allowed LAN hubs, switches and routers to prioritize traffic based upon the priority markings in an Ethernet frame. IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. which is a non-profit, technical professional association that releases various specifications on devices or equipment used in the field. While this solved the QoS issue, it is cost prohibitive for most legacy LAN networks. In order to get a prioritized LAN, it is required that enterprises swap out their old hardware and replace it with hardware that supports IEEE 802.1p and IEEE 802.1q. It is possible to undertake this upgrade in small enterprises, as the number of network elements that require swapping is small, however, in a medium to large enterprise, this could prove to be a daunting task, both from a cost standpoint as well as the disruption it causes to the data network and the overall business operation. If the upgrade goes awry, this has the potential of bringing the customer's entire voice and data network down.
Another problem that has prevented wide scale deployment of IP telephony is the fact that there is no true solution to providing in-line power to IP phones. Traditionally analog and digital phones have been powered from the central PBX, which in turn was battery backed up. The real reason for providing in-line power to phones in traditional PBX systems was to ensure that the system stayed up for a certain amount of time even when power to the facility was lost. The IP phone community is working on a standard called IEEE 802.3af, which defines a way of providing in-line power to IP phones through the un-used wires in the Ethernet wiring scheme. In practical deployments, IEEE 802.3af based equipment is placed in the data closet and provides in-line power to IP telephones. This solution gives a false sense of comfort to the customer that the IP phone is as resilient as the traditional telephones used to be. In fact, during a power outage, the data LAN goes out and consequently, voice connectivity goes out with it. To solve this issue, the enterprise customer has to provide battery backup for power to each and every LAN hub, switch and router. For IEEE 802.3af to be effective, it will require building a new battery backed power facility for the entire Data LAN. This may prove to be extremely expensive and in most cases may not be possible. In a brand new facility, this can be part of the planning process and the building can be designed with DC power to every data closet from day 1. However, there are only a few of these "Greenfield", that is, new installations.
Another concern voiced by IT (Information Technology) professionals is the lack of security on VOIP systems. An experienced hacker can connect a laptop PC to any Ethernet Wall-Jack in the building and record conversations long enough to break the code and subsequently listen in on all conversations. In the traditional phone system, a hacker had to have access to the physical wiring of the building at the MDF (Main Distribution Frame) to physically tap into the phone network to listen to conversations. In a normal business environment where thousands of wires run through, this is almost impossible, and access to the MDF is restricted.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an IP telephony system that can transport voice without experiencing delay in the voice transmission or transport.
It is an object of this invention to provide an IP telephony system using the existing twisted pair infrastructure.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an IP telephony system with in-line power, the source housed at the same location as the battery back up of the PBX, to ensure that the system is operational during building power outages.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an IP telephony system that is secured from unauthorized access.


A multi-layer jacket with convection heating mechanism including a jacket having a pair of long sleeves and a front closeable opening. Also included is a heater coil adapted to produce heat upon the receipt of power. A convection fan is positioned adjacent the heat coil and is adapted to draw air from air inlet apertures of the jacket and further produce a heated air current upon the receipt of power. Further provided is a convection tube having a first end situated adjacent the heater coil opposite the convection fan for receiving the heated air current from the heater coil and convection fan. The convection tube is serpentinely situated throughout the jacket for distributing the heated air current throughout an interior of the jacket. Finally, a heater control mechanism is provided for allowing a user to control the amount of heat generated by the heater coil and the convection fan.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-layer jacket with convection heating means and more particularly pertains to efficiently distributing heat generated by a convection heater consistently throughout a jacket.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of heated jackets is known in the prior art. More specifically, heated jackets heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of providing additional warmth to a user are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, the prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,066 to Ball et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,308 to Courvoiser; U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,989 to Hinton et al.; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 339,221 to Olajide; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,295 to Roehr; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,877 to Vaccari et al.
In this respect, the multi-layer jacket with convection heating means according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of efficiently distributing heat generated by a convection heater consistently throughout a jacket.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved multi-layer jacket with convection heating means which can be used for efficiently distributing heat generated by a convection heater consistently throughout a jacket. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.

Multi-layer jacket with convection heating means


Video card gaming devices and their method of use are disclosed. These permit players to use extensive wagering strategies analogous to the wagering available with table card games. The invention permits wagering of many denominations of coins, currency or markers and rapid major changes in the total value of each wager. The described video gaming device includes a video screen, money receiver and an operating panel; a player-interactive game operating system; display generator responsive to the game operator to produce a visual display representing the hands of the card game; money identifier to identify the amount of money (or credit) available and wagered; denomination and amount selector to indicate the amount of wager to be applied to each play; and a credit determiner to determine and display the number of plays available at the amount and denomination indicated by the player and to redetermine and display a remaining number of plays available after each play. Also disclosed is method a playing a simulated video card game. The game can be terminated at any time. The gaming devices are usable with any monetary value and denomination of coin, currency and credit indicators (markers); various currency systems can be accommodated.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to video gaming devices for playing of card games and their method of operation. More particularly, it relates to such devices and methods of betting by players for such card games on such devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An important element in the popular appeal of conventional table card gaming is the ability provided to a player to change the amount of his or her wager upon completion of each round of play in the particular game, such as twenty-one or one of the varieties of poker. Thus, when on a winning streak, players tend to increase their bets to take advantage of their run of luck. Conversely, when their luck changes and they start having losses, they tend to decrease their bets to minimize those losses. The ability to make such changes to reflect a player's perception of the progress of the game is a major factor in retaining that player's interest in continuing the game, since the player's net winnings or losses are thus a direct result of that wagering strategy.
In recent years, video simulation versions of many of the table card games have come into widespread use. In the video games, an individual player plays against a computer generated simulation of the game, with the computer programmed to reproduce accurately the deal of the cards, and these games have proved quite popular. Wagering has, however, been constrained by the nature of the prior art devices. Initially such video games provided only for a wager that was constrained by the denomination allowed by the device. In a "quarter machine," for instance, a player could wager only multiples of twenty-five cents on each round of play. The game could not be activated except by depositing one or more quarters into the machine or betting accumulated twenty-five cent credit units held in memory by the device. The amount of a winning payoff was based solely on the card hand which was generated by the computer.
Subsequently, video game devices were constructed that allowed deposit of one or a few coins (commonly from three to eight) in a "multiplier" or "multi-line" configuration with payoff for a specific hand being directly proportional to the number of coins deposited. However, as with the earlier devices, wages made on these types of devices are limited only to increments of a single coin type; a quarter machine will accept quarters but will not accept any other type of coin, so the player is limited as to the maximum wager that can be made. Thus, while a player can decrease his or her wager to a single coin while on a losing streak, the player is essentially prevented from taking advantage of a winning streak to make significantly increased wagers. This of course markedly reduces potential players' interest in the video card games.
The problem cannot be resolved by simply permitting the wagering of a large number of coins or credits per round. However large the amount of coins or credits wagered per round, the wager still has a minimum and maximum limit dictated by the defined denomination. Thus, a dollar player must continue to wager a minimum of one dollar or a one-dollar credit on each round. In the case of physical coin wagers, the extensive time required for a player to deposit a large wager coin-by-coin greatly reduces the speed of the game. It is well known that when a significant time interval elapses between each round of play, players quickly lose interest in continuing the game. Consequently, it may be considered that the current video gaming devices have reached a "dead end" with respect to increasing players' interest, since any significant increase in wagering capability is offset by a substantial decrease in the cycle time for play of the game.
It would therefore be advantageous to have a new type of video card gaming device which would permit a player to make substantial upward or downward changes in wagering between any two rounds or hands of play of the game, without significantly increasing the length of the time interval between such rounds or hands. Such would permit the ongoing game to continue at the normal pace that the player expects, while yet providing opportunities for the player to capitalize on a winning streak or minimize losses during a losing streak.

Video gaming device utilizing player-activated variable betting


A nominally floorless hikers' shelter having a raised, tensioned waterproof canopy supported off the ground by pole supports at the front and rear, in which the canopy has a catenary curved ridgeline tensioned between a higher vertical front arch support and a lower, outwardly-angled rear arch support. The shelter is longitudinally tensioned through front and rear awnings extending from the front and rear arch supports. The front awning includes a novel guyline tensioning and ventilation structure in which spaced parallel guylines are attached to the awning at circumferentially spaced locations between the arch support and the lower edge of the awning, leaving an unbroken web of fabric tensioning the arch, and allowing lower portions of the awning to be selectively rolled up for ventilation. The shelter preferably has a hanging insect netting perimeter, including front and rear door panels and sidewalls.

Hikers and campers, especially backpackers, usually require a shelter such as a tent for overnight or multi-night trips. The longer the trip, the greater the need for a shelter of as little packed weight as possible to reduce fatigue, to make room for food and other gear, and to increase the enjoyment of hiking.
Tents tend to be one of the heaviest items in the pack, and many hikers opt for lighter, less-protective tarps or floorless shelters such as nylon pyramids for the weight savings alone. Even "single-wall" tents, with only one layer of waterproof canopy fabric rather than spaced layers of breathable and waterproof fabric, tend to be heavier than tarps due to the tents' flooring and heavier structural components. Moreover, single-wall tents tend to be known for condensation problems, where exhaled and evaporated moisture from the occupants condenses on the inner surface of the fabric and either drips or runs down the walls onto the floor. Solutions to the condensation problem such as inner wicking surfaces and vents tend to increase weight, and have limits in certain environmental conditions.
Other factors in choosing a tarp shelter over a tent seem to be the preference among many hikers for a more open, airy, close-to-nature experience while sheltering and sleeping outdoors, and the absence of any need to care for and keep clean an attached floor. The primary drawbacks of tarp shelters are their lack of peripheral weatherproofness, their reduced structural stability in wind, and their lack of insect protection as they are typically floorless and without insect netting.
A hybrid solution to the foregoing problems has been to apply netting in some fashion to tarp style shelters, with mixed success. Detachable netting inserts, defining floored or floorless screened enclosures within the protective tarp canopy, tend to add undesirable weight back into the system. Fixed netting sewn along the tarp perimeter and hanging to the ground provides some protection, but the lack of tensioning and supporting structure in even a well-rigged tarp mitigates some of the benefit. And, finally, no matter how well done the netting arrangement, tarps simply lack the tent-like structural strength and protection that many hikers find preferable.
An early solution to the foregoing problems was my original Tarptent™ shelter. This shelter combined features of tarps and tents, with a pole-supported, tensioned, tent-style waterproof canopy using lightweight material, and front and rear doors and a sidewall made from insect netting to reduce condensation and provide bug protection.
A second version of the Tarptent™ shelter was offered with improved structural strength using a catenary tensioned ridgeline and a tensioned rear arch pole in place of the previous upright rear pole. The rear arch was staked out with a single stake anchoring three tensioned guylines running from a rear arch awning.
Another class of tents is characterized by arched or hooped pole supports at each end. In these tents the tent fabric body is tensioned over two or more supportive hoops or arches like a tunnel. Where the tents are single-wall models, proper venting of the tent interior is important to prevent condensation from gathering on the walls and running to the floor. For example, the "Den" model tent available from Golite, LLC, believed to be the subject of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2001/0042563 A1 published Nov. 22, 2001, is a floored, solid-walled, arch-supported tunnel style tent with a higher front arch door and a lower rear arch door with insect netting door panels to provide through-ventilation. Rain protection for the front and rear doors can be achieved with waterproof fabric panels selectively opened to permit venting through the insect netting panels, but since the waterproof door panels inhibit ventilation, primary rain protection apparently relies on the front and rear arches being angled outwardly away from the canopy and floor to overlie the exposed netting door panels. The user is instructed in commercial publications to position the lower rear end into an oncoming wind to reduce condensation; otherwise, for potentially humid and/or still conditions the user seems to be advised to consider other styles of tent.


According to one embodiment, a high speed serializer for multiplexing 2N data inputs, N being a positive integer, comprises one less than 2N multiplexing cells arranged in N stages. The stages are numbered 1 through N, and the output of the Nth stage is a serial transmission and the inputs of the 1st stage are the 2N data inputs. Each stage comprises half as many multiplexing cells as the preceding stage. Additionally, each multiplexing cell comprises a multiplexer that comprises a pair of inputs and an output. 2N-2 of the multiplexing cells in the first stage further comprise a latch, and the output of the latch is coupled to an input of the multiplexer.

Serializers are used to convert a parallel datastream into a serial bitstream so that it can be stored on a storage medium or transmitted across a network communication link. Serializers may be used in a variety of contexts. For example, serializers may be used within a readout integrated circuit (ROIC). An ROIC is an electrical circuit multiplexer that mechanically and electrically interfaces to a focal plane array sensor to transmit the sensor data to external electronics in order to construct an image.


An RFID key dispenser. The tag dispenser has a simple mechanical construction that enables the tag dispenser to be located in unattended locations. The tag dispenser can, even with very simple construction, dispense a large number of tags between being restocked. Simple motions may be used to retrieve an individual tag for programming, move the tag to a programming station, and then route the tag to a dispensing portion of the tag dispenser or to a storage area for defective tags.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) "tags" are used in a range of systems to identify people or things. An RFID tag contains a memory that can be programmed with data. This data can identify a thing to which the tag is attached or a person who has possession of the tag. When the tag comes near an RFID reader, that data can be read and used to control actions of the system based on the identity of the thing or person near the system. The RFID tag, for example, may identify a person using the system and charge an account of that person for use of the system.
One such system that uses RFID tags is a bicycle rental system. People enroll as members of the system. As part of enrolling, a person may provide financial account information, specifying an account that is to be charged for bicycle rentals. An operator of the system may record this financial information, in connection with an identifier for the member, which is also programmed into an RFID tag.
The RFID tag may have a form factor similar to that of a conventional credit card, making the RFID tag easy for a member to carry. The RFID tag may also have a form factor similar to that of a key fob or any other form factor. As the member travels throughout a metropolitan area in which the bicycle rental system is deployed, the member may present the RFID tag as a key at bicycle rental stations to unlock a bicycle for that member to rent.
In accordance with a conventional RFID tag distribution model, an operator of the system may receive membership registrations over the Internet. Using information collected during the registration process, an account may be established, that may include recording information to process payments for bicycle rentals. An identifier for the member, which may also be associated with the stored information, may be programmed on an RFID tag. That RFID tag may then be delivered to the member through the mail.
This approach of enrolling as a member in a bicycle rental system may take a week or more to complete. If a person desires to rent a bicycle before obtaining an RFID tag, the person may, instead of using the RFID tag, pay at the time of rental. Payment may be made by presenting a credit card to a payment station associated with a bicycle rental station.


A window with built-in devices that senses carbon monoxide; powered only by the exterior daylight; that automatically opens by itself and sounds an alarm when a dangerous level of carbon monoxide is sensed to release the accumulated carbon monoxide and let the clean air with fresh oxygen enter the contaminated area to prevent or minimize poisoning and/or death of humans & animals without the need of any human physical action; the provided contacts can be connected to a private alarm station to alert the Fire & Police Departments to provide immediate assistance to the endangered humans & animals and protect the opened residence.

1. Field of Invention
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to (copyright or mask work) protection. The (copyright or mask work) owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all (copyright or mask work) rights whatsoever.
This invention relates to a new window comprising built-in devices that can sense carbon monoxide in the inside environment of a room, especially in bedrooms where humans or animals sleep; and when a dangerous level of carbon monoxide; is sensed automatically opens by itself to reduce the concentration of carbon monoxide; allowing a flow of outside air to enter the room to ventilate and mix new oxygen with the contaminated environment inside the room; to save the occupants lives without depending on any human physical action, any external power supply, or a short term life replaceable alkaline batteries.
The main purpose of this new invention is to avoid and/or minimize the most dangerous effects of carbon monoxide poisoning to human beings; from brain damage, to the death.
According to a report from Judith Katz, Director Air Protection Division U.S. EPA Region III (Release date: Feb. 9, 1999): "Every year, poisonous gas backup from clogged chimney or defective furnaces as well kerosene heaters, propane heaters, electrical generators or domestic gas cooking burners and ovens, to name few, send 15,000 people to the hospital and kill 700 Americans."
When an emergency takes place and people start getting poisoned by carbon monoxide, disregarding the source of the carbon monoxide; there is a need for an immediate action: provide ventilation to the affected area, to minimize the carbon monoxide concentration and supply clean air with oxygen; otherwise the occupants will die poisoned by the accumulated carbon monoxide; this is a confirmed fact: Air Protection Division U.S. EPA Region III.
The This invention that I claim will take the immediate physical action to resolve the problem when the emergency of carbon monoxide concentration takes place; by automatically opening the universal sash of this new window and giving a "first aid of fresh air" to the occupants in the contaminated room, without depending on any unreliable power supply to activate the window devices, while at the same time the warning alarm will sound; and if the accessible alarm contacts are connected to a private central station alarm company, the built-in comprised devices will trigger the alert to the Fire & Police Department to provide immediate assistance to humans and/or animals and to protect the opened window of the residence, if at the time of the occurrence the residence is unoccupied; the normal/routine use of manually open and close of the window, will not trigger the alert to the Fire & Police Department; and the accessible alarm contacts connected to a private central station alarm company will not interfere with any other burglary alarm system connected/installed to this window.
To be more specific, the devices of this new window that sense carbon monoxide and automatically open by itself, are powered only by the exterior light; this light is transformed into electrical energy by two sets of independent the solar cell charger devices 6a and 6b exposed to the daylight 365 days a year; and disregarding cloudy days, the amount of charging energy produced by the solar cells charger device 6 are extremely higher compared to the consumption of the comprised electrical devices; and the two sets of rechargeable battery devices 5a and 5b are continually charged by this electrical power; the set device 5a that powers the carbon monoxide sensor device 2, the sound alarm device 3, the switching relay device 4 that controls the unlatch device 8; and the set devise 5b that powers the unlatch device 8 and the normally open and normally close relay device 9 that activates the accessible contacts device 10; have a set of built-in reverse diodes devices 20a and 20b comprised in the solar cell device 6a and 6b, to prevent the rechargeable battery devices 5a and 5b from discharging during the night or any lack of light.
This is how this new window works: the built-in carbon monoxide sensor device 2 comprised in this window, complying with the latest UL standards, senses the level of carbon monoxide 24 hours a day; and when a dangerous level of carbon monoxide is sensed, it will trigger the sound alarm device 3; the alarm relay device 9; the interconnections contacts device 22 and will power the normally open switching relay device 4; therefore, powering the electric unlatch device 8 to unlatch the latch/handle device 13 and releasing the universal jamb device 14 with its attached glass pane device 19 or any of the variety of pre-assembled windows device 21; popping open, swinging on the pivoted hinges or swing device 15 mounted on the bottom of the primary jam device 12; pushed open by the set of built-in springs or pressing device 16 and hold open by the optional holding brackets device 17; allowing a flow of outside air to enter the contaminated room and ventilate the carbon monoxide concentration; to save or prevent poisoning or death of humans and animals; at the same time, the normally open and normally close alarm switching relay device 9 will be powered by the normally open switching relay device 4; that will activate the accessible alarm contacts device 10; and if these accessible alarm contacts device 10 are connected to a private central alarm station company; will trigger the alert to the Fire & Police Departments to provide immediate assistance.
If this windows that I claim are interconnected in the same floor of the dwelling or in the all house, by the interconnections contacts device 22; when any of the windows interconnected windows senses a dangerous level of carbon monoxide all the inter-connected windows will pop open to ventilate the all the rooms/locations where the windows are located, to allow a flow of outside air to enter the rooms and mix new oxygen in the other possible contaminated rooms and/or create a cross ventilation.
Through the above described, I claim that my this present invention can make a difference in preserving the lives of many people; and the use of this invention can change future EPA reports of the humans that die poisoned by carbon monoxide and the ones that after being poisoned by carbon monoxide survive; but remain with permanent brain damage for life.
2. Description of Related Art
The existing carbon monoxide detectors that comply with UL standard 2034 (1998 revision) and the IAS 6-96 new standard, are doing a great job protecting and preventing the loss of life, but there are some issues that need to be addressed to be more effective in saving human lives; these issues are: the dependency in domestic electrical supply and/or replaceable short term life alkaline batteries and the inconsistency of humans in replacing dead batteries; and of more direct consequence and main issue is that the current carbon monoxide detectors do not take any action to resolve the problem when an emergency takes place; they only give a warning sound alert.
Currently used carbon monoxide detectors only protect the occupants with a sound alert, which alerts the occupants that the levels of carbon monoxide have reached a dangerous level of carbon monoxide; this protection is not efficient enough, especially when the majority of the carbon monoxide detectors are located only in the hallways of every level of residential homes (as per national building codes); making this factor an issue in how well the persons can hear the sound alarm from the bedrooms; and even if carbon monoxide detectors are located in the bedrooms, we have to have the following in consideration:
Most elderly people normally have a percentage of hearing loss as well as a very slow reaction to emergencies and confusion due to the age.
This also applies for young children—even if they can hear the alarm, they don't know what it is for or what to do; these two age categories are the most sensitive and most likely to be affected and poisoned by carbon monoxide in a short amount of time even with lower PPS(Particles Per Second)—Particle Per Second—of carbon monoxide.
All other age groups can also have problems hearing the warning alarm of the present day carbon monoxide detectors if they are sleeping, overtired, stressed from daily activities or under the influence of medications or alcohol; or for people that go to sleep listening to loud music, using earphones, iPods or watching television.
And the last to consider is that in this "time of electronics", it is very common hear all kind of beeping alarms such as cell phones, oven timers, microwave timers, dishwasher timers, wake-up alarms, washer machine timers, dryer machine timers, reminder alarms, smoke detector alarms, home security alarms, cordless phones, answering machines, and watches, to name few; which can be similar to the alarm of the current carbon monoxide detectors; and the getting used to these beeping would result in desensitized ears which may mislead people; not distinguishing if the alarm they hear is a threat to their life and the family or simply another daily reminder or a not dangerous alarm.
Present day line voltage carbon monoxide detectors and alarms can lose their warning capabilities and become an ineffective protection as a result of faults in the electrical power supply, which is especially vulnerable in windy, and rainy days as well in snowstorms; during the winter months, heating furnaces may stop working as a result of electrical power outages; and some people commit the life-threatening mistake of heating up the premises with the gas cooking burners; gas wall ovens; kerosene heaters; propane gas heaters; propane BBQ grills, anything that produces heat without the need of electricity; they do so without realizing that they are producing carbon monoxide in an enclosed area, while the line voltage carbon monoxide detectors are not working due to the failure of the electrical power supply; or if the carbon monoxide detector comprise a backup battery and stat beeping; many people'assume that the beeping is related to the power failure.
The other current carbon monoxide detectors, powered by batteries, are also affected and can lose their warning capabilities due to the inconsistency of the occupants (human error) in and the human error of not replacing old/dead batteries, rendering the system ineffective.
Other present carbon monoxide protection for human beings as: U.S. Pat. No. 7,183,933 "Garage carbon monoxide detector with automatic garage door opening command", protects human beings and animals only when the source of the carbon monoxide comes from the internal combustion of automobiles running inside the garage.
The above invention will not protect human beings and animals when the source of the carbon monoxide come from other sources as gas backup from clogged chimney, defective furnaces, kerosene heaters, propane heaters, or domestic gas cooking burners and ovens, used as a emergency source of heat when power failures shut down the heating furnace; furthermore, this described garage door will not function and will not protect human beings and animals when an electrical power failure occurs.
The difference in this new "Window that senses carbon monoxide and opens by itself powered by light" that I claim, is that will protect the human beings and animals disregarding the source of the carbon monoxide, and any electrical power failures.
Other present carbon monoxide protection for human beings as: "Window convenience and security system", United States patent Application 20070210737, also will not function and will not protect human beings and animals when a electrical power failure occurs.
This "window convenience and security system", depends on the electrical power supply to activate all the sensors, wireless devices, main control panels, motor drives, microchips, etc.
The This new window that I claim does not need any electrical power supply; furthermore, other advantages of this new window are that: it is a self contained, pre-assembled, and self powered window that can be installed the same way as a regular window or a replacement window by a regular carpenter mechanic, without the need of any other trade mechanics, and does not need any electrical or mechanical assembly in its installation.
Another advantage of this new window is that the universal window sash device 14 of claim 1, allow to install and use any brand name windows of your choice and style available on the market, such as Hopper, Casement, Owing, Double Hang, or Gliding windows, including fixed windows (not operable)—not operable—; and custom made Elliptical, Circle top, Oval, Arch, Transoms and Triangular windows, operable or not; including its attached sashes, standard hardware, screens, grills and built-in shades or picture windows.
Another existing related carbon monoxide protection as: "Method and devices for improving indoor air quality using window" United States patent (Application 0060002836), relates to a system that monitors the indoor air quality and, when detecting abnormal air conditions (as accumulation of carbon monoxide), and solves the problem "forcibly exhausting the contaminated indoor air by an electric exhaust fan through an exhaust path installed in the window frame".
This described invention will not protect human beings and animals, because the exhaust fan powered by an electric motor will be inoperable in the presence of a electrical power failure.
This new "Window that senses carbon monoxide and opens by itself powered by light" that I claim, does not depend on any electrical power supply; only on the natural, available, free and environmentally friendly light power, and will protect human beings and animals via my innovated method of operation and without the need of any human help.
While this invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments of a hoper window with a universal window jamb device 14, described above in claim 1, it is evident that many alternatives, combinations, modifications and variations are apparent to those skilled in the art; accordingly, the preferred embodiments of this invention as set forth above are intended to be illustrative only, and can be used in different models and styles of windows, including replacement windows, and not in a limited sense, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

Window with built-in devices that senses carbon monoxide and opens itself powered by light