An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device making it possible to lower the power consumption thereof when a still image is displayed. In a liquid crystal display device having memory circuits in each of the pixel, and each group of the pixels shares one D/A converter circuit. In this way, the area of the D/A converter circuit per pixel can be reduced. Accordingly, the number of the memory circuits arranged in each of the pixels can be made large.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device and a method of driving the same. The present invention relates particularly to an active matrix type display device having a thin film transistor (referred to as a TFT hereinafter) formed on an insulator, and a method of driving the same, more particularly to an active matrix type display device using digital signals as picture signals, and a method of driving the same.
2. Related Art
In recent years, display devices having elements formed using a semiconductor thin film on an insulator, particularly on a glass substrate, have been spreading. For example, active matrix type display devices using a TFT have been spreading. In an active matrix display device, pixels are arranged in a matrix form and TFTs are arranged onto the respective pixels (the TFTs being referred to as pixel TFTs hereinafter). The pixel TFTs are used to control the brightness of the respective pixels, thereby displaying images.
Recently, there has been developing a technique of using a polycrystal semiconductor to form not only pixel TFTs constituting pixels but also TFTs constituting a driving circuit at the same time. This technique contributes greatly to miniaturization and low power consumption of display devices. Following this, an active matrix type display device has been becoming essential for the display section of portable information-processing equipment, the applicable field of which has been markedly expanding in recent years, or the like section. Examples of the active matrix type display device include an active matrix liquid crystal display device using a liquid crystal element, and an active matrix type organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device using an OLED element. In the present specification, attention is paid mainly to the active matrix type liquid crystal display device.
The above-mentioned liquid crystal element is composed of two electrodes, oriented films formed on the respective electrodes, and a liquid crystal material sandwiched between faces of the two electrodes on which the respective oriented films are formed. As the liquid crystal material, any material having a known structure can be used.
FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a conventional active matrix type liquid crystal display device of a system in which digital picture signals are used to perform display (referred to as a digital system herein after). At the center thereof, a pixel section 1308 is arranged.
In the pixel section 1308, plural pixels are arranged in a matrix form. Plural source signal lines and plural gate signal lines for inputting signals into the respective pixels are arranged.
A source signal line driving circuit 1301 for controlling signals to be inputted into the source signal lines is arranged over the pixel section 1308.
The source signal line driving circuit 1301 has a shift register 1303, the first latch circuit 1304, the second latch circuit 1305, D/A (digital/analogue) converter circuit 1306, which is illustrated as DAC in FIG. 6, an analogue switch 1307, and so on. Gate signal line driving circuits 1302 for controlling signals to be inputted to gate signal lines are arranged at the right and left sides of the pixel section 1308. Only one gate signal line driving circuit 1302 may be arranged at one side of the pixel section 1308. However, the case in which the gate signal line driving circuits are arranged at both the sides of the pixel section 1308 is more preferred from the viewpoints of driving efficiency and driving reliability.
The source signal line driving circuit 1301 has a configuration as illustrated in FIG. 7. The source signal line driving circuit, the example of which is illustrated in FIG. 7, is a source signal line driving circuit corresponding to a display device which has pixels, the number of which is x in the horizontal direction, so as to display gradation by the input of 3-bit digital picture signals (the gradation being referred to as 3-bit digital gradation).
The source signal line driving circuit illustrated in FIG. 7 has a shift register circuit (SR) 1401, the first latch circuit (LAT1) 1402, the second latch circuit (LAT2) 1403, D/A converter circuit (DAC) 1404, and so on. In FIG. 7, the analogue switch 1307 illustrated in FIG. 6 is not illustrated. If necessary, a buffer circuit, a level shift circuit, and so on, which are not illustrated in FIG. 7, may be arranged.
Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the following will describe the operation of the display device. First, clock signals (clock pulses, inverting clock pulses) and a start pulse are inputted to the shift register 1303, which are represented by "SR" in FIG. 7. As a result, pulses are successively inputted from the shift register circuit 1303 to the first latch circuit 1304, which are represented by "LAT1" in FIG. 7, so as to hold digital picture signals (digital data) which are similarly inputted to the first latch circuit 1304.
The most significant bit (MSB) of the digital picture, signals is represented by D3, and the least significant bit (LSB) of the digital picture signals is represented by D1. After the holding of the digital data corresponding to one horizontal term is completed in the first latch circuit 1304, during a retrace line period the digital picture signals held in the first latch circuit 1304 are simultaneously transferred to the second latch circuit 1305, which is represented by "LAT2" in FIG. 7, by the input of a latch signal (latch pulse).
Thereafter, the shift register circuit 1303 is again operated to start the holding of digital data corresponding to the next horizontal term. At the same time, the digital data held in the second latch circuit 1305 are converted to analogue signals in the D/A converter circuit 1306, which is represented by "DAC" in FIG. 7. The analogue signals are inputted to the source signal lines, represented by "S1" to "Sx" in FIG. 7, and written in the respective pixels.
FIG. 8 illustrates a configuration of the pixel section of an ordinary active matrix type liquid crystal display device.
In each of pixels, a condenser 1001, a switching TFT 1002, and a liquid crystal element 1003 are arranged. The gate electrode of the switching TFT 1002 in each of the pixels is connected to some line of the gate signal lines G1 to Gy. One of the source region and the drain region of the switching TFT 1002 in each of the pixels is connected to some line of the source signal lines S1 to Sx, and the other is connected to either electrode of the condenser 1001 and either electrode of the liquid crystal element 1003.
The analogue signals inputted to the source signal lines S1 to Sx are inputted to the condensers 1001 and the liquid crystal elements 1003 across the drain and the source of the switching TFTs 1002 which have become conductive by the signals inputted to the gate signal lines G1 to Gy. Depending on the voltages of the signals, the transmittivity of the liquid crystal elements 1003 varies so that the brightness of the respective pixels is represented.
When an electric field along a given direction is constantly applied between the two electrodes of the liquid crystal element, ions in the liquid crystal material are prejudiced, thereby resulting in a problem that the liquid crystal element deteriorates. Thus, in display devices or the like wherein the ordinary liquid crystal element is used, there is used a driving method of changing, at regular intervals, the polarity of the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element so as to change the direction of the electric field applied to the two electrodes of the liquid crystal element.
For example, the following driving methods are known: a driving method called gate line inversion, a driving method called source line inversion, and a driving method called frame inversion.
In the driving method called gate line inversion, the polarities of signal voltages applied to liquid crystal elements are made different between gate signal lines adjacent to each other. In the driving method called source line inversion, the polarities of signal voltages applied to liquid crystal elements are made different between source signal lines adjacent to each other. In the driving method called frame inversion, the polarity of the signal voltage applied to the liquid crystal is inverted in every period when an image corresponding to one frame is displayed (the period being referred to as a frame period hereinafter).
Referring to timing charts shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the following will describe the operation of this conventional active matrix type liquid crystal display device.
About the timing chart shown in FIG. 9, an operation based on the frame inversion driving is used.
Signals having a polarity contrary to signals inputted to the source signal line in the first frame period (F1) are inputted from the source signal line in the second frame period (F2). In the third frame period (F3), signals having a polarity different from that of the signals inputted in the second frame period (F2) are inputted.
In the first frame period (F1), the gate signal line G1 is firstly selected. As a result thereof, the switching TFT 1002 whose gate electrode is connected to the gate signal line G1 conducts. Thereafter, signals are inputted through the source signal lines S1 to Sx.
In the timing chart of FIG. 9, attention is paid to a certain source signal line Sm (m is a natural number of x or less) and only signals inputted to this source signal line Sm are shown. The period during which one gate signal line is selected is referred to as one horizontal term (one line period: L). Particularly, the period during which the gate signal line G1 is selected is referred to as the first line period L1.
After the input of a signal to the pixels having the switching TFTs 1002 connected to the gate signal line G1 finishes, a signal is inputted to the gate signal line G2 so that all of the switching TFTs 1002 connected to the gate signal line G2 conduct. In this way, the input of signals in the second line period L2 starts.
The above-mentioned operation is repeated about all of the gate signal lines G1 to Gy so that the repeated operation finishes in the yth line period Ly. As a result, one frame period ends.
Next, the second frame period (F2) starts. In the second frame period (F2), the polarity of signals inputted to the source signal line is different from the polarity of the signal voltage, of the source signal line, inputted to the source signal line in the first frame period (F1). In this way, images are displayed.
After the second frame period (F2) finishes, the third frame period (F3) starts. In the third frame period (F3), signal voltage having a polarity different from that of the signal voltage in the second frame period (F2) is inputted to the source signal line. In other words, signal voltage having the same polarity as in the first frame period is inputted to the source signal line.
The above-mentioned operation is repeated to display images.
In an ordinary active matrix type liquid crystal display device, display in its screen is renewed about 60 times per second in order to make the display of moving images smooth. In other words, it is necessary to supply digital picture signals in every frame period by the above-mentioned operation and perform writing in all of the pixels every time. Even if the picture to be displayed is a still image, the same signals must be continuously supplied in every frame period. It is therefore necessary that an external circuit, the driving circuit and so on continuously perform repetitive processing of the same digital picture signals.
There is also known a method of writing digital picture signals for a still image once in an external memory circuit and subsequently supplying the digital picture signals from the external memory circuit to a liquid crystal display device in every frame period. In either case, it is necessary that the external memory circuit and the driving circuit operate continuously.
Particularly in portable information-processing equipment, it is desired to make the power consumption thereof low. In portable information-processing equipment, the period during which a still image is continuously displayed occupies most of all periods. Notwithstanding this fact, the external circuit, the driving circuit and so on must operate continuously at the time when the still image is displayed, as described above. This fact prevents the power consumption from being made low.

Liquid crystal display device and method of driving the same

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A wheeled enclosure having an interior volume defining body including a rigid base and a plurality of upwardly extending and flexible sides. A plurality of wheeled supports are incorporated into the rigid base, a perimeter establishing inner frame extending upwardly from the rigid base and provides structural support to the flexible sides such that the frame is converted between upward expanded and inward collapsed positions. A telescoping handle extends from a rear of the body and may be pivotally secured to an edge of the rigid base. The handles may extend from upper locations of a pair of opposite sides of the body in order to establish a reclosable top to the volume defining body. An accessory supporting pocket may be secured to an exterior of at least one of the flexible sides. Shoulder supporting straps are secured to upper edges of the sides to facilitate carrying the body in a handle retracted and enclosure expanded position.

The prior art is documented with various types of collapsible laundry container structures. A first example of this is disclosed in Hsu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,858 and having a base, an upper frame, a cover body, four supporting frames, six engaging members, and a water-proof bag is disclosed. The four supporting frames are engaged with the base and the upper frame by rivets to form two pairs of two-story supporting frames, and further fixed by the engaging members stopped with recesses and insert grooves disposed at one lateral side of each supporting frame so as to expand tightly and evenly the water-proof bag outside the supporting frames. In dismantling, the two-story supporting frames are pushed inward from outside the water-proof bag at the spot of the engaging members with the capacity of collapsible fold so as to fold and store the supporting frames neatly upon the base with the upper frame overlaid above. In addition, circular holes are disposed at the base to boost the circulation of air and a corrugated flange is provided at the bottom of the base to form a stable footing for supporting the base on the ground.
A further example drawn from the existing art is the disposable standing trash bag of Doffs, U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,143, and teaching a flexible container supported by a foldable frame. The frame includes at least one pair of vertically stacked horizontal hoops and a plurality of vertical supports. The supports are pivotally connected to the hoops and fold radially inwardly when the trash bag is folded. A slider restrains folding of the vertical supports when the trash bag is standing but can be released by turning the frame upside down so that the trash bag can be folded for storage, shipment or reuse.
The collapsible storage device of Zhen, US 2010/0059514, teaches first and second flexible loop members, each loop member defining a closed loop and having a first side and an opposing second side, each loop member adapted to assume an expanded position and a collapsed position, with the two loop members overlapping each other at a first overlapping point along the first sides of the loop members, and at a second overlapping point along the second sides of the loop members. The loop members are adapted to assume a deployed position in which one loop member is disposed at an angle with respect to the other loop member at the overlapping points, so that the structure defines a top side, four vertical sides, and a bottom side when in the loop members are in the deployed position. The structure also includes a flexible wall extending across the four vertical sides and the bottom side to define an interior space.
The collapsible basket of Day, U.S. Pat. No. 1,148,761, teaches a wire frame collapsible basket having a rectangular rim frame and a rectangular bottom frame. A centrally disposed stay-bar has heads connecting the transverse stretches of the bottom frame, with U-shaped end frames in hinged connection with the transverse stretches of the rim frame. The free transverse bottom stretches of the end frames are bowed upwardly and adapted to yieldingly engage the stay-bar to constitute stretches when the basket is distended, movement of the bowed portions being limited by the stay-bar heads, and a flexible sheathing provided for the bottom, side and ends of the frame, the sheathing being secured to the rim frame member.

Collapsible laundry and accessory basket with wheeled and carryable configurations


The process for preparing 1-functional allyl alcohol carboxylic esters comprises reacting a 3-functional allyl alcohol with the anhydride of the carboxylic acid at temperatures above 100.degree. C. in the presence of metal compounds of transition groups V to VII, namely at temperatures of 100-200.degree. C., preferably 130-150.degree. C. As metal compounds, it is possible to use oxidic metal compounds in the highest or at least second highest oxidation state of the transition metals, for example tungstic acid or its salts and/or tungsten(VI) oxide and/or molybdenum(V) oxide and/or molybdenum(VI) oxide and/or rhenium(VII) oxide. The 3-functional allyl alcohol and the carboxylic anhydride are advantageously used in equimolar amounts, if desired with a slight excess of anhydride, and an alkali metal salt of a weak acid, for example sodium carbonate or sodium acetate, can be added to the reaction mixture in an amount sufficient to trap free protons.

Field of the Invention
The group of 1-functional allyl alcohol carboxylic esters encompasses economically important compounds which are either useful as such or can be reacted to form further economically important compounds, for example they can be saponified to form the corresponding 1-functional allyl alcohols.
It is known that 1-functional allyl alcohol carboxylic esters of the general formula 2 can be obtained according to the following scheme involving a 3,1-allyl rearrangement ##STR1## R.sup.1 and R.sup.3 =H, alkyl or aryl R.sup.2 =any radical, but not H
R.sup.4 =alkyl or aryl
by reacting 3-functional secondary or tertiary allyl alcohols of the general formula 1 with carboxylic anhydrides. The 3-functional allyl alcohols of the general formula 1 are in turn obtainable by addition of vinyl or acetylene metal compounds onto carbonyl compounds.
However, this rearrangement reaction in which an esterification of the rearranged alcohol function takes place simultaneously has hitherto proceeded in a quite unsatisfactory manner, particularly in respect of the yields achieved. In a typical example, it is carried out under strongly acidic conditions in a solvent mixture of acetic acid, acetic anhydride and p-toluenesulphonic acid, with the acetates of the rearranged allyl alcohols being obtained. However, this results in undesired secondary reactions such as eliminations or cyclizations which greatly reduce the yield of the desired rearranged product. Thus, when using, for example, linalool mainly cyclizations are observed, while the desired products geranyl acetate and neryl acetate are formed only as by-products.

Process for the production of 1-functional allylalcohol carboxylic esters


An audio plug (100) for a connection with an audio plug, includes a contact shaft (1) for a connection with the audio plug and a cable (5), a tubular sleeve (2) covering on the contact shaft, and a metal tube (4) glued on the tubular sleeve. Wherein the tubular sleeve has a plurality of channels (21, 22) on the external face thereof for accommodating glue.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio plug and, more particularly, an audio plug with a contact shaft for an electrical connection of an electrical conductor, and a metal tube provided on the contact shaft.
2. Description of Prior Arts
A great number of audio plugs of the most varied constructions are known. These numerous constructional forms are disclosed in many publications.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,179 discloses an audio plug comprising primarily a tubular shaft served as an external contact, a bushing having a greater diameter than the shaft and covering on the shaft, and a gripping sleeve receiving the bushing and the shaft. The bushing which carries an external thread adjacent to the aforementioned shaft is slid onto the shaft. The gripping sleeve with a central bore hole for a passage of a cable. One end of the gripping sleeve has an internal thread by which the gripping sleeve can be screwed onto the thread of the bushing and covers the aforementioned shaft.
However, such previously known constructions are proper to be used in a larger electronic device. When a small audio plug is needed, it is difficult to design precise threads on the bushing and the gripping sleeve. Moreover, the gripping sleeve, to the extent that it is constructed in one piece and is made of harder material, extends over the cable in a cantilevering manner. Since there is no soft cooperation at the end of the gripping sleeve to accommodate the cable, the cable can only exert a limited distortion. If the cable extends or twists, one end thereof connecting with the gripping sleeve will be broken in two parts. Then a desirable transmission between the audio plug and the electronic device will be broken.
Therefore, the present invention is directed to solving these various problems by providing an improved cable connector.


The application provides unique assembly, shipping, display, nesting and compact stowing methods for compact or convertible “sub-assemblies” for wheelbarrow and cart devices. The wheelbarrow or carrier device “sub-assembly” comprising all or some of the interconnected component parts of the device (except for the tub or base) may be selectively movable and stowable to the inside or underside of the cargo carrier, with the user only being required to move and rapidly secure the sub-assembly frame to the device. The wheelbarrow or cart “sub-assembly” disclosed may be entirely or substantially stowed within the side elevational profile and interior of the carrier device carrier space during shipping, transport or sales display, and/or selectively attached to the underside of the base or tub for shipping or display prior to actual use, by a series of any suitable quick release methods commonly known in the art. Other novel component parts of the said sub-assembly units for wheelbarrow or cart devices are also disclosed, including convertible methods allowing the carrier device to be either hitch mounted or trailer connected to a separate wheeled device, allowing the carrier to be mounted in either a setup or a stowed condition.

Applicant's continuation-in-part U.S. Ser. No. 10/622,172 disclosed novel methods relating to compact wheelbarrows and carts. Ser. No. 10/622,172 evolved from applicant's prior applications, including continuation-in-part U.S. Ser. No. 10/346,112, filed on Jan. 17, 2003, wherein disclosures were made relating to compact, folding walking or jogging strollers and similar cargo carriers and disclosed new and unique pivoting and stowable wheel mechanisms for a typically forward wheel on jogging or walking strollers, but also broadly adaptable to other carts and cargo carriers, with different wheel configurations. In another U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/157,980, the applicant disclosed compact wagon and cart carrier devices with pivoting and stowable wheels, underside supports, and handles. This particular application also integrates several innovations of the applicant described in the jogging stroller/cargo carrier application referenced above, with various disclosures adapted from the compact wagon/cart application Ser. No. 10/157,980, along with new innovations. A number of these innovations are therefore integrated for wheelbarrows or similar wheeled carts disclosed herein.
This continuation in part application discloses details of assembly, shipping and stowing of the component parts of wheelbarrows and carts focusing on efficiency of shipping, display and storage of these bulky and unwieldy carrier devices, in a manner not disclosed by any prior art. Some prior inventions have disclosed methods of collapsing some parts of a sub-assembly of a carrier device, such as Tomchak, et al, in both Ser. No. 216,071 (filed Sep. 9, 2002) and Ser. No. 431,078 (filed on May 7, 2003). However, the prior art relating to carrier device subassembly units fails to provide methods for folding or collapsing each and every component part of such carrier devices (including its wheel or wheels) in a compact, selectively movable sub-assembly which itself may be stowed either inside the side elevational profile and perimeter of the carrier space base or moved to the carrier base underside, to establish both a stowed or a fully operative position, nor does the prior art provide for rapid and selective securement of the main sub-assembly in either said position. Also, no prior similar cart provides that the sub-assembly may itself secure each and every component without the user being required to affix or secure various component parts to the sub-assembly. As for the cargo carriers with selectively removable interconnection hitch element disclosures also made in this application, Martin, in Ser. No. 10/279,199, filed on Oct. 23, 2002, contemplates mounting a multiple use cargo carrier via a hitch mount to a vehicle. Martin described that the cargo carrier may include "removable wheels" and "removable handles" (see paragraph 0051), but Martin fails to contemplate a movably stowable wheel and handle, both having an operative and stowable non-detached position, thus avoiding inconvenient removal and reconstruction (the same is true for the underside supports). The applicant's disclosures also importantly provide not only for non-detaching stowable parts, but that the stowed position of the wheel, handle and underside supports preferably does not occupy any of the usable interior carrier space when the device is used to hold cargo while attached by hitch to a vehicle.

Compact wheelbarrow and cart assembly, shipping and display methods including hitch and trailing conversions


A communication device capable of correcting a burst error exceeding a correcting capability of an error correcting code by only transmitting one packet. With respect to data to be transmitted, a frame generating section 22 generates a frame for which an error detecting process, etc., is performed. A frame dividing section 23 divides the generated frame, by a predetermined number, into a plurality of divided frames. A transmission control section 24 generates a packet in which the plurality of divided frame are copied predetermined times. A transmitting section 25 sends the packet to a receiver. A receiving section 35 receives the packet transmitted from a transmitter. A reception control section 34 divides the received packet by the predetermined number. A frame reconstructing section 33 reconstructs the frame by assembling the divided frames in predetermined order. A frame processing section 32 performs an error correcting process, etc., for the reconstructed frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication device and a communication method immune to burst errors. More particularly, the present invention relates to a communication device (a transmitter, a receiver, and a transmitting/receiving device) which is immune to burst errors caused by fading or noise, a communication method performed by the communication device, a program for executing the communication method, and a computer-readable storage medium for storing the program.
2. Description of the Background Art
With recent improvements in LSI, an error correcting technology has been generally used in communications. As the error correcting technology, Golay codes, which are block correcting codes, are well known. For example, if the Golay (24, 12) code is used, 12 bit data is transmitted with 12-bit redundancy codes added thereto, whereby it is possible to correct errors up to three bits in total 24 bits (=one block). That is, in a case where errors occur in a random order, it is possible to correct errors even if a bit error rate is 0.125 (= 3/24). However, in a case where errors intensively occur in a certain period of time, in other words, in a case where so-called burst errors occur, error correction may be impossible. Now, in general, a plurality of blocks (N blocks) for which the above error correction is performed are transmitted for transmitting a lot of data (12×N bits). When a burst error occurs, errors occur intensively in a specific block of N blocks.
For example, a case where an error of four bits occurs in four blocks for which error correction of the Golay (24, 12) code is performed (a bit error rate=approximately 0.042) will be considered. In this case, if the above error occurs randomly in at least two of the four blocks, it is possible to correct errors because the number of error bits in one block does not exceed a correcting capability. However, if the burst error occurs intensively in any one block, it is impossible to perform error correction.
Thus, in order to improve a correcting capability with respect to the burst errors, a transmission technique using an interleaving method has been proposed. Hereinafter, the conventional transmission technique using the interleaving method will be described with reference to FIG. 14.
Part (a) of FIG. 14 is an illustration showing an exemplary method for transmitting four blocks, for which error correction of the Golay (24, 12) code is performed, after interleaving processing. In part (a) of FIG. 14, first to fourth blocks respectively contain 24 bits (12 bit data and 12 bit redundancy codes). In the conventional method, as indicated by dotted arrows in the drawing, a transmitting device sequentially transmits a first bit (1b) of the respective first to fourth blocks, and sequentially transmits a second bit (2b) of the respective first to fourth blocks. Similarly, the transmitting device sequentially transmits a third (3b) to 24th bit (24b) of the respective first to fourth blocks.
On the other hand, a receiving device cyclically distributes the received bits among the four blocks in the same manner as the transmitting device, and reconstructs the first to fourth blocks, respectively. Then, the receiving device performs an error correcting process for the respective reconstructed blocks.
In the above conventional transmission method, bits of the respective blocks are interleaved and transmitted, thereby handling a burst error occurring in intensive and sequential manners. For example, even in the above described case where a burst error of four bits occurs in intensive and sequential manners, only one bit error occurs on a block-by-block basis in the conventional transmission method, whereby error correction can be performed for all the blocks (part (b) of FIG. 14).
However, in a case where the error rate is further deteriorated and a burst length (duration time) of the burst error is increased, a correcting capability of the conventional method quickly reaches its limit. For example, in a case where a burst error of 13 bits occurs intensively in four blocks (a bit error rate=approximately 0.135), at least four bit errors occur in any one block. As a result, it is impossible to perform error correction for the block where four bit errors occurred (part (c) of FIG. 14). That is, even the conventional method using interleaving processing has a problem that error correction cannot be performed for all the blocks if a burst error whose error rate exceeds a random error correcting capability occurs in any block.
In order to address the above problem, in power line carrier communications, for example, an error correcting technique has been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H11-266190) utilizing a fact that a burst error, which is noise, occurs cyclically in synchronization with commercial power (see FIG. 15). A device disclosed in the above gazette includes, as shown in FIG. 16, a transmitter 102 having a power synchronous signal generator 106 for generating a power synchronous signal 105 from commercial power passing through a lamp line 104, a timing signal generating section 110 for generating a timing signal, which is obtained by dividing the power synchronous signal 105 into a plurality of signals, and a control section 111 for transmitting, based on the timing signal, the same information frame (packet) to the lamp line 104 a plurality of different times in order to prevent noise synchronized with the commercial power passing through the lamp line 104 from falling on the same location of the packet. Also, the device disclosed in the above gazette includes a receiver 103 having a storing section 112 for storing a plurality of information frames (packet) received via the lamp line 104, a determining section 113 for determining that an information frame (packet) is a correct signal from among the plurality of information frames, which are the same information frame transmitted the plurality of times, if the information frame includes the least bit error, and a control section 111 for controlling the storing section 112 and the determining section 113.
However, the device disclosed in the above gazette has the following problems.
First, the above device has to include the power synchronous signal generator 106 and the timing signal generating section 110 in order to detect a zero cross of power. Thus, the above two components make it difficult to reduce the size and cost of the device. Also, the above method of determining a cycle of a burst error by detecting a zero cross of the power is applied only to the power line carrier communications.
Second, there arises a problem by transmitting a plurality of frames (packets). In order to perform distributed control for a plurality of terminals, it is necessary to equally enable the respective terminals to perform transmission. Thus, it is preferable to lengthen a transmission time, to some extent, of each transmission, and cause a terminal to pause for some time after transmission. The Japanese Radio Law requires one transmission time and a pause time to be 200 ms, at the maximum, and 40 ms, respectively. Here, a half-cycle of 50 Hz takes 10 ms. Thus, in order to comply with the Japanese Radio Law, a pause time (40 ms) which is quadruple of the half cycle is required for each frame (packet) transmission. Also, in order to perform communications successfully even if a duration time of a burst error (noise) is increased, it is not sufficient to transmit a plurality of frames (packets) three times as exemplified in the above document. As a result, overhead caused by the increased pause time becomes so great that transmission efficiency is reduced and delay times are increased. Especially, in a case where a method of transmitting a plurality of frames (packets) is applied to device control, the increased delay times results in slow response. Thus, a system based on the method of transmitting a plurality of frames (packets) has no practical use.

Communication device and communication method immune to burst error, program for executing the method, and computer-readable storage medium storing the program

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A slitting assembly (10) is disclosed in the preferred form of a rotary cutter including a shaft (50) upon which relatively thin, large diameter annular blades (56) are slid. Relatively large diameter hubs (60) are provided having inner surfaces for receipt on the shaft (50) and having axial ends which flushly abut with the axial faces of the blades (56) for holding the blades (56) in axially spaced relations on the shaft (50). An axial bore (54) is provided through the shaft (50) for circulating a coolant in fluid communication therewith by rotary unions (74, 78). Thus, the blades (56) are cooled below ambient temperature by conduction through hubs (60) and shaft (50) for imparting continuous longitudinal cuts in a band (12) of fat-free brownie products having an internal temperature higher than ambient. The outer periphery of the blades (56) rotate against a back-up roll (22) rotatable about a parallel axis below the band (12). Scrapers (30, 70) are provided to remove any product sticking to the back-up roll (22) and the axial faces of the blades (56).

The present invention generally relates to assemblies for slitting bands into a multiplicity of ribbons, particularly relates to slitting assemblies for baked goods, specifically relates to baked goods slitting assemblies which are not prone to sticking problems, and more specifically relates to slitting assemblies for fat-free food products which are slit when their internal temperatures are above ambient temperatures.
Difficulties are encountered while cutting many types of baked goods and in particular fat-free products as the baked goods and crumbs thereof tend to stick to the cutting blades. Cutting blades having product stuck thereto will not cut in a satisfactory manner and mechanical removal is often not effective. Two approaches have been utilized to overcome this sticking problem, namely lubricating the blade or cooling the blade. In lubricating the blade, an anti-adherent such as an oil or even water is continuously coated on the blade as a means to prevent sticking of product to the blades. This approach has had limited success and is also undesirable as introducing a foreign substance to the baked goods being slit.
Various approaches have been utilized to cool the blades. A first method is to provide cooling of the anvil roll against which the outer peripheries of the rotating blades abut. Although cooling of the anvil roll can be easily accomplished, heat transfer from the blades is limited due to the relatively small area of the conduction path between the blades and the anvil roll. A further method is to provide cooling air flow past the blades. If the blades are cooled to less than about 40.degree. F. (4.5.degree. C.), such air cooling was successful in overcoming sticking problems. However, the system for de-oiling, de-watering, and removing debris such as by filtering the air as well as for moving the air is relatively expensive in capital and operating costs. Another approach is to pack dry ice atop the rotating cutting blades. As the cutter blades were rotated through, the dry ice was contacted against the axial faces of the blades and cooled the same. Again, if the blades are cooled to less than about 40.degree. F. (4.5.degree. C.), such dry ice cooling was successful in overcoming sticking problems. However, handling dry ice is relatively dangerous, and dry ice is expensive so this approach is not very commercially feasible.
Other methods for cutting sticky products exist. However, such other methods, such as the use of water jets which eliminate the need for blades, are expensive and are not as economically feasible in comparison to the use of cutting blades which are moved relative to the product such as by rotation of the blades.
Thus, a need continues to exist for overcoming sticking problems encountered by blades which cut baked goods and especially fat-free products and for overcoming the problems and deficiencies of prior approaches attempting to solve this need.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide novel methods and assembly for slitting bands into a multiplicity of ribbons.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such novel slitting methods and assembly especially applicable to bands formed of fat-free food products.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such novel slitting methods and assembly which do not introduce foreign substances into the band.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such novel slitting methods and assembly which do not deposit debris upon cutting blades.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such novel slitting methods and assembly not requiring handling of dry ice or similar low temperature substances.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such novel slitting methods and assembly having efficient heat transfer from the cutting blades.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such novel slitting methods and assembly having reduced capital and operation costs.

Assembly and methods for slitting fat-free products


A piezoelectric motor has a stator module (1), comprising two pairs of piezoelectric actuators (1a, 1b) and (2a, 2b) inside this stator module. The stator module is fixed by a central fixing point (A). The piezoelectric actuators (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b) are connected to the stator module via flexible or biasing elements (3), such as for instance hinges, for instance elastic hinges. The stator module (1) comprises a tuning mechanism (4), comprising at least one mass (4a, 4b) and at least one flexible or biasing element (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d), for instance leaf springs. The stator module (1) is contacted to a driven part (6), for instance a slider, at the contact point (A). The piezoelectric motor is designed such that contact point (B) is able to produce a closed trajectory, thereby inducing a relative motion of the driven part (6). The contact point (B) is moved by applying an electric field to actuators (1a and 1b) and/or by applying an electric field to actuators (2a and 2b).

The invention relates to a motor, more particularly a piezoelectric motor, which is designed to work simultaneously in a resonant vibration mode and a direct positioning mode. The resonant vibration mode will cause a mechanical element for instance a stator module to vibrate so that a relative movement of a driven part over a large travel is possible while the direct positioning mode will deform the stator module so that at the same time a fine motion control is possible.
Each stator module comprises at least 2 actuators which are electrically excited as to provoke the resonant vibration mode or to deform the stator module for the direct positioning mode. The invention also involves a novel mechanism to optimize the working efficiency of a motor that can simultaneously operate in a resonant vibration mode and a direct positioning mode. The motor can be used as a linear motor, a rotational motor or a planar motor.


A return preventing portion flexible locking piece (20) and return preventing portion (52) for preventing a lever (40) from returning from a standby position to a mount position and a locking means flexible locking piece (20) and lock arm (47) for locking the lever (40) at a connection position are provided. The flexible locking piece (20) return preventing means, locking means of a first housing (10) one member is engaged with the lock arm (47) of the lever (40) (other member), whereby the lever (40) is locked at the connection position. The shape of the first housing (10) can be simplified since it is not necessary to provide the first housing (10) with a locking means for exclusive use in addition to the flexible locking piece (20).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector with a movable member to facilitate connection with a mating connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,703 discloses a connector with a lever mounted on a first housing. The lever can be held temporarily at a standby position so that cam followers of a second housing can enter cam grooves of the lever. The housings are connected by displacing the lever to a connection position. The connector includes means for temporarily holding the lever at the standby position, a return preventing means for preventing the lever from returning from the standby position to the mount position, and a locking means for locking the lever at the connection position.
The means for preventing the lever from returning from the standby position to the mount position and the locking means for locking the lever at the connection position are provided separately on the prior art lever-type connector. Thus, the housings and the lever have complicated shapes.
Lever-type connectors generally have a substantially U-shaped lever with two arms that mount to the housing and a connecting portion that extends between the arms. Operational efficiency can be improved by enlarging an operable portion of the lever taking in the thickness of the housing. However, this enlarges the entire lever-type connector.
Some lever-type connectors have been miniaturized by providing a substantially plate-shaped lever that extends only along an upper surface of the first housing. The plate-shaped lever then can be displaced along the upper surface of the first housing. However, the operable portion of the plate-shaped lever must be made thicker because it is difficult to manipulate an operable portion that is as thin as the remainder of the plate-shaped lever.
In the lever-type connector in which the plate-shaped lever is placed on the upper surface of the housing, the depth and width of the lever-type connector become smaller as the overlapping area of the lever and the housing increases. However, if the thicker operable portion is placed on the upper surface of the housing, the height of the lever-type connector increases.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to simplify the shape of a connector and/or to miniaturize it.


The present invention provides micelles, solutions comprising micelles, methods for preparing micelles, and methods for delivering micelles to patients. The micelles have fixed, preselected hydrodynamic diameters and are formed from basic or acidic amphiphilic compounds.

Amphiphilic compounds are compounds with hydrophilic (water-loving) and hydrophobic (water-fearing) regions. When dispersed in water at a concentration above their critical micelle concentration or "CMC," amphiphilic compounds spontaneously self-associate into micelles. Micelles have a size which depends on properties of the solvent in which they are dispersed. The size of micelles can vary from approximately two to several hundreds of nanometers in equivalent spherical diameter.
When a drug is an amphiphilic compound which forms micelles when formulated for intravenous administration, the pharmacokinetics of the drug can depend upon the size of the micelle formed. Pharmacokinetics describes the time course of the distribution of a drug within the body after administration. The pharmacokinetics of a drug can affect its efficacy, metabolism, distribution, and/or toxicity in the body, either positively or negatively. For other routes of administration, micelle size can also influence pharmacokinetics. When the drug is in the form of a micelle, the effectiveness of delivery of the drug to the site of action depends upon the size of the aggregate, as the micelle size might affect diffusion, transport across cell membranes, and interactions with enzymes, transport proteins and lipids.
Prior to the work of the present inventors, the micelle size of amphiphilic drug compounds in water was known to be governed by the state of the solution, so once the formulation of the drug was chosen, a predetermined micelle size distribution was expected to result. The ability to control the micelle size of a drug delivered in a pharmaceutical formulation was severely limited, and control of the rate of delivery of drug to the site of action, therefore, was limited due to the inability to control the size of the micelle in solutions.
There is a need in the art to control or fix the size of micelles formed by amphiphilic drug compounds in aqueous solutions so that drug delivery rates and pharmacokinetics can be controlled. The present invention is directed to these, as well as other, important ends.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A system for determining a brake rotor characteristic includes test instrumentation. The test instrumentation includes at least one pair of linear variable displacement transducers placed on opposing side surfaces of a brake rotor. The brake rotor is mounted on a motor vehicle. The test instrumentation also includes a rotation detector oriented toward the brake rotor. The test instrumentation further includes a brake test controller powered by a power source of the motor vehicle and/or an internal device battery. The brake test controller is configured to acquire data from the at least one pair of linear variable displacement transducers and the rotation detector. A method for determining a brake rotor characteristic includes collecting data from the brake rotor and analyzing the data to produce test results representative of the characteristic of the brake rotor.

Reliable automotive braking systems are extremely important in ensuring motor vehicle safety. As such, braking systems must be designed and manufactured to extremely exacting standards. Problems with such systems, as measured or detected primarily by warranty returns, are carefully monitored for signs of correctable defects or other abnormal wear patterns.
In the case of warranty returns, brake designers and manufacturers test brake rotors to detect defects. Two characteristics representing potential defects include linear run out and thickness variation. Linear run out is the deviation of the brake rotor from straight-line, circular rotation, and includes both inbound and outbound run out. Thickness variation is the variation in thickness of the brake rotor and can occur where the brake surface is not consistently perpendicular with respect to the axis of rotation. This translates into run out when the rotor, caliper, and brake pads generate an uneven disc wear that produces two thin-to-high spots. Linear run out can also be the result of, for example, a warped brake rotor.
These rotor characteristics, whether from wear, manufacturing defects, or design defects, can produce pulsations in the brake system when brakes are applied, and therefore will cause a shuddering sensation in a braking motor vehicle. If a cause of an anomaly can be determined, these abnormal characteristics can be prevented. Therefore a large number of warranty returns can be avoided and a large amount of money can be saved.
Currently, brake rotors are initially inspected on the vehicle with a dial indicator. Measurements of rotor position and thickness are taken manually at various points around the rotor. When more in-depth testing is required, brake designers and manufacturers perform precision analysis of brake rotors in a laboratory environment. To accomplish this detailed lab testing, the brake rotors must be removed from the motor vehicle and shipped to the manufacturer, when the owner of the motor vehicle makes the warranty return. The transporting and testing of brake rotors is therefore an expensive, time consuming process. Additionally, dismounting and transporting the brake rotors can introduce additional defects (e.g. damage during shipment or corrosion of the rotor) and may result in analysis not representative of the on-vehicle behavior (e.g. because of the absence of lug nut torque).
For this and other reasons, improvements are desirable.

Method and apparatus for brake rotor testing


A controllable glazing, containing at least a first and a second reflective polarizer and a liquid-crystal-dye layer. The liquid-crystal-dye-layer is arranged between the first and the second reflective polarizer. The alignment of the dichroic dye and the alignment of the liquid crystal of the liquid-crystal-dye-layer are changeable. The first and the second reflective polarizer are denoted for electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of λ1 to λ2 and the liquid-crystal-dye-layer is selected such that the electromagnetic radiation transmission through the controllable glazing is controlled in the wavelength range of λ3 to λ4 by dye-absorbance and in the wavelength range λ1 to λ2 by alignment of the liquid crystal and the dye in the liquid-crystal-dye layer. The wavelength range of λ1 to λ2 is within the wavelength range of 750 nm to 2000 nm and the wavelength range of λ3 to λ4 is within the wavelength range of 380 nm to 750 nm.

The transmission spectrum of glazing is important for the energy use of buildings, cars, greenhouses and other indoor spaces. Ideally, the visible light is transmitted in such a way that the correct light level is reached. At the same time, the infrared transmitted is controlled in such a way that the indoor temperature is controlled at the desired temperature. When too little or too much solar radiation is transmitted, much energy is needed for additional heating or cooling of the indoor space. Therefore, one would like to regulate the transmission of radiation through the window.
The most common solution to do this is to provide a non-switchable (static) coating on or in the window. This coating absorbs or reflects part of the incident radiation, thereby limiting the allowed transmission. This coating is typically a static coating and its transmission level cannot be altered. Therefore, the transmission level of the coating is optimised with a 'best average' solution. An additional solar control measure, such as interior or exterior sunshading is required to deal with the high-intensity situations, for example in summertime.
Alternatively, switchable coatings are available. They combine the adjustable transmission of a sunshade in a glazing element. Several technologies are available to construct a switchable coating, including electrochromic, gasochromic, suspended particle devices, polymer dispersed liquid crystals and guest-host dye systems.
Document DE 19937768 describes the use of a LCD for use as a window. The document describes how several components of a traditional liquid crystal displays are removed until one is left with two polarization filters and a homogeneous liquid crystal layer. It is generally understood that a polarization filter for an LCD is a linear absorptive polarization filter, as this is the type of filter that is found in commercial LCD's. The transmission of visible light is controlled using a liquid crystal layer between the two polarizing filters. In DE 3330305 a window system that combines two linear polarizers with a guest-host type dye system is described. The transmission ratio in this case can be tuned by means of the concentration of the dye or the thickness of the switchable layer. In both previous cases, the maximum theoretical transmittance in this case is 50%, as the polarizers maximally allow 50% of the light to pass. In practice this number is even lower due to imperfectness of the polarization filters (a maximum practical value of 35% is reported in U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,086). In many cases, <50% transmittance is too low transmittance of visible light for practical applications. Therefore, using absorptive linear polarizers is not attractive to solve this problem.
WO 99/67681 uses an approach where high light transmittance is available while still allowing (electrical) switching to lower light transmission. This is achieved by using a dichroic dye in a liquid crystal guest. By varying the concentration of the dye, the transmissive range can be tuned anywhere between virtually 100% and 0%. The downside of this approach is that the available dichroic dyes are mostly active in the visible range of the spectrum. Only a limited number of dyes is available that allow blocking of the light for a small part of the IR (infra red) spectrum (750 nm-3000 nm). Therefore, this set-up is not adequate to block the IR electromagnetic radiation.
US 2005/007506 and US 2002/0118328 describe an alternative method to provide radiation control using cholesteric liquid crystals. Following this description, the transmission level can be controlled to be 0%, 50% or 100% for a certain wavelength regime using cholesteric liquid crystal layers. In this case >50% transmission can only be achieved by switching the cholesteric layer itself. This is difficult to do in practice, especially if one would like to have a broad regime for reflection.
Document US 2008/0158448 discloses a system, in which on top and on the bottom polarizer are arranged. Between the polarizer a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched. The liquid crystal layer functions as a polarization retarding or rotating layer. The system is explicitly designed such that light transmission in the visible range (380-780 nm) is controllable [003]. In addition to this, the system in US 2008/0158448 is designed that external stimulus applied to the active layer to achieve transmittance change in the visible spectrum will have little or no effects on the filtering of UV and infrared by the light control layer. In contradiction to this, one of the benefits of the present invention is to have a switchable transmission in the visible range and in the IR range, wherein the visible light transmisison can be tuned to be more than 50% in the high-transmissive state. This cannot be achieved with polarizer based systems described in document US 2008/0158448.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,549 discloses a system for controlling light incident on a smart window. In one embodiment described in this document a liquid crystal is used. The liquid crystal is responsible for scattering the light isotropically in all directions (without applying a voltage) and to ray the light through the layer without deviation of scattering (with applying a voltage). A liquid crystal guest host system is not disclosed in document U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,549.


A method of decreasing fin bending, includes providing a substrate including a plurality of fins, wherein a plurality of trenches are defined by the fins, the trenches include a first trench and a second trench, and the second trench is wider than the first trench. Later, a flowable chemical vapor deposition process is performed to form a silicon oxide layer covering the fins, filling up the first trench and partially filling in the second trench. After that, the silicon oxide layer is solidified by a UV curing process. Finally, after the UV curing process, the silicon oxide layer is densified by a steam anneal process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of decreasing fin bending, and more particular relates to a method to decreasing fin bending by a UV curing process and a steam anneal process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The need to remain cost and performance competitive in the production of semiconductor devices has caused continually increasing device density in integrated circuits. To facilitate the increase in device density, new technologies are constantly needed to allow the feature size of these semiconductor devices to be reduced.
To achieve these goals, fin FETs (FinFETs) or multiple gate transistors are used. FinFETs not only improve areal density, but also improve gate control of the channel.
Shallow trench isolation (STI) is formed to define the fins. However, there is unexpected force retained in the shallow trench isolation. This causes significant stresses applied on the fins, and hence the fins may have bending and cracking.


A method and system for detecting corrosion metal loss. One may provide a guided wave probe that includes an electromechanical device and a corrosion probe. This may be followed by measuring a baseline guided wave attenuation value of the corrosion probe with no corrosion. One may then periodically measure the guided wave attenuation of the corrosion probe and detect an increase in guided wave attenuation values and identify metal corrosion associated with the increase in guided wave attenuation values. This may then be followed by estimating the corrosion metal loss of the metallic component.

Corrosion metal loss is one of many causes of structural damage. Various means can be used to detect and monitor corrosion in structures so that, when detected, appropriate maintenance and remedial measures may be taken to protect the structure from further corrosion damage and prolong the service life of the structure. When the metallic parts of a structure are readily accessible for testing, corrosion can be detected by using nondestructive detection methods such as visual inspection, ultrasonic thickness measurements, etc.
However, when the metallic parts of the structure are not readily accessible, such as in the case of rebar in concrete structures, suspension bridge main cables, or buried pipelines, measurements of actual corrosion damage are difficult to obtain. In these situations, corrosion damage may be inferred from indirect means that sense or measure parameters related to corrosion, such as temperature, moisture, chloride ions, strain, and/or electrochemical potential or current. Yet, these means do not provide information regarding corrosion metal loss.
To minimize corrosion related damage, detection of corrosion in its initial stages of development is needed so that corrective measures could be taken early. Accordingly, a need exists for methods that detect relatively small corrosion metal losses in the structural component, for example loss on the order of microns.

Method and device for measuring corrosion metal loss


An improved steer axle assembly for a trailer is provided in which a tapered roller thrust bearing extends between each lower kingpin yoke thrust face and each lower kingpin sleeve thrust face to transfer load between the lower yoke sleeve and the kingpin sleeve while allowing the yokes to swivel about the kingpins. Upper and lower needle bearing assemblies extend respectively between the upper and lower yoke sleeves and the kingpins to guide the swivelable movement of the yokes about the kingpins. Upper and lower kingpin caps are secured across the upper and lower yoke sleeves respectively above and below the kingpins to seal the opposite ends of the kingpins within the yoke sleeves. At least one of the upper and lower kingpin caps associated with each kingpin has a grease passage extending therethrough for admitting grease into an interior of the yoke sleeves and a grease fitting releaseably coupleable to a pressurized grease supply and sealingly engaging the grease passage to introduce grease into the grease passage.

The load carrying capacity of a truck trailer is determined by the number of axles it has, in other words on a "per axle" basis. In some instances carrying capacity of a trailer is enhanced by adding an intermediate axle assembly between the tractor wheelset and the rear wheelset of the trailer.
A challenge with adding an intermediate axle assembly is in steering the trailer when the wheels associated with the intermediate axle assembly are in contact with the underlying ground. One solution to the problem is to raise the intermediate axle assembly to lift the associated wheels off of the ground in turns. A problem with such an approach is that the weight carried by the intermediate axle assembly gets transferred to the remaining axles which may overload and damage any underlying pavement.
An alternative solution to the steering issue is to provide the intermediate axle with steering capabilities. Such is referred to as a "steer axle". A typical steer axle comprises a laterally extending beam having respective spindles mounted to opposite ends thereof. The spindles are in effect stub axles and carry the intermediate wheels. The spindles are carried by yokes which in turn are swivelably connected to the beam by respective kingpin assemblies.
Each kingpin assembly has a kingpin which is rigidly secured in a generally vertical orientation to each end of the beam so as to protrude above and below the beam. The yoke has upper and lower sleeves which receive the kingpin above and below the beam respectively. The upper and lower sleeves are spaced apart and span the portion of the beam surrounding the kingpin.
It will be appreciated that the yoke and the kingpin assembly is subject to a considerable load. The lower sleeve of the yoke supports the overlying portion of the end of the beam and therefore the weight of anything supported by the beam. To reduce friction and wear in this area a bronze thrust washer is interspersed therebetween which in turn encircles the kingpin. The thrust washer has facility for greasing but by its nature does not hold grease well as its faces press directly against the thrust faces of the components adjacent thereto. Hence the thrust washer requires regular and frequent maintenance for any longevity and even with such treatment it tends to be relatively short lived. The yoke to kingpin securement is typically effected using bronze bushings which are pressed into the ends of the sleeves and which are a close fit to the kingpins. The nature of bronze bushings is that they require frequent lubrication absent which their service life is very short and even with frequent lubrication the bushing life is relatively short.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a steer axle assembly which overcomes at least some of the above maintenance and wear problems.


A word score calculation device according to an embodiment includes an input unit and a calculating unit. The input unit receives input of a string of words including known words, which are known already, and new words, which are not yet known. The calculating unit inputs the lexicon feature of a word, which is included in the string of words, in a neural network in which one or more unit groups for inputting the lexicon features of words are included in an input layer, and calculates a word score of the target word included in the string of words.

A conventional technology is known in which, when a string of words is provided, the word score of the word at a particular position in that string of words is calculated. In recent years, a technology for calculating the word score using a neural network has been developed.
The word score calculation technology is implemented in a recognition, system meant for voice recognition. For example, in a voice recognition system, when a user speaks, the voice recognition result may indicate a plurality of candidate strings of words. In the voice recognition system, for example, with respect to each candidate string of words, the word score of each word in the string of words can be calculated using the word score calculation technology, and the word scores can be added, so as to calculate the language score of the candidate string of words. Then, in the voice recognition, system, for example, from the language scores and the acoustic scores of the candidate strings of words, the relative merits and demerits of the candidate strings of words can be compared, and accordingly the voice recognition result can be decided.
A conventional word score calculation device holds a list of words called a lexicon. Thus, if such a string of words is provided which includes new words not included in the lexicon, then the word scores cannot be calculated.

Word score calculation device, word score calculation method, and computer program product


Disclosed herein are compositions for controlling androgen activity in target organs and cells through the modulation of a 5-α-reductase activity. In certain aspects, these compositions are employed to modulate androgenic activity by inhibiting the formation and availability of active androgen in target cells. As a result, the present invention is directed toward the treatment of a wide variety of conditions including, but not limited to, the treatment of prostatic hyperplasia, prostatic cancer, hirsutism, acne, male pattern baldness, seborrhea, and other diseases related to androgen hyperactivity. Several of these compositions have been shown to effectively decrease body weight, and in some cases, to decrease the weight of an androgen-dependent body organ, such as the prostate and other organs.

There are two commonly associated male physiological events that have a similar etiology. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and male pattern baldness are both related to the enzyme 5-α reductase. (Hirsutism in women is also related to this enzyme.) An excess in activity of 5-α reductase has been shown to be responsible for BPH and male pattern baldness, as well as hirsutism in women. 5-α Reductase catalyzes the conversion of testosterone to 5α dihydrotestosterone (5α DHT). 5α DHT is a physiological ligand for an intracellular androgen receptor. The intracellular receptor has a higher affinity for 5α DHT than testosterone. Once the ligand has interacted with its cognate receptor, the receptor-ligand complex enters the nucleus and regulates gene expression.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the most common non-neoplastic disease process in men directly associated with aging. Although BPH has traditionally been a term used to refer to non-malignant enlargement of the prostate gland resulting from hyperplasia of the prostate epithelium and subsequent urinary outflow obstruction, recent studies have suggested that prostatic enlargement and histologic hyperplasia are only one facet of a larger syndrome consisting of both irratative and obstructive lower urinary tract symptoms, diminished urinary flow rate, and bladder dysfunction. Histologic evidence of BPH has been demonstrated in men as young as forty years; however, microscopic nodular hyperplasia associated with irritative symptoms or outlet obstruction is more commonly seen in men aged fifty to seventy. The frequency of symptomatic BPH is variable yet increases between the fifth and eighth decade of life.
Androgenetic alopecia can occur in both males and females. In men, hair loss generally occurs in the frontal, vertex, and upper occipital regions of the scalp while sparing the posterior and lateral margins. The process may begin at any age after puberty, with temporal hair recession usually noted first. There is no actual loss of hair, but rather a conversion of thick thermal hairs to fine, unpigmented hairs. In women, the pattern of hair loss is generally more diffuse with thinning throughout the scalp. Women with elevated androgen levels, as occur in masculinizing disorders, have a balding pattern similar to that of men. Treatment generally focuses on blocking the 5-α-reductase, the enzyme responsible for converting testosterone to dihydrotestosterone.
Hirsutism is the presence of excess hair in women. This phenomenon is usually an androgen-dependent process. Twenty-five to 35% of young women have terminal hair over the lower abdomen, around the nipples, or over the upper lip. Most women gradually develop more androgen-dependent body hair with age. Nevertheless, normal patterns of female hair growth are unacceptable to many women. At the other extreme, severe hirsutism may rarely be the earliest signs of masculinizing diseases. More often, however, severe hirsutism reflects only increased androgen production in women with a non serious underlying disorder.
There are other diseases associated with 5-α-reductase activity such as acne and seborrhea. The key for treating all of these diseases is the modulation of 5-α-reductase activity.
Currently there is a need for an economically feasible treatment regime that is safe and relatively inexpensive to combat diseases associated with 5-α-reductase.

Compositions and methods for inhibiting 5-α reductase


A compound isolated from Eupricillium brefeldionum having the structure: ##STR1## is a useful antitumor agent.

As is well known, antitumor antibiotic agents can be produced via the fermentation of a variety of microorganisms. Antibiotic tropolone compounds were discussed by Nozoe et al in "Synthesis of Puberulonic Acid", Bull. Chem. Soc. Japan, 33 (1960) pp. 1071-4.
In 1981 and 1983, researchers reported on the action of colchicine and analogs thereof in treating P388 leukemia in mice See Quinn et al, "Quantitative Structure--Activity Relationships of Colchicines against P388 Leukemia in Mice", J. Med. Chem., 24 (1981) pp. 251-6 and Brossi et al, "Biological Effects of Modified Colchicines . . . ", J. Med. Chem., 26 (1983) pp. 1365-9.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,192 to Yamato discloses alkyl- and hydroxy-substituted tropolones and their use as antitumor agents.
Synthesis and antitumor activity of compounds containing two tropolone moieties are described by Yamamoto et al., "Synthesis and antitumor activity of tropolone derivatives . . . ", J. Med. Chem., 35 (1992) pp. 267-273. A natural product containing two tropolone units has been isolated by Sasade et al., "Structure of Fusariocin C. . . .", Agric. Biol. Chem., 45 (1981) pp. 1689-1692.

1H-cycloundeca[1,2-b:5,6-b']biscyclohepta(b)pyrans useful as antitumor agents


A confining ring set suiting wider range of diameters of pipes, wherein a "C" shaped confining ring is provided at three locations thereon with three screw holes equidistantly spaced with one another, each screw hole is provided with a screw therein pointing at the center of a chamber of the confining ring, the chamber is fitted therein with an external annulus which in turn is fitted therein with an inner annulus; the external and inner annuli have "C" shaped openings, an internally extended annular rib is provided on the top of the inner annulus, and an externally extended annular rib is provided on the top of the external annulus, the annular ribs are both provided with notches thereon to scatter stress, the confining ring set having the external and inner annuli can be used to confine pipes of a wider range of diameters, for the smaller pipes, three screws on ring set and effect of confining can thus be increased. The confining ring can further contract the external and inner annuli to transform the confining force in point contact mode into surface contact mode through the annuli, thus can effectively contract the smaller pipes, the range of diameter of pipes available for the confining.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a confining ring set suiting wider range of diameter of pipes, and especially the common pipes connected with each other coaxially, including straight pipes or tapered pipes of various diameters telescopically connected mutually, so that a confining ring set of the present invention can be fitted directly over the external wall of an exterior pipe of which the diameter can be various.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Common pipes connectable with each other coaxially seen in the markets nowadays include those such as posts for bicycles, pipes for taps, stretchable pipes for flag poles, stretchable pipes for umbrellas and stretchable connecting pipes for fishing nets etc.; normally an inner as well as an outer pipe connectable with each other coaxially are loosely placed together, every connecting area on these inner as well as outer pipes is provided with a confining device, so that when the inner and outer pipes are telescopically adjusted to a desired length or height, the confining device can fixedly confine the inner and outer pipes in positions.
However, confining devices used for pipes connected with each other coaxially can be seen in the techniques used in the arts, the disadvantages thereof are now described below:
1) As to those which lock pipes for positioning through contact of a plurality of points: normally a screw or more than one screws are used to contact an exterior pipe at a connection of the pipes, and are threadedly feeded, then the screw ends press directly the exterior wall of an interior pipe, thereby tight clamping for fixed positioning of the interior pipe by contact of one or a plurality of points can be effected; conventional articles use such way for clamping tight can be seen normally on stretchable pipes for flag poles wherein the exterior pipes have thick walls or on stretchable pipes for umbrellas having less load; locking by one point contact can be enhanced by increasing screws to form a three point contact mode to achieve circumferential confining, however, point contact can not effectively confine the interior pipe which is full of stress at every part of the whole periphery thereof, the articles such as stretchable pipes for flag poles have very long length and very heavy weight, they also bear external forces such as wind force, the force of gravity or other component forces, the moment formed on such long pipes may induce very large and non-directional stress at the connection of the pipes, therefore, clamping by screws for fixed positioning of an interior pipe by contact of points can not deal with all the equalized stress on the peripheral wall of the interior pipe at the connection, this is the reason why the pipes are subjected to loosening. PA1 2) As to those which lock pipes for positioning through surface contact: normally a "C" shaped confining ring is used, screws are provided on the wall portions at both sides of the opening of the "C" shaped confining ring for reducing the diameter of the confining ring and thus contracting the exterior wall of the exterior pipe, so that the exterior wall of the interior pipe is clamped tight for fixed positioning thereof; conventional articles use such way for clamping tight can be seen normally on posts for bicycles and pipes for taps; the wall of a "C" shaped confining ring has a confining area which is almost equal to the peripheral area of an imaginary similar ring without an opening and thus can form friction drag with the exterior wall of the interior pipe with a relatively larger contact area, so that the interior pipe can be effectively tightly confined; however, the "C" shaped confining ring itself only has a limited confining range, and the curvature created in confining is not truly round, therefore, its confining action force in clamping the interior pipe through the exterior pipe is not uniformly distributed in the whole periphery of the interior pipe, a problem of unability of effective confining thus exists; if a post for a bicycle or a pipe for a tap wherein a confining ring has to bear the weight of a man and vibration during riding or pressing of an arm of a man can not get an effective confining function for a long period, loosening at the connection of the pipes will induce accidental hurt or inconvenience sooner or later.
The above stated two conventional measures of locking or confining are not able to effectively get the function of confining a connection of an interior and an exterior pipe; and although confining effect obtained by surface contact can be better than that obtained by point contact, in addition to not exactly round surface contact, conventional confining rings have the defect of limited confining range, so that confining rings of single diameter gauge are not good enough for use with pipes of various diameters to be assembled and confined, practicality thereof thus is relatively low. This may be seen on a post for a bicycle or a pipe for a tap, exterior pipes in the markets are of the gauge of diameter of .phi.25.4-31.8 mm, such range is out of the limited range of confining, hence manufacturers must make products of various sizes for application, this increases quite much cost, the invention is an improvement directing to these problems and inconvenience.

Confining ring set suiting wider range of diameter of pipes


A differential amplifier which utilizes a pair of wideband operational amplifiers as output stages for two differential output signals, a pair of high performance DC operational amplifiers to buffer input signals to the pair of wideband operational amplifiers used as output stages and reduce offset voltage error by the amount of the DC gain of the pair of high performance DC operational amplifiers, apparatus for biasing the pair of high performance DC operational amplifiers to provide exceptional DC characteristics and eliminate common mode response from those amplifiers, and apparatus for feeding forward high frequency AC input to the wideband operational amplifiers operating as the output stages without loading the common mode input impedance of the differential amplifier.

1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to differential amplifiers and, more particularly, to circuitry utilizing DC operational amplifiers to form a composite differential direct-coupled instrumentation amplifier having both high DC accuracy and wide bandwidth.
2. History Of The Prior Art
A typical prior art instrumentation amplifier is implemented with three operational amplifiers. Two of the operational amplifiers each receive one of the two differential input signals the difference between which is to be measured; these two operational amplifiers each provide high closed loop gains. The two output signals generated by these operational amplifiers are furnished as the input signals to the third operational amplifier which utilizes balanced feedback and input resistors so that it operates at a closed loop gain of one. Because it operates at a gain of one, it may provide a relatively high bandwidth of approximately one megahertz and little DC error.
Several types of operational amplifiers may be used in such a circuit with varying performance characteristics. However, devices which provide good DC performance do not provide closed loop bandwidths above a few kilohertz. Because of their limited bandwidth, they also exhibit poor AC characteristics and have poor AC common mode rejection at frequencies as low as 60 hertz. Conversely, operational amplifiers which can provide closed-loop bandwidths approaching one megahertz have DC errors several orders of magnitude higher than the precision DC devices.
A high performance instrumentation amplifier, intended for multi-frequency use, should provide both good DC performance as well as frequency response and well controlled phase shift characteristics from DC to beyond 500 kilohertz. By comparing these statistics with those of a typical prior art instrumentation amplifier, it may be seen that the typical instrumentation amplifier does not provide these results.

Composite differential direct-coupled instrumentation amplifier


In a frequency multiplier circuit, a first delaying section delays a reference signal and generates an output signal when the reference signal has been delayed by a predetermined delay time. A second delaying section generates n (n is an integer more than 0) delayed signals from the reference signal. The first delayed signal of the n delayed signals has a first delay time with respect to the reference signal, and an m-th delayed signal (m is a positive integer and m.ltoreq.n) of the n delayed signal has an m-th delay time with respect to the reference signal. The first through n-th delay times are integer multiples of the first delay time and the predetermined delay time is equal to (n+1) times the first delay time. The second delaying section has a plurality of different input locations for receiving the reference signal and one of the input locations is set to receive the reference signal in accordance with a setting signal from the first delaying section.

1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit and more particularly to a synchronous delay circuit for generating a synchronously delayed signal with a short time and a frequency multiplying circuit using the same in a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional example of a synchronous delay circuit using a sequence of delay circuits, a circuit is proposed in, for example, "A Multimedia 32b RISC Microprocessor with 16 Mb DRAM" by T. Shimizu, (IEEE International Solid-State Circuit Conference 1996, ISSCC Digest of Technical Papers, Feb., 1996, pp. 216 to 217). FIG. 1 shows the synchronous delay circuit in the case where the frequency of a clock signal is multiplied by 4 times.
Referring to FIG. 1, four sequences of delay circuits, i.e., first to fourth sequences of delay circuits 401 to 404 are connected in serial. The output terminal of each of the first to fourth sequences of delay circuits 401 to 404 is selected by a corresponding one of four switches, i.e., first to fourth switches 405 to 408. A first clock signal 411 is supplied to the first sequence of delay circuits and a phase comparator 409. A fifth clock signal 415 which passed the first to fourth sequences of delay circuits 401 to 404 is also supplied to the phase comparator 409. The phase comparator 409 compares the first clock signal 411 and the fifth clock signal 415 and generates an UP signal 416 or a DOWN signal 417 based on the comparing result. The UP signal 416 or the DOWN signal 417 is supplied to a counter (UP/DOWN counter) 410.
The counter 410 generates a control signal 418 based on the UP signal 416 or DOWN signal 416, and supplies the control signal to the first to fourth switches 405 to 408. As a result, the phase of the fifth clock signal 415 is set to be equal to the phase of the first clock signal 411.
Delay times of the first to fourth sequence of delay circuits 401 to 404 are equally adjusted. As a result, a time difference between adjacent two of the first clock signal 411, a second clock signal 412, a third clock signal 413, and a fourth clock signal 414 is equal to just 1/4 of a one time period of the clock signal.
By synthesizing the first to fourth clock signals 411, 412, 413, and 414, a frequency multiplying circuit can be realized to have a frequency larger 4 times than that of the first clock signal.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional circuit, a method is used in which an external clock signal and a clock signal which has passed through the sequences of delay circuits are compared to correct for a phase difference and a delay difference in order to generate a frequency multiplied clock signal.
For this reason, there is a problem in that a long period of time is necessary until the phase difference is eliminated. Also, there is another problem in that a setup time is long so that power consumption increases in association with the long setup time.

Synchronous delay circuit for generating synchronous delayed signals with short time and frequency multiplying circuit using the same


A mechanic skill managing system includes a first database storing an average operation time for every kind of check/repair, the average operation time being a time required for an average mechanic with an average skill to complete the check/repair, and a second database storing a skill value indicative of skill of a mechanic, both of which are connected to a processor. The processor calculates the skill value of the mechanic based on a difference or a ratio between the average operation time stored in the first database and an actual operation time spent by the mechanic to actually complete the check/repair, and registers the skill value in the second database. Thus, the skill of the mechanic can be grasped accurately and can be applied to various operations.

Conventionally, a check of a vehicle has been carried out in a maintenance shop by request of a user. In this case, in the maintenance shop, a total man-hour is calculated by adding up respective man-hours in a plurality of check items defined for each kind of the check. Here, the man-hour means a work amount carried out by one worker in a unit time when a work load is represented by using time as a unit. Then, an operation is carried out by referring to a maintenance schedule controlled in the maintenance shop, assigning a day and an hour for the requested check on which the total man-hour can be accomplished, and carrying out the maintenance.
As such a technique, for example, Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-P2000-20581A) discloses a "System for Managing Vehicle Storage for Maintenance". In this system, a client enters desired maintenance contents and desired storage terms by using a terminal. In response to this procedure, a host computer calculates a period necessary for the maintenance on the basis of the desired maintenance contents, and then searches a storing/retrieving management table stored in a memory apparatus of the host computer for an available period for the maintenance on the basis of the desired storage terms of the client. Then, an optimal date in this period for the storage is automatically determined and displayed on the terminal. In response to a confirmation of the client through the terminal, the optimal date of storage and a date of retrieval determined from the date of storage are automatically registered in the storing/retrieving management table, and so a storage reservation is made. Thus, clients can register the storage by themselves.
When the check of the vehicle is requested as mentioned above, the man-hour is calculated on the basis of a standard man-hour. This standard man-hour is pre-determined by averaging experience and performance of a plurality of mechanics. Therefore, a time necessary for the check varies widely from a mechanic with a high skill and a mechanic without that high skill. Incidentally, in recent years, the request for the check of the vehicle is made in various ways. For example, there are many clients in recent years who want the check to be completed in a short time such as 0.5 hours or one hour on their way to offices.
However, conventionally, the time necessary for the requested check has been calculated on the basis of the standard man-hour, and whether the requested check can be accepted or not is determined on the basis of the calculated time. Hence, the requested check is sometimes determined to be unacceptable even when a mechanic with the high skill can complete the requested check within the time to meet the client's requirement. It is therefore desired to develop a system in which the skill of the mechanics can be grasped accurately and a proper mechanic can be assigned to the requested check so that the requested check is completed within the appointed date according to the user's requirement.
The present invention is proposed in order to cope with the above-mentioned request. The object is to provide a mechanic skill managing system, in which skill of a mechanic can be grasped accurately and can be applied to various operations.


A heat dissipation plate having a lamination of a copper layer, a molybdenum layer and a graphite layer, and outer copper layers each provided on a surface of the lamination, is disclosed. And also a semiconductor device using the heat dissipation plate is disclosed.

Generally a semiconductor element generates more heat as output power goes up. To maintain the performance of the semiconductor element, a heat dissipation plate used for a semiconductor packages has various kinds of structures.
For example, Japanese laid-open patent application No. 2001-144237 discloses a graphite sheet lamination heat conductor combined with thin metal plates and graphite sheets, which is excellent in thermal conductivity as compared with a metal material. And a graphite sheet lamination heat conductor is proposed to radiate heat from an electronic device.
The above-mentioned graphite sheet lamination heat conductor can perform with high heat conduction characteristics. However, in case it is used in the semiconductor package with a ceramic substrate, a bonding part with the ceramic substrate may be damaged by a heat deformation, since the thermal expansion coefficient of the graphite sheet lamination heat conductor differs from greatly that of the ceramic substrate.
On the other hand, Japanese patent No. 3862737 discloses a material for a heat dissipation plate that brings the thermal expansion coefficient of the material close to that of a ceramic substrate, which constitutes a semiconductor element, by laminating copper layers and molybdenum layers alternately.
However, the heat-conduction efficiency of the above-mentioned material is not satisfactory. When an output power of the semiconductor element goes up and a heating value rises further, it becomes difficult to cope with the increase in heating value without increasing a heat dissipation area.

Heat dissipation plate and semiconductor device