A transporter (10) for moving itself and a load (12) between storage and work positions at different levels. The transporter (10) includes a lift assembly (16) and a support assembly (14) pivotally or slidably mounted on the lift assembly (16). The lift assembly (16) is operatively connected to the support assembly (14) for movement between transporting and storage positions. The support assembly (14) includes wheels (26, 37) for providing movement for the entire unit in either the transport position or the storage position.

Heavy and bulky material or equipment are difficult to handle both from different heights and different locations. The equipment used, however, must be readily transportable from one location to another. For instance, a tool box may be used at a variety of different job sites and will typically be hauled from one site to the next by a pickup truck or van.
One problem with loading such equipment as a conventional tool box is the loading and unloading of the box into and out of the vehicle. Often, the tool box is too heavy to manually load and unload without risk of injury or it takes numerous trips to move the equipment between the vehicle to a work location. Consequently, a hoist or forklift will be used to load and unload the equipment. This, of course, requires such additional machinery at the job site.
On the other hand, the tool box is left loaded on the vehicle. However, this presents additional problems since the vehicle and the tools are often required at separate locations.
There are many other situations where a relatively heavy load must be raised to an elevated surface or platform or lowered to a surface. This typically requires some type of separate equipment at the designated site for handling such heavy loads. It would be advantageous to have a self-contained assembly which included the equipment and a mechanism for independently loading and unloading the equipment.

Self-loading material or equipment transporter


The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates securing a wireless digital transaction. A terminal component can receive a portion of data related to a payment for at least one of a good or a service. A mobile device can include at least one mobile payment card (m-card), wherein the m-card is created by establishing a link to an account associated with a form of currency. The mobile device can employ public-key cryptography (PKC) to securely and wirelessly transmit a payment to the terminal component utilizing the m-card and linked account.

With the ever-increasing popularity of personal mobile devices, e.g., cell phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal music players, laptops, etc., 'mobility' has been the focus of many consumer products as well as services of wireless providers. For example, in the telecommunications industry, 'mobility' is at the forefront, as consumers are no longer restricted by location with regard to communications and computing needs. Rather, today, as technology advances, more and more consumers use portable devices in day-to-day activities, planning and entertainment.
With credit cards and debit cards the world has been moving to becoming cashless society. Consumers are relying predominantly on non-cash based payments: credit card, debit card, automated check processing, pre-paid cards, etc. As the whole society moves towards virtual payments, challenges and opportunities spring up.
As the wallet in consumers pockets moves from the physical to virtual, security surrounding the virtual wallet becomes critical. The payment-processing industry faces three main challenges based on the current market trends such as user identification, fraud, and interchange fee. User identification has been a perennial problem for the industry. For example, how does a store clerk know that the person presenting the card is the actual owner? This problem has become more severe in the eCommerce world as of late.
Fraud is one of the biggest threats to the payment processing industry. There are many forms of fraud that plague the payment industry, which can include the following: Hackers stealing identity of consumers; Stealing card information; Fictitious merchant charging gullible customers more money than the consumers owes for the products and services; or Credit card number generators targeting consumers.
Lastly, interchange fee that merchants pay to get a transaction processed continues to increase consistently. Typically, merchants pay anywhere from 1.5%+10 ¢ per transaction to 2.5%+20 ¢ per transaction. The actual fee can depend on the number of transactions a merchant sends, type of business the merchant does, etc. In light of the above, the payment-processing industry is looking for solutions that can help deal with one or all of the challenges, which can result in lowered cost of processing a transaction and increased customer satisfactions.


The present disclosure relates to a protective animal collar having clear panels to increase a visibility of the wearer. When unassembled, the collar is roughly fan shaped. When assembled, the collar is roughly frustoconical in shape. The collar is lightweight and adjustable. The collar is easy to assemble and can be folded for storage.

Protective animal collars, commonly referred to as Elizabethan collars, e-collars, pet cone, lamp-shade, or cone of shame, are roughly frustoconical in shape and designed to be worn around an animal's neck with the collar extending upward and outward around the animal's head. The collars are generally used to prevent an animal from licking or biting a wounded or diseased area on the animal's body. They can also be used to protect an animal's head or neck from scratching or rubbing with the paws.
Protective animal collars are commonly used after an animal has undergone a surgical procedure to prevent the animal from further aggravating the surgical site or disrupting the sutures and to decrease the risk of infection due to continued irritation of the site. However, they can also be used to prevent an animal from licking topically applied products such as medication or to prevent an animal from over-grooming.
Typically protective animal collars are made from flexible but fairly rigid material such as plastic or cardboard. The rigidity of the material prevents the animal from accessing the wounded or diseased area on its body with the more rigid materials doing a better job of keeping the head isolated. However, the rigidity of the material tends to negatively correlate with the animal's comfort in wearing the collar. Increasing rigidity also tends to increase the weight of the collar, which in turn increases the chaffing on the wearer. Also, the more rigid the material, the more difficulty the animal has moving around and the more jarring for the animal if it runs into an object. Additionally, the more rigid the material, the more damage that occurs to furniture, walls, and/or people if the animal runs into them. Furthermore, the more rigid the material, the less likely the protective collar can be collapsed for storage. Lastly, the protective animal collars block the wearer's vision causing the animal to run into things. Accordingly, there is a need for a protective animal collar that is functional and comfortable for the wearer.


The present invention refers to a process for the preparation of fluoromethyl 2,2,2-trifluoro-1-(trifluoromethyl)ethyl ether (sevoflurane) which includes a step that consists of reacting hexafluoroisopropanol with a formaldehyde equivalent selected among paraformaldehyde or 1,3,5-trioxane, a chlorinating agent selected from the group consisting of oxalyl chloride, phosphorus trichloride, phosphorus pentachloride, phosphorus oxychloride, sulfuryl chloride and thionyl chloride, and a strong acid selected from the group consisting of concentrated or fuming sulfuric acid resulting in the formation of the intermediate sevochlorane which is converted to sevoflurane in a second step which consists of reacting sevochlorane with an alkali metal fluoride, or a linear or branched chain tetra-alkyl quarternary ammonium fluoride in the presence of a sub-stoichiometric quantity of an alkali metal iodide, or a linear or branched alkyl chain tetra-alkyl quarternary ammonium iodide, preferably in a solvent.

Sevoflurane, whose chemical name is fluoromethyl 2,2,2-(trifluoro-1-trifluoromethyl)ethyl ether, was developed for use as an inhalation anesthetic.
The first reference, which describes the preparation of sevoflurane, is British patent GB 1,250,928, which describes the synthesis of 1,3-polyhalo-2-propyl ethers and the use of the same as anesthetics. The process employed consists of preparing the intermediate Sevochlorane, by free radical chlorination of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propyl methyl ether with gaseous chlorine and luminous irradiation. This free radical chlorination results in a very low yield, being the practical yield in obtaining sevoflurane at the end of the process approximately 30% of the theoretical value. Sevoflurane is obtained by the reaction of sevochlorane with potassium fluoride in tetrahydrothiophene dioxide, commercially known as sulfolane, employing heating.
The vast majority of the commercial processes preferred for the preparation of sevoflurane rely on the use of hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) as starting material.
There are processes described in the literature in which sevoflurane is obtained directly from hexafluoroisopropanol without involving intermediates. This is the case, for example, of the processes for the synthesis of sevoflurane described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,250,334 and 4,469,898.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,334 describes a method for the synthesis of sevoflurane, consisting of the reaction of hexafluoroisopropanol with a mixture of hydrofluoric acid, paraformaldehyde and a dehydrating agent. Although it is a "one pot" method, during the production of sevoflurane and its subsequent distillation, a large quantity of hexafluoroisopropanol is co-distilled with the product, which results in large losses of this reagent, which is also an impurity, whose removal in posterior purification steps is critical, and difficult to accomplish. In addition to this inconvenience, the formation of side products is elevated, being that the final product is obtained, in an appropriate degree of purity, only after various purifications steps by fractional distillation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,898 describes the synthesis of sevoflurane from hexafluoroisopropanol, hydrofluoric acid and a desiccating agent, in special equipment where unconsumed hexafluoroisopropanol is recycled. Various desiccating agents are employed such as sulfuric, phosphoric, trifluoromethanesulfonic acids, etc. The reported yields for this process are low and the isolated product presents low purity.
Particularly useful for the preparation of sevoflurane are those processes, which first prepare the intermediate sevochlorane, followed by fluorination through a halogen exchange reaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,100,434 describes the synthesis of sevoflurane through the preparation of sevochlorane and subsequent fluorination of this intermediate with potassium fluoride in a high molecular weight solvent. Sevochlorane is prepared from hexafluoroisopropanol, aluminum trichloride and 1,3,5-trioxane. An excess of aluminum trichloride in the reaction medium results predominantly in the formation of 2,2′-[methylenebis(oxy)]bis-(1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane)—hereinafter denominated P1. The reaction is interrupted by addition of a 6N HCl solution to decompose the gel of hydroxydichloroaluminate. The authors relate that the isolated product contained 95% sevochlorane, <5% of P1 and <1% of polyacetals of higher molecular weight. The crude yield described was 87%. Among the disadvantages of this process is the fact that large quantities of aluminum trichloride must be handled, which is a highly hygroscopic solid and whose reaction with atmospheric humidity or with residual water present tends to be violent. The fact that this reagent easily reacts with water, resulting in the formation of acidic gasses, causes a reduction in its content, compromising considerably the yield of the reaction and the purity of the isolated product. The addition of a 6N hydrochloric acid solution to interrupt the reaction is an additional disadvantage of the process, violently elevating the reaction temperature, resulting in partial product loss by decomposition, volatilization and polymerization. Finally, this reaction generates as a residue, an aqueous phase containing hydroxyaluminates that require incineration for disposal, incurring additional costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,949 describes the synthesis of sevoflurane by the reaction of hexafluoroisopropanol with dimethoxymethane and the resulting product is submitted to reaction with aluminum trichloride and potassium fluoride. Once again there is the disadvantage of working with aluminum trichloride, which is hygroscopic and easily inactivated in the presence of humidity. The yield of the process is quite low, being declared by the author as 50%.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,422 describes the synthesis of sevoflurane by fluoromethylation of alcohols via decarboxylative halogenation. In this way, hexafluoroisopropanol is submitted to reaction with ethyl alpha-bromoacetate providing alpha-(hexafluoroisopropoxy) acetic acid in a yield of 66%. This intermediate is subjected to reaction with the highly toxic lead tetra-acetate, using the carcinogenic benzene as the solvent. In the reaction sequence, the homogeneous benzene/sevochlorane solution, which is inseparable by distillation, is reacted with potassium fluoride providing at the end of the process sevoflurane with a low yield of 28%.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,239 describes the synthesis of sevoflurane by reacting sevochlorane with the salt obtained from the reaction between sterically hindered tertiary amines, such as di-isopropylethylamine, and hydrofluoric acid. The process described is incomplete and results in low purity sevoflurane, which requires various purifications steps by fractional distillation to obtain a level of purity necessary for clinical use, which reduces considerably the yield declared by the inventors.
Various other references exist which describe the synthesis of sevoflurane employing uncommon reagents, or by way of processes, which are not industrially applicable due to their complexity or low yields.
The processes, which involve the reaction of hexafluoroisopropanol with the formation of the intermediate sevochlorane, are of particular interest. However, up to the present moment, there is no description of an efficient process for both steps, which can be easily adapted to commercial production of sevoflurane of high purity and yield.
Employing the processes described up to the present moment, the production of sevochlorane is problematic due to incomplete reactions with very low yields, or it requires difficult to handle or highly toxic reagents, or results in a product containing impurities difficult to separate.
For the conversion of sevochlorane to sevoflurane, in general, potassium fluoride (KF) is employed in a halogen exchange reaction. This reaction may result in low yields of sevoflurane due to parallel reactions, which result in elimination, hydrolysis and polymerization by-products.
Many of the processes which involve the synthesis of sevoflurane by reaction of sevochlorane with potassium fluoride (KF) employ between 2.5 and 7.0 equivalents of potassium fluoride (KF) per equivalent of sevochlorane and heating of the reaction medium for more than three hours. This excess of potassium fluoride (KF) is responsible for the formation of fluoromethyl 2,2-difluoro-1-(trifluoromethyl) vinyl ether (compound A), which has been shown to be nephrotoxic in rats and whose presence should be controlled in the final product. Heating for prolonged times leads to decomposition of the sevochlorane present in the reaction medium generating HFIP and fluorinated acetals reducing the yield and difficulting the isolation of a product with above 99.97% purity.
The conversion of sevochlorane to sevoflurane may employ between 1 and 2 equivalents of KF per molar equivalent of sevochlorane when the reaction is conducted in the presence of water as solvent and a phase transfer catalyst as described in patent WO2006/055748, however, a larger concentration of KF is important to obtain a better yield and to minimize the formation of hydrolysis products of sevochlorane. The object of this patent application, is a process for the conversion of sevochlorane to sevoflurane in water, whereby less than 5% of the starting sevochlorane is hydrolyzed.
As such, there exists the necessity of a process for the preparation of sevoflurane from hexafluoroisopropanol with the formation of the intermediate sevochlorane with high purity and high yield, and efficient conversion of sevochlorane to sevoflurane by halogen exchange reaction in such a way that the resulting product is obtained in high yield and purity.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process for the preparation of fluoromethyl 2,2,2-trifluoro-1-(trifluoromethyl) ethyl ether

Cristália Produtos Químicos Farmacêuticos Ltda.


A device for transporting flat products to further processing units is provided which includes a track 4 forming a continuous loop, a plurality of gripper elements 1 and a driving module 99. The gripper elements 1 are arranged on the track 4, and include a gripper 2 for seizing a flat product 11 from a first device and releasing the flat product to a second device 13. Each gripper element 1 moves independently from each other gripper element 1 along at least a portion of the track 4. Each gripper element is selectively engaged by the driving module 99 for movement along the track. The driving module 99 may include, for example, a drive unit 9 for driving the gripper elements in a side-by-side configuration without pitch; an extended pitch driving unit 7 for driving the gripper elements at a defined pitch; an acceleration unit 6 for accelerating the gripper elements to the defined pitch; and/or a diverting unit 32 for diverting selected gripper elements to an alternate track.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,972,413 purports to disclose a chain conveyor for printing presses. A pair of spaced-apart roller chains guided for movement about an endless path have straight and curved portions. On the chains, gripper frames are mounted, each including first and second cross bars with conveying grippers and corresponding gripper pads mounted thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,822 purports to disclose an apparatus for transporting flat products, especially products arriving in an imbricated formation. Along a conveying path a chain having single gripper elements assigned thereto is moved. A cam assigned to the conveying path moves a lever prior to seizing of products in a downward position. After the gripping elements have passed the cam, the lever is released, thus swinging in a vertical position, gripping a single product being transported in a shingled formation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,228 purports to show an apparatus for evening an imbricated stream of printed products. A number of revolving entrainment members are in a drag connection with one another. At the region of their conveying-active path, the entrainment members are guided and at the start of their path driven by a thrust drive and at the end of their path driven by a traction drive. The entrainment members engage the printed products and the thrust and traction drives cause a change in the spacing of the entrainment members and, consequently, in the spacing of the products having an shingled formation.
DE 11 93 065 purports to show a conveying system having a closed loop conveying track at the end of which a chain like driving unit is arranged. At the maximum elevation conveying elements move downwards subject to gravity along an inclined track section. Flat rectangular plates are fastened to the conveying elements allowing for separation of stacks of a number of flat products being conveyed in a substantially vertical direction. The orientation of the flat products changes from an imbricated formation in a horizontal position into a vertical position, where the single flat products are parallel to one another.

Device for transporting flat products to further processing units or delivery stations


In a terminal apparatus for displaying a natural image on a display unit and sending the natural image to another terminal apparatus, the terminal apparatus includes: only one storage unit provided in common for storing RGB data, luminance/color difference data and compression data, the RGB data, and compression data being obtained by compressing the luminance/color difference data under a predetermined method; a switching unit operatively connected to the storage unit for switching content of display on the display unit from the RGB data stored in the storage unit to other image data not stored in the storage unit when the RGB data is converted to the luminance/color difference data and the luminance/color difference data is converted to the compression data; and a control unit operatively connected to the storage unit, switching unit and transmission unit through bus lines for reading out the RGB data from the storage unit, converting the RGB data to the luminance/color difference data, storing the luminance/color difference data into the storage unit, and compressing the luminance/color difference data to the compression data after read out from the storage unit, further, for controlling switching operation of the switching unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal apparatus with a transmission function for sending image data to another terminal apparatus, more particularly, it relates to an improvement of a terminal apparatus provided in, for example, a personal computer, which can send a natural image, such as a photo, to another terminal apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, communication between personal computers is widely utilized in digital communication networks, for example, an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network). Some types of personal computers can send natural images to another personal computer. This transmission function is very useful in the utilization of the ISDN since it is possible to directly send a photo, such as a sales catalog, to a user. Further, this transmission function which makes it possible to send natural pictures is useful, for example, in a teleconference system since it is possible to display a photo as a data display.
In general, such a terminal apparatus comprises a transmission means for sending the image data to another terminal, at least two storage means for storing the image data to be transmitted, a display means for displaying the image data to be transmitted and for confirming the content of the image data, and a control means for controlling the storage and transmission of the image data.
As a basic operation, input image data scanned from the natural image is stored in the storage means as RGB (red, green, blue) data, and the RGB data is displayed on the display means to confirm whether or not it is correct as the image data to be transmitted. Further, the RGB data is converted to luminance/color difference data. The luminance/color difference data is compressed and stored in the storage means, and the transmission means then sends the compression data to another terminal apparatus.
However, there is problem with the storage means in view of effective utilization of memory capacity as explained hereinafter.

Terminal apparatus with transmission function


The present invention is to provide low insertion-force connector terminals. A self-assembled monolayer is deposited on the surface of the connector terminals. The deposited connector terminals do not require a special lever for adjusting contact pressure. The connector terminals are easily manufactured without cost-up and made small size. They do not increase contact resistance and they are easily connected to each other with low insertion force so that they are applied to the connectors of vehicles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a low insertion-force connector terminal, a method of producing the same and a substrate for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
High performances of electric instruments and diversification of vehicle instruments request more connector terminals.
This causes a large force to connect the connectors. It is then required to reduce the force to connect them.
JP-2002-110276-A, JP-2001-257022-A and JP-H05-121128-A disclose a force reduction of terminal springs to reduce a contact force. However, this causes an increase of a contact resistance.
JP-2002-280112-A and JP-2001-237026-A disclose a connector, which is pressed with a lever after connecting the connectors each other with low pressing force. However, this causes an increase of cost.
In order to reduce a sliding friction, a lubricant agent such as oil is applied to or a multilayer plating is formed on a sliding surface of a connector terminal. However, these methods do not give sufficient effects but cause an increase of cost.
JP-2002-088496-A and JP-H11-317253-A disclose an application of MoS2 lubricant coating on a sliding surface of a connector terminal. However, this causes an increase of contact resistance.

Low insertion-force connector terminal, method of producing the same and substrate for the same


A semiconductor device includes a substrate, first and second semiconductor chips, an adhesion layer, and a resin layer. The first and second semiconductor chips are provided on a surface of the substrate. The second semiconductor chip includes, on a side thereof facing the substrate, a first region and a second region that is recessed from the first region and is above at least part of the first semiconductor chip or at least part of a wire that electrically connects the first semiconductor chip and the substrate. The adhesion layer is provided at least between the first region of the second semiconductor chip and the substrate. The resin layer is on the surface of the substrate and enclosing the first and second semiconductor chips.

In a semiconductor device of one type, a plurality of semiconductor chips, such as a memory chip and a controller chip therefor, is sealed in one package. For such a semiconductor device, there is a package structure in which the memory chip is heightened using a spacer chip and is then disposed in an overlapping manner above the controller chip. Such a package structure enables the size of the entire package to be reduced relative to a structure in which a plurality of semiconductor chips is simply arranged horizontally side by side. However, the spacer chip may increase the cost of the semiconductor device.
Moreover, there is another package structure in which, a thick die attach film (DAF) is used instead of the spacer chip. However, according to this package structure, the memory chip is more likely to be tilted, or the shape of the memory chip itself may become distorted. If the memory chip becomes tilted or distorted, it becomes more difficult to stack another memory chip on the tilted or distorted memory chip, because the stacked memory chips become likely to detached from each other and it becomes more difficult to connect bonding wires. Moreover, if the DAF is squashed, the memory chip may come into contact with a controller chip below it. Furthermore, if the DAF is squashed, the DAF may protrude from below the memory chip to a bonding pad. As a result, it may become difficult to bond a metal wire to the bonding pad.

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same


There is described a method for making a vehicle (2), including a body comprising carbon fibres, preferably a military vehicle. The method consists of the body being wound up over a mandrel with threads (28) wetted in glue. The threads (28) contain carbon fibres. The threads (28) wound around the mandrel (22) are subsequently cured. After the curing, the body is drawn off the mandrel (22), and the ends of the body are cut off at appropriate angles. Then the front end and rear end of the body are closed with closure elements, preferably closure elements containing carbon fibres and armouring materials. During the winding process, one or more layers of lightweight ceramic and/or other armouring materials (26) are laid in, which thereby become integrated in the basic body.

In connection with making military armoured vehicles, it is attempted to reduce the weight of the vehicle in relation to the load carrying ability of the vehicles. Low weight is necessary in order to move the vehicles by air. At the same time, good armouring is required. Conventional armoured vehicles, including road vehicles, are mainly built of armoured steel for protection and carrying ability.
In order to reduce the self-weight simultaneously with maintaining the load carrying ability and ability of bearing armour, respectively, it is required to use materials with great strength compared to the density of the materials. For that purpose, carbon fibres have appeared to have the required material properties. Until now, the production of armoured vehicles has been based on using moulding tools corresponding to those used in the production of glass fibre boats. The production of vehicles containing carbon fibres has thus consisted in initially laying mats of carbon fibre in moulds and subsequently adding a special glue (resin/matrix), after which the materials are cured under vacuum and temperature (possibly autoclave with overpressure). This process is relatively costly due to the required use of expensive tools (including autoclave) and the manual handling. Besides, the complicated moulding tools have given rise to substantial expenses in production. Often there is used a body consisting Of a number of parts which are to be assembled subsequently. Control of the tolerances of the finished product, especially on the side facing away from the moulding tool, is hereby made difficult.
U.S. patent application 2005/0188831 describes a resistant tower for use in connection with a military vehicle, and a method for making such a tower. The tower has walls around which fibres are wrapped. In the patent application is mentioned that they may be carbon fibre threads. The method includes weaving fibres (impregnated with adhesive resin) around a mould. This publication describes use of carbon fibre threads in connection with the making of individual subelements, such as a tower. In connection with constructing armoured vehicles, it will be expedient to enable making the largest possible part of the vehicle in one and the same procedure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,990 describes a method of the type described in the introduction for making a floating object. In this publication, there is thus a description of method steps where threads wetted in glue are wrapped over a mandrel and subsequently cured. There is no mentioning of finishing treatment after curing for handling the cured structure with regard adaptation to specific applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,662 describes a method of the type described in the introduction. This document describes a method in which a railway coach is manufactured. The document mentions that a curing is effected and that the mandrel is supplied with a front and rear end in form of closure elements.
This document does not disclose specific form for the cut-off in order to establish the possibility of cut-offs for specific purposes. Moreover, there is no disclosure of a method for making a vehicle which is different from the railway coach.
Especially there is no mentioning of specific methods or features in a method which is necessary for providing a vehicle suitable for military purposes.

Method for manufacturing a vehicle comprising carbon fibre


A method and a system for defining a threshold value (Omax, Omin, OTR) serving to limit the output signal of a processing unit which is fed an input signal. An input-signal level is determined and the threshold value (Omax, Omin, OTR) is set as a function of that input-signal level. By virtue of the fact that the threshold value is set as a function of the input-signal level, i.e. in adaptive fashion, it is also possible to limit transient noise whose level is well below the maximum value of the threshold value. As a result, when the method or system is applied in a hearing aid, the hearing comfort of the wearer of the hearing aid can be significantly enhanced.

This invention relates to a method for processing an input signal to generate an output signal, and to applications of that method in hearing aids and listening devices.
So-called transient limiters are signal processing units which are capable, without any delay or overshoot, of limiting rapidly ramping, short-duration i.e. transient signal components to a predefined level, hereinafter referred to as the threshold value. The threshold value concerned, at which the transient limiter performs its function, is not signal-dependent but can instead be set as a parameter. Transient limiters are employed for instance in hearing aids which serve to compensate for a patient's hearing impairment, but also in auditory amplification systems which are used for enhancing audibility in special situations such as listening and monitoring operations. In the following description the term "hearing aid" is to be understood as comprehensively referring to the medical hearing aids and to the listening devices mentioned above. Where any of the following elucidations relate uniquely to applications in listening devices, they will be explicitly identified as such.
In hearing aids, transient limiters serve the purpose of preventing the maximum output level in the hearing aid from exceeding a predefined threshold value. This protects the user of the hearing aid from excessive noise exposure.
It is a known fact that human speech occupies a dynamic range of about −15 to +18 dB (decibels) around the respective mean level; in quiet surroundings with little ambient noise, that mean level is about 60 to 65 dB. In loud surroundings the mean level can rise to about 80 dB or higher. Given these facts, the conventional methods for limiting the audio signal components for persons with normal hearing have employed fixed maximum values of 100 to 120 dB. In cases of diminished hearing capacity the threshold value is suitably set at a comfortable maximum level below the threshold of pain for the patient or user.
It is a characteristic aspect of human auditory perception that not only sounds above the maximum threshold value or comfort level are bothersome. Indeed, it is also transient sounds (such as intermittent noise), even when at a level distinctly below the maximum threshold value, that are perceived as unpleasant in an otherwise prevalently quiet environment. For example, in quiet surroundings, the transient noise of dishes and cutlery, even if well below the maximum threshold value of 100 to 120 dB, creates an unpleasant auditory sensation.

Method for processing an input signal to generate an output signal, and application of said method in hearing aids and listening devices


A memory element which has high affinity with a conventional semiconductor process, which has a switching function of completely interrupting electric conduction paths by in a mechanical manner, and in which nonvolatile information recording is enabled is realized. An electromechanical memory which is formed on a substrate, which is formed by interposing a memory cell by electrodes, and which has a movable electrode that is a beam stretched in the air via a post portion is realized. According to the configuration, a nonvolatile memory can be realized by a simple structure, and it is possible to realize a high-performance electromechanical memory which is conventionally difficult to be realized, and in which the power consumption is low and the cost is low, and an electric apparatus using it.

Under the situation where the function of an information communication apparatus such as a wireless terminal is being enhanced, increase of the adaptive information amount of an information apparatus is essential in provision of services to meet needs of users. In a memory for a wireless terminal, performances such as reduced size, large capacity, and low power consumption are requested. Currently, semiconductor memories of DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), and SDRAM (Static Dynamic Random Access Memory) are used. A DRAM is a storage device which requires a record holding operation, and has a problem of increased power consumption.
At present, research and development of reduction of power consumption are advanced. A technique of incorporating a function of suppressing a refresh operation to a minimum level to reduce the power consumption of a DRAM for a personal computer to 1/10 has been developed. A memory is provided with PASR (Partial Array Self Refresh) which is a function of dividing the memory into blocks and refreshing only a required block, and TCSR (Temperature Compensated Self Refresh) which is a function of automatically determining an optimum refresh time in accordance with the temperature to extend the average refresh time. At a clock frequency of 100 MHz, the data transfer rate is 400 Mbyte/s, and the power source voltage is 1.8 V which is usually used in a portable telephone (Elpida Memory, May 2004).
Furthermore, also research and development of an SDRAM which is to be used in a wireless terminal, and which combines high speed of an SRAM and large capacity of a DRAM are conducted. In such an SDRAM, the DDR (Double Data Rate) technique is applied, and techniques for reducing power consumption such as the data transfer rate of 1.1 Gbyte/s, 256 MB, PASR, and TCSR are employed. It is a technique directed to a use of displaying of a three-dimensional motion picture in a portable apparatus such as a portable telephone, or a PDA (Samsung Electronics, May 2004). In a semiconductor memory element, recording of 1, 0 bits of information is performed by means of accumulation or discharging of charges in a capacitor. Temporal deterioration of information due to reduction of the amount accumulated charges occurs in a volatile memory. When paths along which charges escape are completely interrupted, this phenomenon can be avoided. In electrical switching by transistors, however, it is difficult to completely interrupt electric conductive paths, and the phenomenon inevitably occurs. Therefore, it is required to perform the record holding operation at constant time intervals. The operation causes the power consumption to be increased.
Accordingly, research and development of a nonvolatile memory element which is to be replaced with a conventional semiconductor memory element are conducted. An MRAM (Magnetic Random Access Memory), and an FeRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory) are configured so that a magnetic material or a dielectric material is used as a memory cell, and magnetic polarization or electric polarization is used as a record data which can be semipermanently held. This technique does not require a record holding operation, and hence is expected as a memory element technique which can realize low power consumption. Therefore, such a memory is contemplated to be applied to a field in which reduction of power consumption is important, such as a portable terminal.
As a device which has high affinity with a conventional semiconductor process, and in which interruption of electric conductive paths is enabled, an electromechanical switch which is produced by the microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technique is being vigorously researched and developed. Originally, the research field is mainly directed to an RF-MEMS switch which switches over a propagation path for a high-frequency signal in a wireless communication terminal. An RF-MEMS switch is a switch in which a micro movable electrode is moved to mechanically switch over a signal transmission path. The switch has an advantage that high-frequency characteristics such as very low loss and high isolation are excellent.
Furthermore, the switch can be produced by a process which has high affinity with an RF-IC. Therefore, the switch can be incorporated in an RF-IC, and is expected as a technique which significantly contributes to size reduction of a radio component.
As a switch having a size of about several hundreds of μm, conventionally, a switch described in Non-patent Reference 2 has been known. In the switch, a signal line through which a high-frequency signal is transmitted is formed on a membrane, and a control electrode is disposed just below the signal line. When a DC potential is applied to the control electrode, the membrane is attracted toward the control electrode by an electrostatic attractive force to deflect, and makes contact with a ground electrode formed on a substrate, whereby the signal line formed on the membrane is set to a short-circuited state, a signal flowing through the signal line is attenuated, and the line is interrupted. By contrast, when a DC potential is not applied to the control electrode, the membrane does not deflect, and a signal flowing through the signal line on the membrane is not lost from the ground electrode, and passes through the switch.
As a memory element to which an electromechanical switch is applied, there is an electromechanical switch disclosed in Patent Reference 1. Patent Reference 1 discloses a structure in which a capacitor to perform accumulation is selected by an electromechanical switch, and accumulated charges are gradually consumed for a constant time period by a light emitting element. The light emitting element has a memory function of a constant time period.
Patent Reference 1: JP-A-2002-366058
Non-patent Reference 1: Y. Asao et al., in Int. Electron Device Meeting Tech. Dig., December 2004.
Non-patent Reference 2: J. B. Muldavin and G. M. Rebeiz, IEEE Microwave Wireless Compon. Lett., vol. 11, pp. 334-336, August 2001.

Electromechanical memory, electric circuit using the same, and method of driving electromechanical memory


A coupling for use in connecting a pair of conduits in fluid communication includes a plug assembly having a fluid flow passage therethrough and adapted to be connected with one of the conduits and a socket assembly having a fluid flow passage therethrough and adapted to be connected with another of the conduits. The coupling includes a vent valve assembly for venting of fluid pressure in the plug and socket assemblies and the conduits. The vent valve assembly includes an outlet port having a seat and a valve member biased into abutting engagement with the seat to block fluid flow through the outlet port. The vent valve assembly further includes a manually actuatable member for moving the valve member out of engagement with the seat to enable fluid to flow through the outlet port.

This invention relates to a new and improved coupling which is utilized to interconnect a pair of conduits. More specifically, the invention relates to a coupling having a vent valve assembly for venting fluid pressure from the coupling and from conduits connected with the coupling upon manual actuation of the vent valve assembly.
The present invention is usable, as one example, in connection with the filling of relatively small tanks for gas appliances using LP gas, such as outdoor grills. Such tanks are typically filled from a supply tank having a supply hose with a plug assembly on its end. An operator telescopically inserts the plug assembly into a socket assembly connected with the small tank.
The operator then opens a valve on the small tank and a valve at the supply tank. Gas flows from the supply tank, through the supply hose, through the interconnected plug and socket assemblies, and into the small tank. When the small tank has been filled with the desired amount of gas, the valve at the small tank is closed. The valve at the supply tank is also closed. Thereafter, the plug assembly is disconnected from the socket assembly.
At the time the plug assembly is disconnected from the socket assembly, high pressure fluid is still present in the supply hose, in the plug assembly, in the socket assembly, and in a conduit between the socket assembly and small tank valve. This high pressure fluid is vented to atmosphere upon disconnection of the plug assembly from the socket assembly. The venting of high pressure fluid creates a potentially hazardous situation if the fluid is flammable. The high pressure in the system also tends to rapidly expel the plug assembly from the socket assembly.

Fluid coupling having vent valve assembly


The disclosure relates to an operating method for a gas sensor, in particular a gas sensor for detecting asthma. According to said method, nitrogen monoxide or nitrogen dioxide is detected in a measuring phase and the gas sensor is heated by a heating device in a desorption phase in order to accelerate desorption. The heating process is continued until the temporal alteration of the measuring signal of the gas sensor falls below a threshold value.

Measuring the concentration of nitrogen monoxide (NO) in respired gas is an important means for optimizing the treatment of asthmatic conditions. One promising technology for the detection of nitrogen monoxide is an NO2 sensor based on suspended gate FET technology. The structure of these sensors is known, for example, from the documents DE 19 814 857 or DE 19 956 744. Field effect transistor-based gas sensors have the advantage of simple production by using standard processes (CMOS) as well as a low energy demand in operation. Another advantage of these sensors is that they comprise a sensitive layer for the gas detection. The material of the sensitive layer may in this case be selected almost freely, and it is therefore possible to produce a range of different gas sensors on the same basis.
For the measurement of nitrogen dioxide, a layer of a porphyrin dye or phthalocyanine, in particular copper phthalocyanine, for example, has been found to be particularly promising. Nitrogen dioxide is adsorbed on this layer, and leads to a potential change and therefore to a measurable signal. If the nitrogen dioxide disappears from the ambient air, then the nitrogen dioxide bound on the surface of the copper phthalocyanine layer is desorbed and the signal falls off. One difficulty in this case is that the desorption of the nitrogen dioxide takes place very slowly. For instance, the t90 time at room temperature is more than 1 h.

Operating method for a gas sensor and gas sensor


The present invention relates to inkjet ink pigments having surface counter-ions replaced with other counter-ions with larger size and/or hydrophobicity. The effect of the replacement is to decrease pigment-ink-vehicle-separation in the inkjet ink printing process.

There is a considerable interest in using pigments in ink jet inks. Pigments, as opposed to dyes are present in the inks in the form of particles. As a result, pigmented inks have improved edge definition for text and line art, better waterfastness and smudge-fastness and better print durability (lighffastness, ozonefastness and humidfastness), compared to dyes. The downside of pigmented inks however is that they are less reliable. Thus, pigmented inks tend to have worse idle (or decap) times, as defined below. When the ink is not printed, the pigments tend to clog the firing chamber by retracting away from the nozzle

Pigments modified with surface counter-ions

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An inertial sensor includes an oscillator that is supported by an elastic supporting member such that the oscillator is floating relative to a base and the oscillator is displaceable along a single axis, and a displacement detection unit detecting a displacement of the oscillator. The oscillation of the oscillator is a simple harmonic motion along a Z axis. An X axis, a Y axis, and the Z axis, serving as reference axes of an oscillation coordinate system for the oscillator, are shifted to provide x, y, and z axes, serving as new reference axes. Position coordinates of the oscillator of the x, y, and z axes are determined in at least two points during one period of the oscillator. A difference vector (Δx, Δy, Δz) is calculated on the basis of the determined position coordinates. An angular velocity or an acceleration is obtained using the difference vector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inertial sensor that measures angular velocities about three axes and accelerations along the three axes and relates to an electrical or electronic device including the inertial sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In automobile and mechanical industries, there is a growing demand for sensors capable of accurately measuring a physical quantity, such as an acceleration or an angular velocity. In general, an object that moves freely in a three-dimensional space is acted upon by an acceleration in any direction and an angular velocity in any rotation direction. To accurately grasp the motion of the object, it is therefore necessary to measure an acceleration along each coordinate axis of an XYZ three-dimensional coordinate system and an angular velocity about each coordinate axis. Consequently, there is an increasing demand for multidimensional acceleration sensors and multiaxial angular velocity sensors having a compact size and high accuracy with low manufacturing cost.
Various multidimensional acceleration sensors have been proposed. For example, PCT Publication Nos. WO 88/08522, WO 91/10118, and WO 92/17759 disclose acceleration sensors for measuring an applied acceleration along each coordinate axis. The features of those acceleration sensors are as follows: Resistors, capacitors, and piezoelectric elements are arranged in predetermined positions in a flexible substrate of each sensor. An applied acceleration is measured on the basis of a change in resistance of each resistor, a change in capacitance of each capacitor, and a change in voltage generated by each piezoelectric element. A weight is arranged on the flexible substrate. When an acceleration acts on the sensor, a force is applied to the weight, so that the flexible substrate is deformed. The deformation is detected on the basis of a change in resistance, a change in capacitance, and a change in generated voltage described above, thus obtaining an acceleration component along each axis.
Multiaxial angular velocity sensors have rarely been reported in literatures and have not been put into practical use. Typical angular velocity sensors are used to measure an angular velocity about a power shaft of a vehicle. Accordingly, those angular velocity sensors each have a function of measuring an angular velocity about a specific axis. A one-dimensional angular velocity sensor is sufficient to obtain a rotational speed of such a power shaft. To obtain an angular velocity of an object that moves freely in a three-dimensional space, it is necessary to individually measure angular velocities about X, Y, and Z axes (hereinafter, also called the three axes) in the XYZ three-dimensional coordinate system. To measure an angular velocity about each of the three axes using a related-art one-dimensional angular velocity sensor, it is necessary to arrange the three related-art sensors in specific directions so that the sensors measure angular velocities about the three axes, respectively. Accordingly, the entire structure of an apparatus for obtaining angular velocities about the three axes is complicated and the manufacturing cost of the apparatus is expensive.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-294450 discloses an angular velocity sensor capable of measuring angular velocities about the three axes. The sensor employs a method of moving a weight in a circle to measure angular velocities about the three axes, namely, two directions perpendicular to the tangent of the circle and one direction along the axis. To allow the weight to stably move in the circle in the angular velocity sensor, it is necessary to control a variation in 2-DOF structure and electrically control the sensor. However, those controls are difficult. Specifically, it is technically difficult to suppress noise caused by centrifugal separation and a disturbance acceleration. Disadvantageously, it is difficult to obtain the S/N ratio equivalent to that of a related-art angular velocity sensor.
Uniaxial and biaxial angular velocity sensors using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology have been put into practical use. Two or three of those sensors can be used to achieve three-axial angular velocity measurement. For example, it is assumed that a three-axial acceleration sensor and a plurality of uniaxial angular velocity sensors are arranged to construct a three-axial angular velocity detecting apparatus. Disadvantageously, the apparatus has a size of several cm3 or more in consideration of the structures of those sensors. Furthermore, it is technically difficult to simultaneously provide the directions of the X and Y axes and the direction of the Z axis. Accordingly, such a three-axial angular velocity detecting apparatus has not been realized.

Inertial sensor and electrical or electronic device


In connection with an access of content from a cache, a snoop request can be sent to one or more remote cache devices to determine if any other cache has a copy of the content. A link between the cache and the remote cache devices can include a snoop bypass device. The snoop bypass device can monitor content cached by the one or more remote devices on a cache line or coarser granularity. The snoop bypass device can respond to the snoop request with a negative indication based on a coarser granularity tracking of content of the one or more remote cache devices.

Computing systems commonly allow content of memory to be accessed by multiple processor elements at the same time. For example, a processor can store a copy of content in a cache and another processor can store the same copy of the content in another cache. Cache devices can provide more rapid access to data by a processor than that provided using a memory device. Cache coherence aims to provide the most current version of the content in memory and cache, so that a most current version is accessed and processed. In a case where a device or process sends a query to other remote devices or remote processes as to their access or use of cached content, a time to receive a response to the query can introduce a delay that slows system performance.

Management of cache use requests sent to remote cache devices


Apparatus for handing monofilament fishing line including a plurality of branch lines with associated hooks is disclosed including an elongated substantially cylindrical body mounted on the bow of the vessel so that a plurality of loops of the monofilament fishing line can be formed thereon, a substantially U-shaped yoke mounted on the stern of the vessel whereby the plurality of loops of the monofilament fishing line can be drawn therefrom, and including braking means associated with the U-shaped yoke for applying pressure to the plurality of loops and ensuring that they are drawn individually from the substantially U-shaped yoke.

Long lines used in commercial fishing may have a length of several thousand meters. Handling of these long lines during baiting, laying out and drawing in has therefore traditionally been very labor-intensive. Accordingly, equipment has been under development for many years to mechanize this task.
Most of the systems for handling such long lines are directed to the problem of preventing the hooks and branch lines from becoming entwined. The main line is normally allowed to hang freely beneath the hook magazine. This arrangement is satisfactory if the main line is of a woven type. If, however, the main line is a single fiber line, i.e., monofilament, the traditional handling of these long lines is adversely affected to a considerable extent, particularly when the fishing vessel is subjected to heavy swells. This is because a monofilament line with a diameter of, for example, 2 mm, is relatively stiff and acts like a thin spiral spring which is pulled apart coil by coil during the laying out of the long line.
It has been shown, however, that the use of monofilament line is advantageous for fishing, particularly since this type of line does not absorb impurities and microorganisms. This, in turn, results in line not "smelling" in the water, and it is therefore more effective for fishing.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide means on a fishing vessel which allows simpler and safer handling of the monofilament line.

Means for handling a long line on a fishing vessel


A method for managing archived data includes creating a plurality of images of storage devices of computing systems and for, different users, each image being associated with a restore point of a particular storage device; storing the images for the different users in different storage locations, the storage locations being controlled by a single backup server and belonging to storage pools. Multiple locations of one user are stored in different pools on different storage devices. The method also involves moving contents of locations of one user from one pool to another in predefined direction, simultaneously with reorganizing images within the locations. Each image is a backup of one user's data. At least some of one location's content is frozen so that it is never moved from one pool to another. The storage devices of locations of different pools differ from each other by type, such that storage devices in a first pool are hard disk drives, storage devices in the next pool are SAN, or an NAS, and a storage device in the next pool is a network disk drive accessible through a network and a storage device in the next pool is a magnetic tape drive.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to backups, and, more particularly, to an architecture for centralized backup of multiple computers and for multiple users.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, there are a number of conventional methods that relate to organization of data archiving. One of these methods is a backup of the entire hard drive, which typically involves copying of the hard drive content onto some other medium, such as another hard disk drive, a DVD ROM, a DVD RAM, a flash disk, and frequently including copying of the hard drive content over a network. The primary disadvantage of such a method is the need to backup what is frequently a very large amount of data. On the one hand, this results in a relatively lengthy process of archiving, and, on the other hand, frequently requires relatively large available space for the archived data. This ultimately results in a relatively high cost of archiving per unit of archived data and network overload.
Several software applications offers a single management tool to backup a user's data and to restore data from backup, while providing archive management. Also, they helps organizations take advantage of both tape and disk storage with its advances in disk- and snapshot-based protection, off-site media management, and automated disaster recovery.
Administrators can set up periodic schedules for automatic, unattended backup operations of users across the network. Backups can be full or incremental. A full backup contains all files, while an incremental backup only contains those files that changed since the last backup. An administrator can create systematic and complete backups over a period of time, and optimize network traffic.
Synthetic (consolidated) backups may be required for users that require quick restores and backups that do not put a heavy data transmission load on their network. Consolidated backups are automatically created from one full backup or                a consolidated full backup and any number of incremental backups.
Consolidated backups allow for quick restore data from a single backup image. Consolidated backups consume less network bandwidth and decrease the impact on the application host.
The user initially needs to create a traditional full backup. After this, the user may no longer need to create traditional full backups. The user will be able to create consolidated full backups from other consolidated full backups. A user can then use the consolidated backup to restore data in the same way that a user would restore data from a traditional backup.
Creation of consolidated full backups takes place on a server instead of the client. One advantage of consolidating a full backup is that the processing of the backup is performed on the server and not on the client. During a traditional full backup, all files are copied from the client to a server, even though their data may not have changed since the last incremental backup.
Programs for managing backups provide a backup method for administrators to create images on disk initially, and then move them to another media type at a later point in time.
The number of operations with backups will be reduced, if consolidation of backups take place during the backups' migration to another storage device.
The present invention is based on these considerations, and it is an object thereof to provide a method for managing backups that is more efficient and has better operability.


An electronically operated lock has a latch mechanism which is operable by a rotatable spindle. The spindle can be rotated manually either by an inside turn lever or a key operated outside plug or rotated electronically. A pinion is secured to the spindle and a slider supported for vertical displacement has a vertical rack which cooperates with the pinion. The slider has vertically separated upper and lower control surfaces and a rotatable wheel gear has an eccentric axially extending finger located intermediate the upper and lower control surfaces. The wheel gear is driven by a single direction motor through gearing. The upper and lower control surfaces are selectively located so that when the finger is rotated in one direction from a 3:00 position to a 9:00 position, the displacement of the slider will displace the bolt to the retracted position and so that when the finger is rotated in that direction from the 9:00 position to the 3:00 position, the displacement of the slider will displace the bolt to the advanced position.

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/827,968, filed May 2, 1997, now abandoned.
To secure a door, a deadbolt may be extended from the door into a suitable opening in the door jamb. The deadbolt may be separate from other locking elements or it can be interconnected with a conventional lock which is operated with a knob or lever.
Deadbolts are available which have battery powered deadbolt pulling and advancing mechanisms actuated by inputting a code into a finger operated terminal.
The cost of rolling code technology has reduced to the point where it is economically feasible to incorporate this technology into such a lock.


Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for automatic amplifier gain profile control, including a method for automatically configuring a variable gain profile amplifier according to received input and a variable gain profile amplification system. Further, embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for increased gain profile accuracy, including methods and systems to reduce the effects of temperature and/or process variations on the gain profile of an amplifier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to amplifier gain profile control and calibration.
2. Background Art
Radio Frequency (RF) amplifiers, including broadband RF amplifiers, are typically designed to have flat gain, noise figure (NF), and linearity over their operating frequency range, as much as practically possible.
However, in many applications (e.g., cable television (CATV)), the input signal may not have equal power and density across the entire operating frequency range. As a result, when the input signal is amplified by a flat gain amplifier, weaker power components of the resulting amplified signal will have poorer signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and signal-to-distortion ratio (SDR) than prior to amplification. Further, this degradation in SNR and SDR will continue in subsequent signal processing stages of the overall system.
There is a need therefore to amplify the input signal such that the resulting amplified signal has substantially uniform SNR and SDR across the entire operating frequency range. Further, since the input signal may vary over time, there is a need to adaptively shape the gain profile of the amplifier according to the input signal. At the same time, for best amplification performance, there is a need to accurately set and control the gain profile of an amplifier and to minimize gain profile variations due to temperature and/or process variations, for example.
Conventional solutions use multiple amplifiers with different gain profiles and switch from one amplifier to another according to the input signal to achieve the desired amplification. Clearly, however, these solutions are expensive and need to be designed with a priori knowledge or estimate of the input signal. Further, these solutions cannot guarantee the gain profile accuracy required by some applications or compensate for gain profile variations.

Amplifier with automatic gain profile control and calibration


A sheet registering and gripping device for registering and gripping sheets transported along a sheet path. The device includes a registration edge and a gripping edge which extends from the registration edge. The invention further provides an apparatus for actuating the registration edge and gripping edge between a gripping and registering position, and may also include actuation to a third out-of-the-way position to allow substantially free transport of sheets by the registration and the gripping edge.

Sheet handlers are well known and, generally, such sheet handlers have a defined path through which sheet material is transported to and from one or more process stations. In image input devices, electrophotographic devices, ink jet printing devices and other such devices, sheet handling devices are employed to sequentially transport sheet material (i.e., sheets of paper and paper-like substrates, such as mylar, vellum, and the like and hereinafter collectively referred to as sheets) to and from image processing stations, such as image input scanning devices, light-lens imaging devices, fusing stations, imprinting stations, transfer stations, and the like.
Sheet handlers of the type in which this invention useful include both sheet handlers which are known as document handlers for sequentially feeding individual documents from a document input station to a document image processing station and then to a document output station, as well as sheet handlers of the type for sequentially feeding individual copy sheets from a copy sheet input station, to a copy sheet imprinting station, and to a copy output station. In general, to restate the foregoing, a sheet handler is employed to transport the sheets to a processing station. Often at such processing stations it is necessary that the transported sheet not only be registered but also held or gripped in place. For example, in some color printers the copy sheet to be printed upon must be delivered to a belt with a registration edge. The sheet then must be gripped on the belt as the sheet is transported through several imaging stations as a composite color image is formed thereon. Likewise, imagining stations adapted for imaging large document also employ apparatus for registering the document to be imaged and gripping the document as it is transported through the imaging station. Other devices also use registering and gripping apparatus to register and hold a sheet in place while an imaging station is moved or otherwise actuated over the sheet to form an image on or from the sheet.
These devices are functional, and they produce reasonably satisfactory results. However, they also tend to be somewhat expensive, not entirely simple and low cost, and not always entirely effective. Thus, there exists a need for a relatively simple, low cost apparatus for registering and gripping sheets transported to a process station.
The following disclosures may be relevant to various aspects of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,849, Patentee: Murakami, Issued: Dec. 9, 1975 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,222, Patentee: Simmons et al., Issued: Sep. 25, 1984 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,336, Patentee: Dastin et al., Issued: Aug. 4, 1992 PA1 EP-A-90850156.2, Publication No. 0399970, Filed: Apr. 24,1990, Inventor: Fujino PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,602, Patentee: Kress et al., Issued: Nov. 5,1991 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,421, Patentee: Stemmie, Issued: Apr. 24, 1990 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,762, Patentee: Beery, Issued: Jul. 18, 1989
U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,849 discloses a gripping device for use with a chain driven paper carriage comprising a gripper bar mounted between housing chances having a U-shaped configuration. One leg of the gripper bar is stripped of the upper extremity to form an inner, lower step and a higher outer step. Gripper members are biased into contact with the lower step to grip paper therebetween. An actuated cam is also employed to release the paper from the gripper members after processing and to receive additional paper.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,222 discloses an adjustable sheet handling apparatus which includes a member for engaging a sheet along a path. The member is movable into the path to engage a sheet and a second member connected to the engaging member is also movable into the sheet to hold the sheet in the path.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,336 discloses a gripper apparatus secured by a movable belt for gripping copy sheets moving in a path and transporting the sheet with the belt through a processing station. The sheet gripper includes an upper and lower gripper portion which is spring biased together. Cam members are provided to periodically open the gripper members to permit release of gripped sheets and to receive another sheet.
European Application No. 90850156.2, Publication No. 0399970 discloses an image scanning apparatus comprising a document feed mechanism which includes a light source and an image sensor reciprocally moved from a home position and a starting position. The document feeding mechanism is mechanically connected to the image sensing unit and moves with the sensing unit. The document feed mechanism includes a functional roller unit which contacts a glass platen, for positioning an image bearing surface face down, and which is coupled to a shaft through a one-way clutch. The clutch inhibits rotation of the roller during movement of the scanning unit and feed mechanism from the home position to the scan starting position and allows rotation during the reverse movement. An operator inserts a document in proper orientation between the frictional roller and the glass patent; the document is then fed or movement to the proper position by the movement of the scanning unit and the feed mechanism from the home position to the scanning position. The document is then scanned during the return movement of the feeder mechanism and s canning unit as the roller freely rotates on the document.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,602 discloses the use of a one-way fibrous cloth or pad material, which has fibers oriented toward the rear or upstream position of a feeder tray. The fibers engage the trailing or upstream edge of the sheet above the feed sheet as the feed sheet is fed from a bottom sheet feeder to functionally resist the downstream movement of the sheet above the feed sheet to reduce feeding of multiple sheets from the tray at one time.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,421 discloses a combined input and output scanner assembly including a copy sheet transport for transporting copy sheets through the assembly moving a scanning and printing assembly to enable the printing of the copy sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,762 discloses a sheet feed apparatus for feeding a sheet from a stack of sheets. A plurality of sheet engaging pressure pads are employed to engage a sheet so that a sheet may be fed from planar and non-planar stacks.
The foregoing references failed to provide a relatively simple, sheet registering and gripping device for sheets transported to a processing station for processing.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a sheet registration and gripping device for sheets transported by sheet handling apparatus is provided. The invention comprises a sheet registration edge including a first surface for registering the transported sheets, and a second surface substantially perpendicular to the first surface, a gripping surface positioned proximate to the registration edge, and means for moving the registration edge from a first position for registering sheets against the first surface to a second position for engaging sheets by the second surface and gripping sheets between the gripping surface and the second surface. The invention may further comprise a housing adapted to support the registration edge and the gripping surface. The invention in accordance with this aspect may additionally include second means for moving the registration edge to a third position locating the first and the second surfaces remote from the gripping surface to enable sheets to be transported past the first surface and the second surface. Other features of this aspect of the invention may also comprise means for resiliently urging the registration edge selectively to the first position, the second position and the third position, as well as a camming device for moving the registration edge in a direction opposite to the direction of movement urged by the resilient means. The camming device may be a cam which defines a track having said registration edge disposed therein. With the track having raised portions in the track for actuating said first and said second surfaces between the first and the second positions and with the track having laterally displaced portions in the track so as to move the registration edge laterally responsive to movement of the cam.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet registering and gripping apparatus for registering sheets transported along a path comprising a registration edge, a gripping edge extending from the registration edge, and means for substantially vertically actuating the registration edge so as to move the registration edge between a registering position and a gripping position. The invention in accordance with this aspect may further include means for actuating the registration edge laterally and vertically to move the registration edge and the gripping edge to a remote position enabling the transported sheets to pass the registration edge and the gripping edge.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention a method for registering and gripping sheets transported along a path is provided which comprising the steps of engaging the transported sheets against a registration edge to register individual sheets, lowering the registration edge so that a gripping member extending substantially parallel to the registration edge grips a registered sheet in the path, and translating the registration edge in both a lateral and vertical manner to release a gripped sheet. The method of this aspect of the invention can include a part of the translating step moving the registration edge and the gripping member to a position in a remote location allowing transport of sheets in the path thereby. The method of this aspect of the invention can further include actuating a cam member connected to the registration edge and biasing the registration edge into contact with the cam member.

Apparatus for gripping and registering sheets


A circuit for measuring maximum operating frequency and its corresponding duty cycle for an input I/O cell implementation under test (IUT) includes a condition checking module, a central control module and a duty cycle measurement module. The condition checking module checks an upper threshold voltage and a lower threshold voltage. The central control module controls a plurality of operations for measuring the frequency. The duty cycle measurement module measures the duty cycle and finally all these modules together and calculates maximum operating frequency of the IUT.

There are various parameters, such as operating frequencies, duty cycle, or potential drop measurements at different nodes inside an integrated circuit, which needs to be analyzed. These parameters are required to understand special characteristics of the Integrated Circuits (ICs). A specific value of an operating frequency and a duty cycle of an on chip clock or signal often become significant in very large scale integration (VLSI), like DRAM circuits and analog to digital conveter (ADC) circuits, which are sensitive to the operating frequency or duty cycle or where operations are synchronized with both transitions of the clock.
There exist many applications where the speed of the I/O structures becomes a limiting factor inside a chip. In such cases identifying the true limits of the operating frequency of the I/O structures with respect to a specified duty cycle and an upper and a lower voltage threshold limit can help the core designer, as he/she exactly knows the limiting frequency of I/Os for applying critical signals like clock and observing the output values. Identifying the true operating frequency in a computer system may prevent inconsistencies between the processor, software running on it, and the generation of operation-code exceptions.
The clock signal is a heart beat for all synchronous digital computing and communication circuits, some of which are sensitive to both edges of the clock. Dynamic and domino logic circuits require one phase of the clock cycle for pre-charge and the other to evaluate, thus imposing a tight constraint on the operating frequency and the duty cycle of the clock to operate at maximum possible speed. In data communication circuits and systems the importance of clock-to-data correlation is magnified, and large variations in these parameters (operating frequency and duty cycle) of the clock cannot be tolerated. Similarly, in serializer/deserializer (SERDES) technology when both edges of the serialization signal are used to serialize the data, a balanced duty cycle becomes very important to provide equal transmission time for each symbol.
In advanced deep submicron VLSI technologies, the clock is distributed to individual components through a large clock distribution tree made up of clock buffers and interconnects of appropriate sizes to minimize skew and end-to-end delay. A noticeable degradation in duty cycle can be observed at the terminal ends of the signal distribution network, even for signals generated with a perfectly stable and accurate signal source. This is due to a slight mismatch in the drive strengths of pull-up and pull-down networks of the CMOS gates/buffers and non-uniformity in the distribution of wiring capacitance. A local duty cycle correction circuit is usually required to fix this problem.
At the tester level, operating frequency measurement can be done only for output I/Os, not for input I/Os. Hence an on chip system is required which would internally measure the operating frequency of an input I/O and generate the result in a digital format.
There exists various conventional techniques for frequency measurement inside a chip, but none of the techniques provide measurement of the true operating frequency, which satisfies a plurality of conditions, such as duty cycle values, upper voltage threshold and lower voltage threshold.
Therefore, there arises a need for a testing methodology for measuring maximum operating frequency and corresponding duty cycle for an input, and output I/O cell. Moreover, the proposed methodology provides an on chip testing flexibility.

Method and system for measuring maximum operating frequency and corresponding duty cycle for an I/O cell


A method, apparatus, and storage medium for processing video data. According to one embodiment, first data encoded in a first high level encoding format and second data encoded in a second high level encoding format are provided. The first data is decoded with a first format decoder of a video subsystem. The second data is decoded with a second format decoder of the video subsystem.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the processing of video data, and, in particular, to providing for video encoding format compatibility.
2. Description of the Related Art
This invention relates to signal processing which is often used to encode data signals into an encoded bitstream and to decode such encoded bitstream to reconstruct the original data signals. Such encoded data signals are often video image signals representative of video pictures. Video pictures may be still images or may be part of a plurality of successive pictures of video signal data that represent a motion video. As used herein, "picture" and "video picture" may interchangeably refer to signals representative of an image as hereinabove described.
Video formats are typically utilized to standardize ways of encoding video data. In general, video data which is at the pixel level is encoded in accordance with a particular video format that specifies the manner of encoding the video data. Such encoding may include compressing the video data or other types of encoding. Encoded video data is encoded at a high-level format and may thus be referred to herein as high-level video data. Video data at the pixel or bitmap level is in a format suitable for display on a monitor or for other data processing, and may be considered to be in a relatively low-level format in comparison to the relatively high-level format at which the data is typically encoded. Video data in its high-level, encoded format requires less storage and communications bandwidth, but is not directly usable for processing or display, and is thus decoded before displaying the data.
Different video formats are used to represent images in computer-based image processing systems. For example, one such standard is the H.261 video standard (International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Recommendation H.261 ; (March 93), "Video codec for audiovisual services at p.times.64 kbits"). Often all the various elements or nodes of a network of interconnected computers operate in a compatible video format such as H.261. However, there may be multiple video formats, which are incompatible with each other. Thus, for a computer configured to process (i.e., decode and encode) video data in one video format, it is unable to process video data encoded in accordance with a second format.
There is, therefore, a need for methods and apparatuses that address problems arising from incompabilities in high-level video encoding formats.

Multiple codecs for video encoding format compatibility


In a method of manufacturing a piezoelectric device, a compressive stress film is formed on a back surface of a piezoelectric single crystal substrate opposite to a surface on an ion-implanted side. The compressive stress film compresses the surface on the ion-implanted side of the piezoelectric single crystal substrate. The compressive stress produced by the compressive stress film is applied to half of the piezoelectric single crystal substrate on the ion-implanted side with respect to the center line of the thickness of the piezoelectric single crystal substrate to prevent the piezoelectric single crystal substrate from warping. A supporting substrate is then bonded to the surface of a bonding film on the flat piezoelectric single crystal substrate. The joined body of the piezoelectric single crystal substrate and the supporting substrate is then heated to initiate isolation at the ion-implanted portion as the isolation plane.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a piezoelectric device that uses a thin film made of a piezoelectric single crystal material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many kinds of piezoelectric devices that utilize a piezoelectric thin film, i.e., thin-film piezoelectric devices, are now under development. There are many ways to produce a piezoelectric thin film for the fabrication of thin-film piezoelectric devices. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-534886 proposes a method for manufacturing a piezoelectric device in which a piezoelectric thin film is formed by isolation from a piezoelectric substrate at an ion-implanted layer as the isolation plane.
The following describes this manufacturing method of a piezoelectric device, which includes forming a piezoelectric thin film by isolation from a piezoelectric substrate at an ion-implanted layer as the isolation plane, with reference to FIGS. 1A-1D.
FIGS. 1A-1D are schematic cross-sectional diagrams illustrating the manufacturing steps of a piezoelectric device according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-534886. The first step is to implant hydrogen ions into a piezoelectric substrate 5 from the front 7 side in a way that an ion-implanted layer 6 is formed at a predetermined depth d in the piezoelectric substrate 5 as illustrated in FIG. 1A. A coupling material 8 is then deposited on the front 7 of the piezoelectric substrate 5 by sputtering as illustrated in FIG. 1B. The next step is to join the piezoelectric substrate 5 and a supporting substrate 9 as illustrated in FIG. 1C. Finally, the joined body of the piezoelectric substrate 5 and the supporting substrate 9 is heated to initiate isolation at the ion-implanted layer 6 as the isolation plane. As a result, a piezoelectric thin film 5′ is formed on the supporting substrate 9 as illustrated in FIG. 1D.
In the manufacturing method according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-534886, however, ion implantation (see FIG. 1A) causes the piezoelectric substrate 5 to be warped with the ion-implanted layer 6 side of the piezoelectric substrate 5 curved outwards as illustrated in FIG. 2. This type of warpage occurs because the implanted ionized element causes the crystal lattice spacing of the piezoelectric material to extend in the ion-implanted portion of the piezoelectric substrate 5.
When the piezoelectric substrate 5 is in such a warped shape, bonding it to a supporting substrate 9 (see FIG. 1C) results in the piezoelectric substrate 5 adhering to the supporting substrate 9 with the crystal lattice spacing longer than that before ion implantation. The crystal lattice spacing in the piezoelectric thin film 5′, which is left after bonding to the supporting substrate 9 and isolation at the ion-implanted layer, is therefore longer than that before ion implantation. It is, however, generally known that a piezoelectric thin film 5′ having an extended crystal lattice spacing as above has lower piezoelectricity than one with no expansion of the crystal lattice spacing.
This means that piezoelectric thin film devices produced by the manufacturing method according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-534886 are disadvantageous because of degraded piezoelectricity. This is a fatal problem for the device characteristics of high-frequency filters in particular because in devices of this type, an extended crystal lattice spacing is a big factor for the degradation of piezoelectricity.
Heat treatment for the recovery of piezoelectricity expels the ions of the implanted element existing between the crystals from the piezoelectric thin film 5′ by degasification and is expected to make the crystal lattice spacing of the piezoelectric thin film 5′ return to that before ion implantation. However, the piezoelectric thin film 5′ is bonded to the supporting substrate 9; it is confined by the supporting substrate 9 and unable to regain its crystal lattice spacing before ion implantation. In other words, the piezoelectric thin film 5′ formed on the supporting substrate 9 is under shear stress. Piezoelectric thin film devices produced by the manufacturing method according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-534886 therefore has another disadvantage in that the piezoelectric thin film 5′ is likely to be damaged.

Method for manufacturing piezoelectric device


An error in a web page displayed on a device is detected. The error is assigned to a bucket to indicate a type of the error, and a record describing the current state of the device is generated. Both an indication of the bucket and the record describing the current state of the device are then sent to a server. At the server, error information including error records and bucket identifiers are received from multiple devices. Each error record describes a current state of one of the multiple devices at a time when an error in a web page displayed on the one device was detected. Each bucket identifier corresponds to one of the error records and describes a type of the error associated with that error record. The error records are grouped into multiple baskets based at least in part on the current state information in the error records.

The world wide web, or simply the web, has made available many different web pages that users can navigate to and read. Some web pages maintain this simple functionality, while other web pages have evolved to the point where they embed programs that run when a user navigates to the web page. These programs can improve the user's experience of the web page, and can also increase the functionality that is made available to users of the web page. However, one problem faced with these programs as well as web pages in general is that it is difficult for the web page designer or web site publisher to get feedback regarding errors that occur during operation of these programs or display of the web page.


The invention relates to a circuit board (1), preferably for a circuit for operating a lighting means, comprising a retaining bow (2), which is arranged on a planar top side (11) of the circuit board (1) and mechanically connected to the circuit board (1); and comprising a through-bore (3), which is arranged at least partially below the retaining bow (2); wherein the through-bore (3) has at least one taper (31) and wherein a housing (5) for protecting the circuit board (1) can be mechanically fastened by means of the retaining bow (2) and the taper (31). The retaining bow (2) is arranged on the circuit board (1) by means of a solder joint (32). The invention further relates to a system for a circuit for operating a lighting means and to a method for fastening a housing (5) to a circuit board (1).

Circuits for operating at least one lamp, e.g. an LED or gas discharge lamp are preferably disposed on a circuit board. The circuit board is provided with a housing to protect this circuit from external effects such as dirt, mechanical disruptions, moisture or electromagnetic radiation, and to protect people and the environment from the circuit, e.g. by coming in contact with conducting parts of the circuit, or from the radiation emitted by the circuit. The housing can also accommodate other elements in addition to the circuit board.
If the housing is made of a metallic material, for example, then it must also be ensured for safety reasons that a ground of the voltage supply is connected to the housing.
A mechanical retaining connection, in particular a clamping connection between the housing and the circuit board, is normally enabled by a housing retaining element. This retaining element is inserted through a hole in the circuit board, and mechanically secured by a retaining bracket. In doing so, the retaining element of the housing is not in contact with, or sufficiently in contact with the inner wall of the hole. The retaining connection can be strongly impaired as a result, when the circuit board is subjected to a mechanical load, e.g. when testing the circuit board, or when an electrical contact is established, or when the circuit is installed in the lighting system.
Conventionally, the housing is thus only inadequately mechanically secured to the circuit board. If the mechanical retaining connection is fragile, the circuit board is insufficiently protected against external effects, and the environment is not protected from the effects of the circuit board.
Moreover, due to the insufficient physical contact between the through-hole and the retaining element of the housing, the retaining force or clamping force of the retaining element may be reduced, resulting in an additional reduction in the quality of the mechanical securing. This impaired mechanical securing can lead in particular to a reduction in the quality of the ground connection between the housing and the circuit board, and in particular may lead to disruptions or breakdowns of the lamps when the circuit is tested or used.
The object of the present invention is therefore to create a circuit board that can be reliably protected by a housing, wherein the mechanical retaining connection of the housing to the circuit board is substantially improved. In particular, an electrical connection for applying a ground between the housing and the circuit board should be reliably formed, in order to improve safety when working with the housing. The mass-produced electronic circuit for a lamp should not be more expensive, and should still to be able to be produced easily.
This problem is solved with the technical features described herein.

Circuit board for mechanically fastening a housing


A protective helmet, which is intended to be only worn by a wearer who is authorized to pass through a security perimeter, comprises an outer shell, a pocket, which is mounted to the outer shell and which defines a window, a flap, which is movable between a position wherein the flap covers the window and positions wherein the flap does not cover the window, and a card, which is disposed in the pocket. The card displays or records data, which are readable through the window by a human, by an electronic reader, or by both, and which are unique to the authorized wearer of the protective garment. The data may comprise symbolic data, such as bar code data, and may comprise a photograph of the authorized wearer of the protective garment. When the flap covers the window, the flap protects the data against becoming unreadable because of foreign matter, such as soot, or because of surface abrasion.

Commonly, a firefighter carries an identifying card, which may display bar code data identifying the firefighter and which may display a photograph of the firefighter. As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,652 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,889, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, it is known for said data to be electronically scanned and to be then used to track firefighters arriving at a firefighting site, entering the firefighting site, and leaving the firefighting site.
As a matter of related interest, U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,741 discloses, on a firefighter's garment, a label bearing warnings, washing information, or other information. As stitched in place, the label is covered by a transparent, protective layer of a heat resistant, abrasion resistant, substantially waterproof material, which is stitched in place, all the way around the label. The material may be a biaxially oriented, copolymer film, such as KAPTON film manufactured by E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del.
Historically, perimeter security has been needed at military bases and other military sites. Terrorist activities on Sep. 11, 2001, in the United States and other incidents have highlighted that perimeter security may be also needed at firefighting sites and other sites, particularly where numerous firefighters, emergency workers, and police officers are gathered, many of whom may not be personally acquainted with one another.

Protective helmet with card displaying or recording data unique to authorized wearer and readable through helmet pocket window