A lead-acid battery improving the charge acceptance in an initial stage, suppressing the decrease of the charge acceptance for a long time use of the battery and having a long life is provided. In a lead-acid battery using a paste type negative plate prepared by filling a past form negative active material using a lead powder as a starting material in a collector made of a lead alloy, a flake graphite and a condensate of bisphenols and aminobenzene sulfonic acid are contained in the negative active material. The average primary particle diameter of the flake graphite is 10 μm or more and 220 μm or less, preferably, 100 μm or more and 220 μm or less. The content of the flake graphite is preferably from 0.5 mass parts to 2.7 mass parts and, more preferably, from 1.1 mass parts to 2.2 mass parts based on 100 mass parts of the negative active material (spongy metallic lead) in a fully charged state.

Automotive lead-acid batteries have been used generally for starting engines and supplying power to electric components. In recent years, for environmental preservation and fuel cost improvement, idling stop and start of stopping an engine during temporary stopping of a vehicle and re-starting the engine upon starting (hereinafter referred to as ISS) has been introduced. Since engine starting and stopping are repeated frequently in ISS, the number of high rate discharge cycles increases in batteries upon starring the engine, and discharge load is increased being coupled with the use of electric components. A Battery has been charged by constant voltage charging as usual by an alternator, and a setting value for the alternator voltage has been lowered in recent years with an aim of reducing the decrease of electrolyte due to electrolyzing water during charging. In addition to the low charge voltage, a system of "controlling charging by the alternator during running in accordance with the running state of a vehicle and a charged state of a battery thereby decreasing the engine load, improving the fuel cost, and decreasing CO2", which is referred to as a power generation control system, has also been adopted in recent years. It can be said that such a system provides a circumstance where the battery is less charged and fully charged state is less obtained. Under such a working condition, the battery is not charged fully and often used in an over-discharged state.
When the battery is not charged fully and a poor charged state continues, this causes a phenomenon that lead sulfate as an inert discharging product is accumulated on plates (sulfation). It has been known that the active material is less reduced (less charged) and the battery performance is deteriorated under such a situation. Further, when the fully charged state is less obtainable, a stratification phenomenon occurs to cause difference in the concentration of a diluted sulfuric acid as an electrolyte between the upper portion and the lower portion of plates of the battery. In this case, the concentration of the diluted sulfuric acid increases in the lower portion of the plates and sulfation arises. Accordingly, the reactivity is lowered in the lower portion of the plates and reaction is concentrated only to the upper portion of the plates. As a result, degradation such as weakening of bonding between the active materials proceeds in which the active material is defoliated from grid in the upper portion of the plate to lower the battery performance and shorten the life. As described above, since recent batteries have been used in an poor charged state, it has been demanded for the improvement of charge acceptance.
As means for improving the charge acceptance of the battery, Patent documents 1 and 2 disclose a technique of adding an additive to a negative active material.
The Patent document 1 discloses a technique of simultaneously adding a synthetic lignin having a molecular weight of about 17,000 to 20,000 (condensate of bisphenols and amino benzene sulfonic acid) and a carbon black having a specific surface of 150 to 300 m2/g obtained from heavy oil as a starting material to a negative active material of a lead-acid battery in order to improve the charge acceptance.
The Patent document 2 discloses a technique, for obtaining a valve regulated lead-acid battery of a long life, of subjecting acetylene black or natural flake graphite to hydrogen reduction, preparing a paste type negative plate in which the reduced acetylene black or natural flake graphite is incorporated in an active material layer, and using the paste type negative plate.


A method and apparatus for audibly reproducing a heartbeat at a user selected repetition rate by the steps of: detecting heart sound patterns and storing a representation of heart sound patterns having a duration that encompasses one heartbeat; analyzing the stored representation to determine the duration of one heartbeat; audibly and repeatedly reproducing a portion of the stored representation extending over a period equal to the duration of one heartbeat such that each repetition of the audibly reproduced portion extends over a time period substantially equal to the duration of one heartbeat; and selecting the repetition rate at which the portion of the stored representation is repetitively produced.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reproducing the audible sound produced by a heartbeat in order to facilitate the diagnosis of coronary diseases and abnormalities and to aid in teaching such diagnoses.
A heartbeat is a single complete pulsation of the heart, consisting of a complete cardiac contraction-relaxation sequence, and produces an audible sound pattern. Contraction is represented by the first sound S.sub.1, the beginning of relaxation by the second sound S.sub.2. In addition, sounds may take any one of a number of different forms based on the duration and the relationship to S.sub.1 S.sub.2. The audible sound pattern produced by a single heartbeat may be classified as heart sounds, or heart murmurs, or a combination of a heart sound and a heart murmur. A heart murmur is a protracted sound usually over 40 msec which may occur in systole during cardiac contraction or in diastole during cardiac relaxation. A heart sound is a nonprotracted sound and a murmur is a protracted sound. Either a heart sound or a murmur may take one of a number of specific forms. Depending on its specific form, a heart sound may be indicative of a normal, healthy, heart, or an abnormal or diseased heart. A diastolic murmur is usually abnormal. Diastolic murmurs are heard between the second and first sounds.
Hereinafter, the term "heartbeat" will be understood to refer to either a heart sound, or a murmur, or a combination thereof; the sounds produced by one heartbeat will be referred to as an audible sound pattern, or sound pattern; and sounds produced by a plurality of successive heartbeats will be referred to as audible sound patterns, or sound patterns.
Interpretation of the audible sound pattern produced by a heartbeat, or more generally the audible sound patterns produced by a succession of heartbeats, is known as auscultation and represents one of the oldest, and most effective, techniques used in the practice of medicine. A skilled and experienced physician can obtain critical information about the condition of a patient's heart from proper interpretation of such audible sound patterns.
However, auscultation is inherently a demanding art and is rendered more difficult by the fact that an irregularity and/or the relatively high repetition rate of heartbeats interferes with the mental processes involved in such interpretation.
Specifically, heartbeats produce repetitive audible sound patterns which are substantially identical from one heartbeat to the next. Because of the rate at which successive heartbeats normally recur, it has been found that after a physician has heard one heartbeat, and is attempting to interpret it, the next heartbeat occurs and interferes with the interpretation process.
It has been proposed to facilitate diagnosis by recording the audible sound patterns produced by a succession of heartbeats in auscultable grouped units (see Det) and then playing back the recording at a reduced rate, or speed, to facilitate interpreting the grouped sounds. Normally, this procedure has a significant drawback in that it reduces the frequency components of all of the recorded heartbeat, with the result that the heartbeats which are reproduced for diagnosis differ significantly from the actual heartbeats which physicians have been trained to interpret (defined as auscultable sounds).

Method and apparatus for reproducing heart sounds


A changing station for sleeves of a printing machine has a conveyable magazine with at least one take-up device for the sleeves. The magazine is both vertically and horizontally conveyable alongside the printing machine. The horizontal movement can be provided by a rail, and the vertical movement can be provided by a crane or hoist.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a changing station for sleeves of printing machines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is often necessary to change the print impression subjects on the printing rollers in order to implement print job orders. In order to be able to carry out a job order change as quickly and simply as possible, only the so-called printing sleeves that carry the subjects of the print impression are changed.
The as yet unpublished patent application DE 101 12 522 shows a take-up device with a plurality of carrier bars for receiving printing sleeves. This take-up device is set up in the proximity of a printing group. For this purpose, it possesses wheels, by which it is movable over the floors of the machine hall. Also, in order to set up the take-up device at an appropriate distance away from the more highly situated printing groups, the take-up device can be positioned on a lifting platform positioned alongside the printing machine. Removed sleeves are manually pulled off from the printing roller and/or from the anilox roller by the operating personnel, are lifted over to the take-up device and are slid onto a carrier bar of the take-up device. As a rule, the take-up device also carries the sleeves for the new print job order, which are also manually moved and pulled on to the printing roller and/or the anilox roller. In the case of the described operations, the operating personnel stands on the aforementioned lifting platform and lifts the sleeves to be changed from the printing machine to the take-up device and vice versa.
This work obviously made hard by the weight of the sleeves and the necessity of pulling up the bar to be changed up to the printing cylinder or up to the carrier bar is often rendered even more difficult when the position of the sleeve to be changed in the take-up device is greatly offset in terms of the axis of the printing roller or of the anilox roller.

Changing station for printing press sleeves


An exposure apparatus includes a first member disposed at least in a part of a periphery of an optical path of the exposure light, and has a first face that faces an upper face of the object through a first gap and holds the liquid between the upper face of the object and the first face, a second member disposed at an outer side of the first face with respect to the optical path and has a second face facing the upper face of the object through a second gap, a first supply port disposed at an outer side of the second face and supplies a fluid, and a first suction port disposed between the first face and the second face, and suctions at least part of gas in an outer space of the second member via a gap between the second face and the upper face of the object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, a liquid holding method, and a device manufacturing method.
2. Description of Related Art
Among exposure apparatuses used in photolithography, a liquid immersion exposure apparatus, for example, as disclosed in US Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2009/0046261, that exposes a substrate through liquid by exposure light is known.

Exposure apparatus, liquid holding method, and device manufacturing method


The present invention relates to a genetically engineered P30 antigen and a combination or mixture of antigens (e.g., the genetically engineered P30 antigen and P35) that may be used in the detection of IgM and/or IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. Furthermore, the present invention also relates to methods of using this genetically engineered P30 antigen and combination of antigens, antibodies raised against this genetically engineered P30 antigen and combination of antigens, as well as kits and vaccines containing the genetically engineered P30 antigen and antigens present in the combination.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a genetically engineered P30 antigen as well as a combination or mixture of antigens which may be used in the detection of IgM and/or IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. Furthermore, the present invention also relates to methods of using this genetically engineered P30 antigen and combination of antigens, antibodies raised against this genetically engineered P30 antigen and combination of antigens, as well as kits and vaccines containing the genetically engineered P30 antigen and antigens present in the combination.
2. Background Information
Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite which is classified among the Coccidia. This parasite has relatively broad host range infecting both mammals and birds. The organism is ubiquitous in nature and exists in three forms: tachyzoite, cyst, and oocyst (Remington, J. S., McLeod, R., Desmonds, G., Infectious Diseases of the Fetus and Newborn Infant (J. S. Remington and J. O. Klein, Eds.), pp. 140–267, Saunders, Philadelphia (1995)). Tachyzoites, found during acute infection, are the invasive form capable of invading all nucleated mammalian cells. After the acute stage of infection, tissue cysts called bradyzoites are formed within host cells and persist within the host organism for the life of the host. Cysts are important in transmission of infection, especially in humans, as the ingestion of raw or undercooked meat can result in the ingestion of bradyzoites which can infect the individual resulting in an acute infection. Oocysts represent a stage of sexual reproduction which occurs only in the intestinal lining of the cat family from which they are excreted in the feces.
A T. gondii infection acquired through contaminated meat or cat feces in a healthy adult is often asymptomatic. In pregnant women and immunosuppressed patients, the clinical outcome can be very serious. An acute infection with T. gondii acquired during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester, can result in intrauterine transmission to the unborn fetus resulting in severe fetal and neonatal complications, including mental retardation and fetal death. Recrudescence of a previous T. gondii infection or an acute infection in an immunosuppressed individual can be pathogenic. Toxoplasmic encephalitis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in AIDS patients. Toxoplasma infection has also been shown to be a significant cause of chorioretinitis in children and adults.
Diagnosis of infection with T. gondii may be established by the isolation of T. gondii from blood or body fluids, demonstration of the presence of the organism in the placenta or tissues of the fetus, demonstration of the presence of antigen by detection of specific nucleic acid sequences (e.g., DNA probes), or detection of T. gondii specific immunoglobulins synthesized by the host in response to infection using serologic tests.
The detection of T. gondii specific antibodies and determination of antibody titer are important tools used in the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. The most widely used serologic tests for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis are the Sabin-Feldman dye test (Sabin, A. B. and Feldman, H. A. (1948) Science 108, 660–663), the indirect hemagglutination (IHA) test (Jacobs, L. and Lunde, M. (1957) J. Parasitol. 43, 308–314), the IFA test (Walton, B. C. et al. (1966) Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 15, 149–152), the agglutination test (Fondation Mérieux, Sérologie de I'Infection Toxoplasmique en Particulier à Son Début: Méthodes et Interprétation des Résultants, Lyon, 182 pp. (1975)) and the ELISA (Naot, Y. and Remington, J. S. (1980) J. Infect. Dis. 142, 757–766). The ELISA test is one the easiest tests to perform, and many automated serologic tests for the detection of Toxoplasma specific IgM and IgG are commercially available.
The current tests for the detection of IgM and IgG antibodies in infected individuals can vary widely in their ability to detect serum antibody. Hence, there is significant inter-assay variation seen among the commercially available kits. The differences observed between the different commercial kits are caused primarily by the preparation of the antigen used for the serologic test. Most kits use either whole or sonicated tachyzoites grown in tissue culture or in mice which contain a high proportion of extra-parasitic material, for example, mammalian cells, tissue culture components, etc. Due to the lack of a purified, standardized antigen or standard method for preparing the tachyzoite antigen, it is not surprising that inter-assay variability exists resulting in different assays having different performance characteristics in terms of assay sensitivity and specificity.
Given the limitations of serologic tests employing the tachyzoite antigen, as described above, as well as the persistent problems regarding determination of onset of infection, purified recombinant antigens obtained by molecular biology are an attractive alternative in that they can be purified and standardized. In the literature, a number of Toxo genes have been cloned and expressed in a suitable host to produce immunoreactive, recombinant Toxo antigens. For example, the Toxo P22 (SAG2), P24 (GRA1), P25, P28 (GRA2), P29 (GRA7), P30 (SAG1), P35, P41 (GRA4), P54 (ROP2), P66 (ROP1), and the Toxo P68 antigens have been described (Prince et al. (1990) Mol. Biochem. Parasitol 43, 97–106; Cesbron-Delauw et al. (1989) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 86, 7537–7541; Johnson et al. (1991) Gene 99, 127–132; Prince et al. (1989) Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 34, 3–13; Bonhomme et al. (1998) J. Histochem. Cytochem. 46, 1411–1421; Burg et al. (1988) J. Immunol. 141, 3584–3591; Knapp et al. (1989) EPA 431541A2; Mevelec et al. (1992) Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 56, 227–238; Saavedra et al. (1991) J. Immunol. 147, 1975–1982); EPA 751 147).
It is plausible that no single Toxo antigen can replace the tachyzoite in an initial screening immunoassay for the detection of Toxo-specific immunoglobulins. This may be due to several reasons. First, the antibodies produced during infection vary with the stage of infection, i.e., the antibodies produced by an infected individual vary over time reacting with different epitopes. Secondly, the epitopes present in a recombinant antigen may be different or less reactive than native antigen prepared from the tachyzoite depending on the host used for expression and the purification scheme employed. Thirdly, different recombinant antigens may be needed to detect the different classes of immunoglobulins produced in response to an infection, e.g., IgM, IgG, IgA and IgE.
In order to overcome the limitations of the tachyzoite antigen in terms of assay specificity and sensitivity, a search was done for Toxo antigens which could be used in combination in order to configure new assays for the detection of Toxo-specific immunoglobulins. Maine et al. (in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,157 B1) disclose recombinant Toxo antigen cocktails for the detection of Toxo-specific IgG and IgM. It was determined that the above mentioned Toxo antigen cocktails could be improved and enhanced by expression of Toxo P30 in E. coli as a soluble protein with genetically engineered modifications. This genetically engineered P30 antigen and improved antigen cocktail will be described in further detail below.

Genetically engineered P30 antigen, improved antigen cocktail, and uses thereof


[PROBLEMS] The invention is to provide an aqueous one-component coating agent that is environmentally friendly and safe, and is excellent in productivity and storage stability, and also in alkali resistance and solvent resistance of a coated film.

A coating agent containing an organic solvent in a large amount involves a safety and health problem, such as adverse affect on human bodies, explosion and fire disaster, and an environmental pollution problem, such as atmospheric pollution. In order to eliminate the problems, various aqueous systems are being developed actively in recent years. A urethane coating agent exhibits good adhesion property to various kinds of substrates. Accordingly, there is an increasing demand of an aqueous urethane coating agent.
Patent Document 1 discloses an aqueous polyurethane resin obtained by mixing a urethane prepolymer having a carboxyl group and an isocyanate group and having water dispersibility through neutralization of the carboxyl group with a basic compound, with a water non-emulsifiable polyisocyanate, followed by subjecting to emulsification and chain extension in water.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-7-188371
However, it has been found that the aqueous urethane resin disclosed in Patent Document 1 is still insufficient in property of the coated film.

Method for producing polyurethane emulsion for aqueous one-component coating agent

Abstract: [MEANS FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS] The problems are solved by providing a method for producing polyurethane emulsion for an aqueous one-component coating agent, comprising: reacting an organic diisocyanate (a1), a high molecular weight polyol (a2) and a low molecular weight glycol containing a carboxyl group (a3) to produce an isocyanate-terminated urethane prepolymer having a carboxyl group (A); mixing the urethane prepolymer (A) with a polyisocyanate containing a nonionic polar group (B); neutralizing the carboxyl group in the system with a neutralizing agent (C); and subjecting the mixture to emulsification in water and chain extension with water or an amine.


A method and apparatus for reducing the viscosity of a fluidic cementitious mixture, the apparatus including a high voltage source, first and second spaced electrode members electrically connected to the high voltage source and (when energized) define an electrostatic field therebetween. The positioning of particulate cementitious material within the electrostatic field imparts like charges to the cementitious particles. By establishing such an electric field and positioning cementitious particles within the field, the particles may be charged prior to mixing into a hydrated cementitious slurry. Such charging decreases the viscosity and/or enhances the flowability of the hydrated cementitious slurry.

The cement of choice for most uses is Portland cement, a mixture of water, calcined lime and silica. Upon curing, the primary constituents of Portland cement are dicalcium silicate and tri-calcium silicate phases. In concretes, these silicate phases act to form the matrix that holds aggregate together. Portland cement is popular because it is inexpensive to produce and relatively easy to mix and pour if additional water (in excess of the normal amount required for the cement to react and cure, about a quarter of the weight of the dry constituents) is added thereto.
Part of the reason Portland cement is relatively inexpensive is because the silica component may come from a wide variety of sources, such as silica-containing clays, and also because these silica sources are not required to be especially pure or consistent. As all of its ingredients cement are inexpensive, Portland cement is ubiquitous as an industrial material and is by weight the most sold commodity in the world. However, since the purity and consistency of its ingredients are so poorly controlled, the use of Portland cement tends to yield materials with inconsistent properties which leads to additional expense due to the necessity for frequent repairs and reworking of structures incorporating poor cement.
Some of the disadvantages relating to Portland cement include:                inconsistent mixing        requires much more water to maintain a workable consistency than is ultimately required to hydrate and cure the resulting cementitious body        high porosity        high shrinkage upon drying        relatively slow set time        relatively slow hardening/curing time        unwieldy and labor intensive to convey, place, consolidate and finish        evolution of excess bleed water slows initial set and delays finishingAll other factors being constant, by using a reduced amount of mix water a slurry may be yielded that is more viscous and results in the formation of a cementitious body that is characterized by reduced less pore volume it and thus greater compressive strength. Conversely, by using excessive mix water, a cementitious body is produced that has a greater pore volume (necessitated by the requirement for the excess water to escape the body during the curing process); this excess porosity makes Portland cementitious bodies prone to spalling, flaking, and reduced compressive strength. Moreover, the residual porosity facilitates entry of water into the body, which may give rise to cracking if the water is subjected to cyclic freezing and melting, as well as to rusting rebar in reinforced concrete applications. The rusting effect is especially exacerbated when the invasive water is highly saline. Rebar rust likewise gives rise to the formation of cracks in the reinforced concrete, since rust has a greater volume than its constituent iron and water. Thus, excess porosity increases the likelihood of structural flaws that may even manifest themselves as sizeable pieces of the cementitious or concrete body breaking off; this effect is most often seen on roads and bridge decks on which de-icing salts have been used.
Another type of cement is phosphate cement. Although phosphate cements tend to have excellent strength and hardness characteristics, as well as the additional advantage of adhering to other cured phosphate cement bodies and to most other materials (including Portland, gypsum, and aluminate cements, brick, metal, wood, most wood products, insulation, asphalt, tar paper, rebar, shingles and most roofing materials, organic membranes and some glasses) phosphate cements are not in common use because they tend to be much more expensive than ordinary Portland cements. Phosphate cements also have excellent chemical stability and compressive strength, and have toughness characteristics far superior to those of ordinary Portland cement. Moreover, phosphate cements tend to set up with little to no open porosity, and may therefore be used to form water resistant seals. Phosphate cements, like most ceramics, tend to be very refractive and electrically nonconductive, and thus make good thermal and electrical (and even acoustic) insulators.
Unlike in Portland cement, where the heat of hydration evolves slowly and then plateaus, the heat of hydration of phosphate cements spikes very quickly, with great heat evolution occurring promptly after the cement is mixed. This results in the phosphate cement setting up very quickly (too quickly for many commercial uses, since the working time may be measured in minutes or seconds) as the reaction is exothermic and often generates too much heat to allow phosphate cements to be workable for anything except small-scale applications, such as some road patching, as a dental cement, and the like. The exothermic acid/base reaction inherent in the curing of phosphate cements is quite mass intensive. Because they are quick setting, expensive and highly exothermic, phosphate cements are generally viewed as undesirable for most cement applications.
Thus, there remains a need for improving the control of cementitious slurries and/or liquid precursors, as well as for a means for controlling the characteristics of poured cementitious materials. The present invention addresses these needs.

Method and apparatus electrostatically controlling the viscosity and other properties of ceramic compositions


An improved system for providing ensemble time from an ensemble of oscillators is provided. The improved system provides an ensemble time definition whose large number of possible solutions for an ensemble time are constrained to a limited number of solutions. In one embodiment, a substantially infinite number of solutions is constrained to a single solution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the system employed and circuitry used with an ensemble of clocks to obtain an ensemble time. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved algorithm defining ensemble time that can be, for example, implemented with Kalman filters for obtaining an improved estimate of time from an ensemble of clocks.
2. Description of the Related Art
For a number of years, groups of precision clocks used in combination have provided the "time" in situations in which high precision timekeeping is required. For example, an "official" time for the United States is provided by the atomic time scale at the National Bureau of Standards, the UTC(NBS), which depends upon an ensemble of continuously operating cesium clocks. The time interval known as the "second" has been defined in terms of the cesium atom by the General Conference of Weights and Measures to be the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium-133 atom. Other clocks may be calibrated according to this definition. Thus, while each clock in a group or ensemble of clocks is typically some type of atomic clock, each clock need not be a cesium clock.
Even though one such atomic clock alone is theoretically quite accurate, in many applications demanding high accuracy it is preferred that an ensemble of atomic clocks be used to keep time for a number of reasons. Typically, no two identical clocks will keep precisely the identical time. This is due to a number of factors, including differing frequencies, noise, frequency aging, etc. Further, such clocks are not 100% reliable; that is, they are subject to failure. Accordingly, by using an ensemble of clocks in combination, a more precise estimate of the time can be maintained.
When an ensemble of clocks is utilized to provide an estimate of time, various techniques may be employed for processing the signals output by the clocks to obtain the "time". Typically, interclock time comparisons are made to determine the relative time and frequency of each clock. The noise spectrum of each clock is represented by a mathematical model, with noise parameters determined by the behavior of the individual clock. Clock readings are combined based on these comparisons and models to produce the time scale.
A problem with known systems for providing an estimate of time or a time scale based upon an ensemble of clocks is that the individual states of the clocks are not observable and only clock differences can be measured. As a result, there are an infinite number of solutions or estimates of time possible. Stated another way, the systems are underdetermined. For example, in systems that implement a Kalman filter approach to estimating time, the lack of observability and resultant underdetermined character of the system manifest themselves in covariance matrix elements that grow on each cycle of the Kalman recursion. Since the computation is implemented on a computer system with finite accuracy, this growth eventually causes computational problems. In addition to reducing the consequences of lack of observabililty, it is also desirable to obtain a substantially unbiased estimate of clock performance that can be used to achieve a ensemble time system that is adaptive. Moreover, there is a need to achieve this adaptive quality while also maintaining or improving the robustness of the resulting ensemble time.
There is yet a further need for an ensemble time system that permits estimates of all of the spectral densities of the clocks in the system, detects steps in state estimates, and provides improved performance over a wider range of averaging times.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for a system for estimating time based on a clock ensemble that addresses the aforementioned needs.


A non-volatile memory device includes a first selection transistor, a second selection transistor, and a plurality of memory cells serially coupled between the first selection transistor and the second selection transistor. A reading method of the non-volatile memory device includes applying a read voltage to a gate of a selected memory cell; applying a first pass voltage to a gate of a memory cell adjacent to the selected memory cell, and applying a second pass voltage to gates of the other memory cells, wherein the selected memory cell is in one program state among first to Tth program states in a direction that threshold voltage is increased, where T is a natural number greater than 2, and the first pass voltage is decreased as the selected memory cell goes toward the Tth program state.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method for operating a non-volatile memory device, and more particularly, to a reading method of a non-volatile memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Non-volatile memory device is capable of electrically performing program operation and erase operation without performing a refresh operation to reprogram data every predetermined cycle. Examples of such non-volatile memory devices include flash memory devices.
A non-volatile memory device generally includes plural memory cells, each having a stacked structure of a tunnel insulation layer, a floating gate, a dielectric layer, and a control gate. In the non-volatile memory device, a program operation and an erase operation are achieved by injecting or withdrawing electrons to or from a floating gate of a memory cell, through well-known Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling, and controlling a threshold voltage of the memory cell.
The non-volatile memory device has a problem of increasing a threshold voltage distribution width because the threshold voltage of the memory cell ascends as the number of erase/program operation cycles.
Such a concern is described in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0087806, which is referred to as Reference 1, hereafter. The Reference 1 provides one of solutions to reduce the above concerns.
The Reference 1 discloses a method including steps of applying a read voltage to the control gate of a selected memory cell, applying a relatively high pass voltage to the control gates of unselected memory cells adjacent to the selected memory cell, and applying a relatively low pass voltage to the control gates of the other unselected memory cells during a read operation. Furthermore, the Reference 1 discloses a method for producing a narrow the threshold voltage distribution width of a memory cell during a read operation despite the increasing number of cycles where the erase/program operation is performed.
As there is the growing level of the pass voltage applied to the control gate of the memory cell adjacent to the selected memory cell during the read operation, which is shown in the Reference 1, the vertical and horizontal electric fields applied to the selected memory cell increases. Accordingly, the floating gate of the selected memory cell might easily lose a lot of charges. The loss of charges grow worse, as more charges are captured in the floating gate of the selected memory cell and as the cycling is increased more.
In conclusion, limitation in the threshold voltage distribution width and prevention of the loss of charges in the read operation are in a trade-off relationship, and it may be difficult to reach both fulfilled conditions.

Reading method of non-volatile memory device


A device and method for removing gas from a mixture of biomaterials includes a vacuum pump movably positioned within a cavity of a syringe at least partially defining a vacuum chamber. The vacuum pump has a pump body with proximal and distal portions, a stopper connected to the distal portion, and a flow channel. The stopper includes an inlet, and the pump body includes a port. The flow channel extends from the inlet to the port and is in fluid communication with the vacuum chamber. A first valve is positioned within the flow channel between the inlet and the port. The first valve is operable to open and close the flow channel for selectively connecting a vacuum to the vacuum chamber such that gas is withdrawn from mixture of biomaterials within the vacuum chamber.

Bone grafting is a surgical procedure for repairing bones and typically involves introducing a mixture of particulate, such as bone graft material, into an area of bone that requires repair, such as a fracture. The bone graft material is intended to stimulate growth of healthy native bone tissue, and new native bone tissue may eventually replace the bone graft material completely. Bone graft material is a type of biomaterial and typically includes a combination of crushed bone and a liquid component, such as blood, plasma, or growth factors. Bone graft materials can be allograft (derived from a human other than the one receiving the graft), autograft (derived from the human receiving the graft), and synthetic (created from, for example, ceramics like calcium phosphates).
Bone graft materials are typically delivered to a surgical site using syringe-like delivery devices, which often include attachments, such as small diameter cannulae. In addition, the components of the bone graft material are sometimes brought together and combined to form the mixture of the bone graft material in the delivery device. However, the mixture of the bone graft material tends to also include gas from the porosity of the crushed bone and the aeration associated with mixing the components. As the bone graft materials dry after being applied to the surgical site, a portion of the gas collects into pockets within the setting bone graft material. The pockets create inconsistencies in the final bone graft material that may result in performance variation throughout the bone graft material.
There is a need for a device and method for removing gas from a mixture of biomaterials, such as a mixture of bone graft materials, that reduces the gas within the mixture and addresses present challenges and characteristics such as those discussed above.

Device and method for removing gas from a mixture of biomaterials


A film formation method is arranged to react carboxylic acid with an oxygen-containing metal compound to produce carboxylate salt gas of a metal of the metal compound. The method then supplies the carboxylate salt gas of the metal onto a substrate. The method applies energy to the substrate to decompose the carboxylate salt of the metal supplied onto the substrate, thereby forming a metal film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a film formation method and film formation apparatus for forming a metal film such as a copper film used as an interconnection of a semiconductor, and also relates to a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, to meet the requirements for a high operating speed of a semiconductor device, a high degree of micropatterning of an interconnection pattern, and a high degree of integration, demands have arisen for decreasing the capacitance between interconnections, increasing the conductivity of an interconnection, and increasing the electromigration resistance. As a technique meeting these demands, a Cu multilayered interconnection technique using copper (Cu) having conductivity and an electromigration resistance higher than those of aluminum (Al) and tungsten (W) as an interconnection material and using a low-k film as an interlayer dielectric film is attracting attention.
As methods of forming a Cu film of a Cu multilayered interconnection, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) method such as sputtering, a plating method, and a chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method that uses a metal organic material by vaporizing it are known. However, the PVD method has a low step coverage, and this makes it difficult to bury a film in a fine pattern. In the plating method, a Cu film contains large amounts of impurities because the plating solution contains additives. Although the MOCVD method readily achieves a high step coverage, large amounts of impurities such as carbon (C), oxygen (O), and fluorine (F) from side-chain groups oriented in Cu atoms remain in a Cu film, and this makes the film quality difficult to improve. In addition, the material is very expensive because the side-chain groups oriented in Cu atoms are complicated. Also, a source gas is difficult to stably supply because the process is thermally unstable and the vapor pressure is low.
By contrast, Patent Document 1 listed later has disclosed a technique in which a CuCl plate is placed in a chamber and etched by generating an Ar gas plasma to produce desorbed species of CuCl, dissociation species of Cu and Cl are produced from the desorbed species by using the Ar gas plasma, and a Cu film is formed on a substrate by direct reduction by making the temperature of the substrate lower than that of the CuCl plate. Patent Document 1 describes that this technique makes it possible to increase the film formation rate, use inexpensive materials, and form a Cu film containing no residual impurities.
Unfortunately, it is difficult for the technique of Patent Document 1 to completely remove Cl from the Cu film, so a slight amount of Cl may remain. Even if the residual amount of Cl is slight, corrosion of a Cu interconnection poses problems such as the rise in interconnection resistance and deterioration of the reliability. Also, since the substrate surface is exposed to the plasma in the initial stages of film formation, the substrate may be chemically or physically damaged. In particular, a low-k film used as an interconnection easily raises the dielectric constant or breaks a microstructure when exposed to the plasma (plasma damage). Furthermore, the plasma sputters members other than the CuCl plate in a reactor, so these members are damaged, or sputtered particles make impurities remain in a film or cause contamination. Accordingly, application of the technique of Patent Document 1 to the Cu multilayered interconnection requires expensive mechanisms and materials in order to solve the above problems.
On the other hand, as a method other than the semiconductor fabrication process, Patent Document 2 listed later has disclosed a method of fabricating a Cu interconnection by a method that is not a wet plating method by using an inexpensive material. This method forms a thin Cu film by coating a substrate with copper(II) formate (Cu(OCHO)2) as an inexpensive organic Cu compound or its hydrate, and heating the substrate in a non oxidizing ambient. Similarly, Non-Patent Document 1 listed later has reported that a Cu interconnection is formed by heating a substrate coated with copper(II) formate dihydrate with a laser beam having a narrowed light diameter. Each of these methods uses the phenomenon that copper(II) formate changes into Cu by thermal decomposition. Although these methods can form a Cu film at a low cost, they are unsuited to bury a metal in a fine shape processed to a nanometer level such as an interconnection of an ultra large scale integrated circuit (ULSI), and the electrical conductivity is lower than the original value of Cu.
Non-Patent Document 2 listed later has reported an attempt that uses inexpensive copper(II) formate hydrate as the material of MOCVD. A powder of copper(II) formate hydrate is placed in a material vessel, and a carrier gas is supplied while the material is heated. A vaporized component produced by heating is transported through a pipe by a carrier gas to the surface of a substrate heated in another reactor. The transported vaporized component thermally decomposes on the substrate surface to form a Cu film on it.
Non-Patent Document 3 listed later has revealed that this vaporized component produced in the material vessel is copper(I) formate. Copper(I) formate (Cu(OCHO)) that readily vaporizes is produced as a gas from copper(II) formate that hardly vaporizes in accordance with a reaction formula indicated by2Cu(OCHO)2→2Cu(OCHO)+CO+CO2+H2O  (1)and this gas is transported to a substrate.
Since copper(I) formate is a material that very easily thermally decomposes as reported in Non-Patent Document 3, a thin Cu film is readily formed at a low temperature from copper(I) formate in accordance with a reaction formula indicated by2Cu(OCHO)→2Cu+2CO2+H2  (2)
In this method, a formate group (OCHO) as a ligand is readily thermally decomposed into CO2 or H2 and exhausted and hence is hardly entrapped in a Cu film. This facilitates the formation of a high purity Cu film containing no impurity. However, a method in which a carrier gas carries a material vaporized from a solid material is generally largely affected by the thermal conduction state in a solid material vessel at a low pressure, and this makes stable supply of the vaporized material difficult. Also, copper(II) formate as the material thermally decomposes and forms a Cu film in the solid material vessel. That is, deterioration of the material readily occurs.
Furthermore, Non-Patent Document 3 has reported silver as a metal that reacts similarly to copper as a formate, and a silver film can be formed as an interconnection layer by the same method, but the same problems as when copper is used similarly arise.
Patent Document 1: Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-27352
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 2745677
Non-Patent Document 1: A. Gupta and R. Jagannathan, Applied Physics Letters, 51(26), p 2254, (1987)
Non-Patent Document 2: M.-J. Mouche et al, Thin Solid Films 262, p 1, (1995)
Non-Patent Document 3: A. Keller and F. Korosy, Nature, 162, p 580, (1948)


An earphone wire control device, an earphone, a voice recording system and a voice recording system and method. When a switching unit turns on a first path, a microphone path is short-circuited, a first signal generating unit generates a recording start signal and cuts off the first path after generating the recording start signal so that the microphone path is turned on. When the switching unit turns on a second path, the microphone path is short-circuited, a second signal generating unit generates a recording stop signal and cuts off the second path after generating the recording stop signal.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Currently, an earphone used in conjunction with a device such as a mobile terminal generally includes a microphone, earplugs, earplug wiring and a wire control device. The wire control device is disposed on the earplug wiring. A user may control the earphone by using the wire control device when a voice call is made via the earphone.
However, since the same channel is used by both the wire control device and the microphone to transmit signals to the mobile terminal, when a user presses a button on the wire control device, the channel is occupied upon turning on the wire control device, so that the microphone cannot be used and therefore a recording function cannot be achieved. Thus, when a user needs to record voice information with an application of the mobile terminal, the user needs to press the button of the wire control device for an extended period of time. Since the channel is occupied by the wire control device, the microphone of the earphone cannot be used, and the voice information recording is impossible.
Thus, a limitation exists in the conventional earphone that the voice information recording cannot be performed by the microphone when the user presses the button of the wire control device.

Earphone wire control device, earphone, voice recording system and voice recording method

Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited


A system and method are provided for dynamically adjusting advertisement (“ad”) time for a multicast channel. In one embodiment, a variable ad insertion function operates to receive one or more multicasts of media content from a core distribution network, insert ad timeslots into the media content, and optionally perform late-binding of ads to the ad timeslots. The media content including the inserted ad timeslots and late-binded ads, if any, is then multicast to associated client devices over a feeder network using corresponding multicast channels. For each multicast channel, insertion of ad timeslots into the associated media content is dynamically controlled based on the number of users currently consuming or predicted to consume the multicast channel, the number of client devices receiving or predicted to receive the multicast channel, or both.

As Cable Television (CATV) systems switch from primarily broadcast content to subscriber, or user, initiated Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), new techniques are needed to improve load balancing on the tree and branch architecture of Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) feeder networks. More specifically, IPTV, and more specifically Video on Demand (VoD), typically demand a dedicated data pipe (i.e., a unicast circuit) from a source of the content to the subscriber. As more subscribers request dedicated data pipes, the bandwidth of the HFC feeder networks may be quickly consumed. One potential solution for alleviating this issue is to utilize multicast channels to deliver content in a broadcast, rather than unicast, fashion. However, there is a need for a system and method for attracting users to such multicast channels.


A ground fault circuit breaker in which both the fixed and movable contacts of the ground fault test switch are directly secured to the printed circuit board on which the ground fault detection circuit is implemented, with the movable contact also providing the spring bias for the test button.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ground fault circuit breakers, and more particularly to the contacts for a ground fault test circuit on a printed circuit board which also serves as the spring for the test button.
2. Background Information
Ground fault circuit breakers combine a conventional circuit breaker which responds to overcurrent conditions and short circuits with a ground fault detection circuit which trips the breaker in response to ground faults. The addition of the ground fault detector to the conventional small circuit breaker used in residential and light commercial and industrial applications is complicated by the limited space available in such breakers which are designed for installation in a standardized load center or panel board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,852 discloses such a ground fault circuit breaker in which the circuit breaker mechanism is mounted in one compartment within a molded housing and the ground fault detector is mounted in an adjacent compartment. In the '852 patent, the ground fault detector includes a test circuit activated by a test button for testing the operation of the ground fault detector. The ground fault detector is constructed of a number of discrete components including a leaf spring contact which biases a test button to the off position. This movable contact and the fixed test button contact are connected to the other components in the test circuit through discrete wires.
Commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 676,150, filed on Mar. 27, 1991 and entitled "Dual Wound Trip Solenoid" discloses a two pole ground fault circuit breaker in which the ground fault detector circuit is implemented on a printed circuit board mounted in a compartment within the molded housing. The spring contact for the ground fault test button of this circuit breaker is similar to that in the '852 patent and is connected to the components on the printed circuit board through discrete wires.
There is a need to simplify the design of these mass-produced ground fault circuit breakers to reduce component and labor costs. This includes simplifying the ground fault test circuit.

Ground fault circuit breaker with test spring/contacts directly mounted to test circuit of printed circuit board


Exemplary embodiments relate to a method, system, and storage medium for providing comprehensive facsimile information within a voicemail system. The method includes receiving and storing a facsimile at a voicemail system. The method also includes interpreting elements of a facsimile using an optical character recognition device. Upon receiving a request by a voicemail recipient to access a voice mailbox, the method includes converting interpreted elements of the facsimile into audible speech via a text-to-speech engine, formatting the converted elements resulting in a voicemail facsimile notification, and presenting the voicemail facsimile notification to a communications device associated with the voicemail recipient.

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to telecommunications and, more particularly, to a method, system, and storage medium for providing comprehensive facsimile information within a voicemail system.
Voicemail systems currently provide the ability to allow system users to receive facsimile transmissions in addition to voicemail messages. A sender of the facsimile enters the voicemail subscriber's general telephone number, whereby the incoming call is forwarded to the subscriber's voicemail using standard call forwarding services such as 'busy', 'no answer,' and 'unconditional.' Alternatively, the sender may be given a direct number to reach the voice mailbox without relying on call forwarding. In either case, the facsimile is stored at the voicemail platform and then associated with the subscriber's voice mailbox. When the subscriber checks the voice mailbox for new messages, he/she is notified that a facsimile has arrived. The notification includes limited information such as the date, time, and sometimes the number of pages in the facsimile. For various reasons, the subscriber oftentimes desires more specific information about the facsimile before making a determination of when or if the message will be accepted.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a facsimile recipient with sufficient information about an incoming facsimile, within the context of a voicemail system, without requiring that the recipient first open or print the facsimile.

Method, system, and storage medium for providing comprehensive facsimile information within a voicemail system

AT&T Delaware Intellectual Property, Inc.


A communication system (10) includes a population of mobile units (24) which communicate with a control station. Communications take place between the control station and the mobile units (24) so that the system (10) may gain knowledge about the mobile units' locations. The mobile units (24) occasionally initiate such communications automatically. The control station sends data defining a target area (72, FIG. 5) to the mobile units. The mobile units (24) reside in the target areas (72) when the target areas (72) are first assigned, but the mobile units (24) are free to move. The control station transmits broadcast signals to geographically spaced apart cells (36, FIG. 2). The broadcast signals convey current data identifying the service areas covered by the cells (36). The mobile units (24) automatically initiate communications when their assigned target areas (72) do not coincide with the service areas for the broadcast signals they can receive.

Communication systems, such as cellular radio telecommunication systems and others, may include system-related components and populations of mobile units. The mobile units may freely move throughout the regions covered by the communication systems. The system components include base units, repeaters, control stations, switching offices, and the like, and they are controlled by operators and providers of the communication systems. Members of the populations of mobile units may communicate with each other and perhaps with equipment coupled to the public switched telecommunications networks through the system components. The mobile units are typically controlled by customers or end users of the communication systems.
A communication system may benefit from occasional system-related communications taking place between system components and mobile units. System-related communication takes place to insure the reliable and efficient operation of the system. System-related communication is not intended to relay information to end users. Rather, system-related communication needs to take place between mobile units and system components so that the system can gain useful information, such as locations for mobile units and the like.
Mobile unit location knowledge can be beneficial for several reasons. If a system knows where a particular mobile unit is located, then the system can route calls for that mobile unit to only that location and conserve system capacity in other locations. This dramatically decreases the consumption of system resources and permits a communication system to handle many more calls than could be handled if calls were routed to all locations where a particular mobile unit might possibly reside. Furthermore, knowledge of mobile unit locations is important, since in some geopolitical jurisdictions communication operations may be prohibited by the lack of proper licensing arrangements. Moreover, rates charged to customers may vary depending upon the locations of mobile units when calls are made.
While system knowledge of mobile unit locations may be particularly beneficial, other types of system-related communications may also be valuable. For example, system reliability and operational efficiency may benefit from occasional system-related communications that reprogram mobile unit operating parameters, verify mobile unit programming, verify system integrity, and the like.
Regardless of the reason for engaging in system-related communications, determining when to engage in such communications poses a serious problem. End-users of the communication system might possibly initiate system-related communications from time to time, but this is not a desirable solution. End-user control of location information makes the communication system vulnerable to pirating of communication services, communication in unauthorized geopolitical jurisdictions, and unauthorized exploitation of rate differences between jurisdictions. Moreover, requiring end-users to initiate such communications imposes an unwanted burden on the end users and results in an unreliable solution. Some end-users will forget to initiate the system-related communications, causing the system to operate upon stale information. Other end-users will initiate system-related communications more frequently than necessary and thereby waste system resources.
System-related communications might possibly be tagged onto calls routed to and from a mobile unit. For example, during a call set-up operation the system may learn where the mobile unit is located. While this solution solves some of the problems, it is an incomplete solution. When a call is directed to a particular mobile unit, the system uses current information about the mobile unites location so that the incoming call or ringing signal can be transmitted only in the area where the mobile unit currently resides. However, this solution provides no way for the system to acquire valid mobile unit location information when a mobile unit moves a significant distance but then makes no prior outgoing call that would provide its location.
Desirably, system-related communications should take place automatically from time to time. That way the communication system's reliability and operational efficiency are not controlled by the vagaries of end-user actions. However, the problem of determining when to engage in system-related communications still remains. Desirably, such communications are not initiated by a mobile unit whenever the mobile unit powers up, because more system-related communications would take place than are needed and system resources would be wasted. Likewise, such communications should not be initiated upon some sort of timing schedule. If a timing schedule specified frequent system-related communications, more system-related communications would take place than are needed, and system resources would be wasted. If a timing schedule specified infrequent system-related communications, the system would become unreliable, because it would often operate upon stale information.

Method and apparatus for management of automatically initiated communication


The invention provides a method for rapid detection of a specific bacterial species. The method includes preparing a sample, irradiating the prepared sample with an electromagnetic radiation of specific wavelength, capturing the electromagnetic radiation scattered by the sample to obtain a Raman spectra and analyzing the Raman spectra to obtain a unique biochemical signature. The unique biochemical signature identifies a single bacterium within the sample. The method also provides for rapid detection of a group of bacterial species within the sample. The method takes about 1 minute to about 1 hour for the detection of specific bacterial species.

A variety of diagnostic methods are available in the art for detection and identification of bacterial species in any given biological sample. Examples of sample include but are not limited to those obtained from infectious diseases, food and dairy products. Examples of infectious diseases include but are not limited to pneumonia, tuberculosis, septicaemia, meningitis, urinary tract infection and gastro-intestinal infections. The existing methods are broadly classified as invasive methods and non-invasive methods. Invasive method requires rupturing or lysis of biological material in order to extract a particular biological component for identification. On the other hand, non-invasive methods do not require rupturing or lysis of the biological material.
The diagnostic methods available in the art include but are not limited to DNA/protein based methods, culturing based methods, staining based methods and mass spectrometry based methods.
DNA based methods use specific DNA sequences present in various pathogens as signatures for identification. Examples of DNA based techniques include but are not limited to PCR, RT-PCR and probe hybridization such as molecular beacons. One of the significant disadvantage of the technique is extensive sample processing and preparation steps. Another disadvantage of the technique is the requirement of specific probes for diagnosis.
Culturing based methods require inoculation of the growth medium with the biological sample containing pathogen. The bacterial colonies grown on the growth medium are then identified. The techniques of identification includes but are not limited to staining, antibiotic selection and metabolic reactions.
One significant disadvantage of the technique is elaborate procedures involved to perform the test. Another disadvantage is time required for completion of the diagnosis, which normally requires 3-4 days but may extend up to 21 days to detect a certain bacteria.
Staining and microscopy base methods use specific chemical dyes or fluorescent probes with unique chemistry to stain and visualize various bacterial species. The technique allows species identification by differential staining analysis. Some disadvantages of the technique are requirement of skilled persons and has limited potential for low bacterial loads specially for single bacterial identification.
Mass spectrometry uses a mass spectrometer to analyse extracted DNA or RNA or protein or lipids or other biological molecules. The mass signatures obtained are analyzed for bacterial species identification. Limitation of the technique is that it has a poor application as a stand-alone technique for single bacterial identification and is often used along with PCR.
Thus there is a need for a diagnostic method that has high specificity and sensitivity and is less time consuming.

Method for rapid raman spectra detection of a single bacterium or group of bacterial species


A portable hanging system includes a non-elastic flexible fabric belt of sufficient length to encircle generally vertical objects of varying diameters, such as a tree trunk, an adjustable lever-type buckle on the belt to releasably grip and apply tension in the encircled portion of the belt and firmly secure the belt in the encircled condition, and a plurality of generally rectangular bracket members. Each bracket has a flat tang portion which is slidably received between the outer surface of the generally vertical object and the inner surface of the belt and is held tightly against the generally vertical object when the belt is firmly tensioned. The brackets have an outer surface which lies on the outer surface of the belt and the outer surfaces have a variety of shapes configured to receive various articles to be suspended and supported therefrom. The outer surface of the brackets include eyelet, hook, socket, and shelf supporting configurations. All the components can be stored in a compact configuration and are easily transported. The hanging system is particularly useful for campers and backpackers.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hanging devices, and more particularly to a portable hanging system which includes a non-elastic flexible fabric belt that encircles generally vertical objects of varying diameters, such as a tree trunk, an adjustable lever-type buckle on the belt to releasably grip and firmly secure the belt in the encircled condition, and a plurality of generally rectangular bracket members which are held firmly in place by the belt and have outer surfaces configured to receive various articles to be suspended and supported therefrom.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A common problem when camping, backpacking, or picnicing out of doors, is that there is no convenient means of hanging or storing gear and the variety of loose articles associated with such endeavors. It is often desirable to hang lanterns for optimum light, and place some articles above the ground to allow them to dry or to prevent animals from gaining access to them.
Usually, if a picnic table is available, the table top serves as the storage area and is quickly cluttered with various items. Some campers will drape wet clothing over their tent to dry, and others will tie a clothesline between two trees. Many campers will drive a nail into a tree to hang articles, such as lanterns and water bags which causes harm to the tree and is a safety hazard to other campers unaware of the nail sticking out of the tree.
Thus, a longfelt need exists for a portable hanging system that can be carried in a compact stored condition and quickly and easily installed on a tree trunk or other vertical object which will allow a wide variety of articles to be suspended and supported above the ground.
There are several patents which disclose various hanging devices which encircle a vertical member and support other objects.
Fischett, U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,612 discloses a fishing harness which is strapped around the waist of the user and has a socket or cup for bracing a fishing rod to relieve strain while fishing.
Cucullo, U.S. Pat. No. 3,164,343 discloses a gravestone flower support which utilizes a metal band having its longitudinal edges bent over to form longitudinal beads along the top and bottom longitudinal edges and provide a guide for an adjacent band portion, likewise having its longitudinal edges bent over to form complementary beads. A toothed portion of the metal band interlocks with the beaded portion such that they cannot be released from each other. A metal wreath support and a metal conical flower receptacle have U-shaped bends at the rear portions for supporting them on the metal band.
Buckley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,537 discloses a sling and bracket type hanging device which can be mounted on a tree. The device utilizes a vertical bracket formed of angle iron which is secured vertically to a tree trunk by an elastic band which encircles the trunk at the lower end of the bracket. An elongate horizontal support affixed to the medial portion of the vertical angle bracket extends horizontally outward therefrom and is supported by a rope sling which is looped around the tree trunk above the elastic band and its attached at its free end to the medial portion of the horizontal support arm.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by a portable hanging system which includes a non-elastic flexible fabric belt of sufficient length to encircle generally vertical objects of varying diameters, such as a tree trunk, an adjustable lever-type buckle on the belt to releasably grip and apply tension in the encircled portion of the belt and firmly secure the belt in the encircled condition, and a plurality of generally rectangular bracket members. Each bracket has a flat tang portion which is slidably received between the outer surface of the generally vertical object and the inner surface of the belt and is held tightly against the generally vertical object when the belt is firmly tensioned. The brackets have an outer surface which lies on the outer surface of the belt and the outer surfaces have a variety of shapes configured to receive various articles to be suspended and supported therefrom. The outer surface of the brackets include eyelet, hook, socket, and shelf supporting configurations. All the components can be stored in a compact configuration and are easily transported. The hanging system is particularly useful for campers and backpackers.

Portable hanging system for attachment to vertical objects


A differential inverter such as may be used in an oscillator circuit. The differential inverter is connected between first and second current sources. The differential inverter includes first and second single signal CMOS inverters connected in parallel between the first and second controlled current sources. Each of the current sources is a MOS transistor. A bias circuit is connected to the control gates of the MOS transistors and provides bias signals thereto, the bias circuit includes a variable current source with bias signals being generated in response to the current flow in the variable current source.

The present invention relates generally to CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) current-controlled and voltage-controlled oscillators wherein the frequency of oscillation is varied by changing an applied current or voltage, respectively, and, more particularly, to CMOS integrated circuits useful in constructing high speed current-controlled and voltage-controlled oscillators by interconnection of an odd plurality of oscillator cells, preferably three oscillator cells, into a ring configuration.
Current-controlled and voltage-controlled oscillators are widely used in both digital and analog systems to generate periodic waveforms having precisely controlled frequencies. Oftentimes, such oscillators are incorporated into phase-locked loops (PLLs) to provide phase and frequency tracking for the PLLs. One specific application for a PLL incorporating a current-controlled or voltage-controlled oscillator is a PLL clock generator which is used to generate a fast on-chip clock from a slower off-chip system clock.
When implemented utilizing bipolar or GaAs (gallium arsenide) technology, prior art current-controlled and voltage-controlled oscillators are capable of operating at frequencies beyond Ghz. However, when implemented using low cost CMOS technology, the maximum operating frequencies of known current-controlled and voltage-controlled oscillator circuits are substantially lower due in part to smaller transconductances which are inherent in MOS devices.
The use of sub-micron CMOS technology having improved transistor transconductances has increased the operating speed of many CMOS circuits such that they can be used in applications which previously required bipolar or GaAs devices. Unfortunately, known prior art CMOS current-controlled and voltage-controlled oscillator designs, even when implemented in sub-micron CMOS technology, fail to provide a useful frequency range approaching 1 Ghz.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved design for CMOS current-controlled and voltage-controlled oscillator circuits which perform within such a higher frequency range.

High speed current/voltage controlled ring oscillator circuit


Disclosed embodiments include power machines, and hydraulic systems for power machines, in which a machine controller is configured to detect high temperature conditions of the hydraulic oil and to responsively control or reduce the overall torque available from the engine to reduce heat generation in the hydraulic system.

The present disclosure is directed toward power machines. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed toward hydraulic systems of power machines such as loaders.
Power machines, for the purposes of this disclosure, include any type of machine that generates power for the purpose of accomplishing a particular task or a variety of tasks. One type of power machine is a work vehicle. Work vehicles, such as loaders, are generally self-propelled vehicles that have a work device, such as a lift arm (although some work vehicles can have other work devices) that can be manipulated to perform a work function. Work vehicles include loaders, excavators, utility vehicles, tractors, and trenchers, to name a few examples.
Power machines typically include a frame, at least one work element, and a power source that is capable of providing power to the work element to accomplish a work task. One type of power machine is a self-propelled work vehicle. Self-propelled work vehicles are a class of power machines that include a frame, work element, and a power source that is capable of providing power to the work element. At least one of the work elements is a drive or motive system for moving the power machine under power. Typically, another work element is an implement system, including the implement which performs a work function and lift arms or other elements which move the implement to work positions. The power source for providing power to the work elements of a power machine typically include hydraulic systems. Under high operating loads, hydraulic oil temperature can rise to levels that are potentially damaging to components.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.


The present invention discloses a tie-off circuit coupled between a first potential and a gate of a MOS device whose source is connected to a second potential. The tie-off circuit includes at least one resistor and at least on diode. The resistor is coupled between the gate of the MOS device and the first potential for preventing the gate of the MOS device from floating during a normal circuit operation. The diode is coupled between the gate of the MOS device and the first potential, in parallel with the resistor, for reducing a voltage difference across a gate oxide layer of the MOS device during an electrostatic discharge (ESD) event, thereby protecting the same from ESD damage.

The present invention relates generally to an integrated circuit (IC) design, and more particularly to a tie-off circuit capable of protecting a circuit element during an electrostatic discharge (ESD) event.
A gate oxide of a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor of an IC is most susceptible to damage. The gate oxide may be destroyed by being contacted with a voltage only a few volts higher than a supply voltage. It is understood that a regular supply voltage in an IC is 5.0, 3.3 volts or even lower. Electrostatic voltages from common environmental sources can easily reach thousands, or even tens of thousands of volts. Such voltages are destructive even though the charge and any resulting current are extremely small. For this reason, it is of critical importance to discharge any static electric charge before it damages the IC.
An ESD can occur, for example, when a person touches some of the pads on the IC. This is the same static electricity that may be painfully experienced by a person who walks across a carpet on a dry day and then touches a grounded metal object. In an isolated IC, the ESD acts as a brief power supply for one or more pads, while the other pads remain floating, or grounded. Because the other pads are grounded, when the ESD acts as a power supply at a randomly selected pad, the protection circuitry acts differently than it does when the IC is operating normally. When an ESD event occurs, the protection circuitry must quickly become conductive so that the electrostatic charge is conducted to VSS or ground and is dissipated before damaging a core circuit of the IC.
While an ESD protection circuit is typically implemented to protect a core circuit from being damaged, it is still possible for the MOS transistors of an inverter within the protected core circuit to be damaged during an ESD event. The tie-off inverter, which typically includes a PMOS transistor and an NMOS transistor, is commonly implemented within the core circuit to provide a high or low signal. The gate oxide layers of the MOS transistors within the inverter can be easily damaged by a raised voltage created during an ESD event. This raised voltage may apply a severe electric stress on a gate oxide layer of the MOS transistor. For example, under the ESD conditions, there may be a large difference between the source voltage and the gate voltage of the MOS transistor, thereby creating a high source-to-gate voltage. This high source-to-gate voltage will apply severe electric stress on the gate-oxide of the MOS transistor. The gate-oxide of the MOS transistor may be damaged once it is charged to a certain voltage level. In order to reduce this stress, the voltage difference between the source and gate needs to be reduced.
Desirable in the art of inverter designs are tie-low or tie-high circuits that reduce the source-to-gate voltage of the MOS transistors within the inverter, thereby protecting the gate oxide layers of the MOS transistors from damage during an ESD event.

Tie-off circuit with ESD protection features

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A computer based detecting system that detects a defective tire assembly during the curing process is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of temperature sensors connected to a processor of the computer system and further connected to each hose that is connected between a tire assembly inside an autoclave, and an external manifold of the autoclave. The processor receives data input from each of the temperature sensors and decodes the data to determine the current temperature of each sensor and simultaneously calculates the average temperature of all the temperature sensors connected. The processor compares the temperature reading of each station with the average temperature and notifies should the difference between the temperature average and temperature sensor reading equal or is greater than a selected temperature deviation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improved tire inspection equipment, and more particularly to an apparatus for inspecting the tire for defects during the curing process of a retread tire.
2. Brief Description of Prior Art
Tires have been retreaded for several decades according to a variety of methods. Retreading tires provides an economical way to gain additional use of a tire casing after wearing of the original tread.
In tire retreading operations, the worn tread is first stripped or buffed from the crown of the tire carcass in order to produce a surface suitable for bonding a new tread layer. A bonding layer and a new tread layer are built about the circumference of the buffed surface. In particular, the new tread layer is wrapped about the circumference of the tire casing over the bonding layer forming a retread tire assembly. The tire assembly bonding layer and new tread and carcass can then be placed within a flexible rubber envelope. The entire envelope, with the tire assembly disposed therein, can be placed within a curing chamber, i.e., an autoclave, and subjected to elevated pressure and temperature for a predetermined period of time. The combination of exposure to elevated pressure and temperature for a duration of time binds the bonding layer to both the tire casing and the new tire tread.
An autoclave is a large pressure and temperature controlled vessel having a capacity for several tire assemblies. In the autoclave, the tire assemblies are subjected to heat and pressure for a specified period. The chamber is normally heated to approximately Two Hundred Ten degrees Fahrenheit (210° F.) to Two Hundred Sixty degrees Fahrenheit (260° F.) and normally pressurized to approximately Eighty (80) psig to Eighty-Five (85) psig. An exhaust fitting of each tire assembly is individually connected to a hose that allows the pressure at the interior of the envelope to be controlled. The combination of pressure and temperature over time cures the bonding layer, permanently bonding the new tread to the casing.
The autoclave includes means for monitoring and controlling the amount of pressure the tire assemblies are subjected to inside the chamber, and further has means to control the temperature inside the chamber, as well as the time period the tire assemblies are subjected to the pressure and temperature. However, in the event an envelope having the tire assembly disposed therein has an air leak not detected, the new tire tread may not properly bond to the tire casing. Such problems can reduce the longevity of the retreaded tire and adversely impact application of the retreaded tire.
There is a need for an apparatus that eliminates the drawbacks in the conventional devices. In particular, there is a need for an apparatus and method that detects air leaks during the curing process for a retread tire. More particularly, there is a need for an apparatus and method that detects all leaks in the envelope and tire carcass, as well as the new tread and binding layer. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.


A multi-mode audio device includes speakers and a sound output control configured to control a maximum level of sound emitted by the speakers. The sound output control comprises a control interface configured to receive selection of an operative mode of the multi-mode audio device from among a managed mode and a normal mode. An access control communicatively coupled to the sound output control is configured to require an authentication to switch from the managed mode to the normal mode. A mode indicator communicatively coupled to the sound output control and configured to provide a visual indication of the operative mode. Optionally, a monitoring system communicatively coupled to the sound output control is configured to capture one or more data regarding usage of the multi-mode audio device and to generate a report regarding the one or more data regarding usage of the multi-mode audio device.

Portable electronic audio emission devices, such as headphones, comprise a pair of small speakers designed to be in close proximity to a user's ears that are plugged into an audio source such as an amplifier, portable media player, mobile phone or PC/tablet computer. Today, common types of headphones are over-the-ear headphones and earbuds. Over-the-ear headphones have ear cups that encompass and surround the entire ear, whereas earbuds fit directly into the user's outer ear. As used herein, the term headphones is intended to encompass, without limitation, over-the-ear headphones and earbuds as described above, as well as other audio sources, such as portable speakers.
Headphones marketed for children may be smaller versions of their adult counterpart. Often, they are more toy-like in feel and appearance, or marketed and sold based on a specific licensed property (e.g., StarWars, Hello Kitty, Batman, etc.). The drawbacks of such headphones may include, without limitation, low quality in construction and sound fidelity and/or higher-prices to cover licensing fees for use of the licensed property.
Headphones for children may also include mechanisms to protect a child's ears from harmful decibel or sound levels. In addition, some parents may desire to limit sound levels in their children's headphones even more than may be required for safety out of abundant caution and/or to reduce sound emitted outside the headphones in environments where quiet is desired, such as when other children may be sleeping or consuming media of their own.

Multi-mode audio device and monitoring system


A device receives a pilot channel from an access network, without connecting to the access network. The pilot channel includes information identifying an actual usage associated with the access network. The device determines whether the actual usage of the access network is greater than a particular usage associated with the access network, and selectively connects to the access network based on whether the actual usage of the access network is greater than the particular usage. The device connects to the access network, to provide data to a core network, when the actual usage of the access network is not greater than the particular usage. The device does not connect to the access network when the actual usage of the access network is greater than the particular usage.

In the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the fourth generation (4G) cellular network includes a radio access network (e.g., referred to as a long term evolution (LTE) network) and a wireless core network (e.g., referred to as an evolved packet core (EPC) network). The LTE network is often called an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN). The EPC network is an Internet protocol (IP) packet-switched core network that supports high-speed wireless and wireline broadband access technologies. The EPC network allows user equipment (UEs) to access various services by connecting to the LTE network, an evolved high rate packet data (eHRPD) radio access network (RAN), and/or a wireless local area network (WLAN) RAN. The EPC network is a complex system that includes a number of network nodes that communicate with each other when UEs are accessing the EPC network. Some of the UEs may include machine-to-machine (M2M) devices, such as sensors, meters, machinery, vending machines, digital billboards, telemetric devices, appliances, etc.

Controlling connection to an access network by machine-to-machine devices


When an n speed prohibition command is being output from the AI shift controlling component, the AI shift control is performed even in the S mode if the vehicle speed V is lower than the reference vehicle speed Vn, whereby busy shifting can be effectively prevented when the vehicle is running on an uphill road or cornering. When the vehicle speed V is equal to or higher than the reference vehicle speed Vn, the AI shift control is cancelled, thus minimizing the possibility of a large engine brake force being applied to the vehicle despite the intention of the driver.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a shift control apparatus and a shift control method for an automatic transmission of a vehicle, and particularly to improvement of a shift control apparatus and a shift control method that limit shifting of the automatic transmission based on the drive conditions of the vehicle and the driver's operations so as to appropriately control the shifting of the automatic transmission, for example, when the vehicle is running on an uphill road.
2. Description of the Related Art
A shift control apparatus for an automatic transmission, which automatically shifts the automatic transmission according to a given shift manner that is defined as, for example, a shift map using the vehicle speed and the accelerator operation amount as parameters, includes shift manner changing means for changing the shift manner based on the drive conditions of the vehicle and the driver's operations. One example of such a shift control apparatus is described in JP-A-10-238625. The shift control apparatus described in this publication, when the accelerator pedal is quickly released, holds the automatic transmission at the present speed by prohibiting upshift of the automatic transmission, so as to apply a desired drive power source brake force to the vehicle while it is cornering, or so as to eliminate the need for the automatic transmission to be shifted down to accelerate the vehicle again after cornering, that is, so as to prevent busy shifting of the automatic transmission (shifting the transmission up and down in a short period of time). As such, the shift control apparatus described in JP-A-10-238625 enables the driver to maneuver the vehicle easily when the vehicle is cornering. Another example of the shift manner changing means performs uphill and downhill drive control. Specifically, this shift manner changing means detects, based on the degree of the throttle opening, the speed of the vehicle, etc., that the vehicle is running on an uphill road or a downhill road. When the vehicle is running on an uphill road, the shift manner changing means minimizes unnecessary upshifts of the automatic transmission so that an appropriate drive power is continuously obtained. Conversely, when the vehicle is running on a downhill road, the shift manner changing means automatically shifts the automatic transmission down so that an appropriate drive power source brake force is obtained.
Typically, a shift control apparatus including such shift manner changing means has (a) an automatic shift mode in which the automatic transmission is automatically shifted using the entire shift range of the automatic transmission and (b) a manual shift mode in which the shift range of the automatic shifting performed according to the shift manner is limited according to a manual operation of the driver. In the manual shift mode, the driver manually switches the shift range of the automatic transmission among two or more shift ranges having different top speeds and the automatic transmission is automatically shifted using the speeds in each shift range selected in the manual mode. For example, when the vehicle is running on a downhill road, shifting the automatic transmission down by switching the shift range of the automatic transmission to a lower shift range increases the drive power source brake force. Meanwhile, in the automatic shift mode, the shift manner changing means changes the shift manner so as to enable the driver to maneuver the vehicle as easily as possible. Usually, in the manual shift mode, the shift manner changing means does not change the shift manner because the driver wishes to shift the automatic transmission as he or she intends in the manual shift mode.
However, in some of automatic transmissions having such a manual shift mode, even when the manual shift mode is selected, the automatic shifting is performed in the shift ranges except a specific high-speed shift range or ranges, and therefore, busy shifting sometimes occurs depending upon the drive conditions of the vehicle, as it does in the automatic shift mode. Because such busy shifting is not intended by the driver, it is desirable, to perform the control for preventing busy shifting as in the automatic shift mode. However, if the control of the shift manner changing means is used in the manual shift mode as it is, it may cause the automatic transmission to be shifted down or held at a specific speed despite the intention of the driver, which impairs the advantage of the manual shift mode. The shift manner changing means does not always perform the control for preventing busy shifting and the control of the drive power source brake force separately. That is, the shift manner changing means performs these controls cooperatively under given conditions, such as when the vehicle is running on an uphill road and when the vehicle is cornering. Therefore, it is difficult to extract the busy-shifting preventing function and use it in the manual shift mode. Meanwhile, because there are a large number of vehicle models, it takes a tremendous amount of time and cost to prepare a new control program that is exclusively used to prevent busy shifting in the manual shift mode, so it is not realistic.
It is an object of the invention to provide a shift control apparatus and a shift control method for an automatic transmission including shift manner changing means for controlling the drive power source brake and preventing busy shifting of the automatic transmission, which provides a busy-shifting preventing function for the manual shift mode in a simple form and at a low cost by utilizing the shift manner changing means.

Shift control apparatus and method for automatic transmission of vehicle


Sensor cells are arranged in an array in an organic semiconductor layer. Row and column select circuitry addresses the cells of the array one cell at a time to determine the presence of an object, such as a fingerprint ridge or valley, contacting or proximate to a sensing surface above each cell. Control circuitry can be provided in a companion silicon chip or in a second layer of organic semiconductor material to communicate with the array and an associated system processor. The array of sensor cells can be fabricated using a flexible polymer substrate that is peeled off and disposed of after contacts have been patterned on the organic semiconductor layer. The organic semiconductor layer can be used with a superimposed reactive interface layer to detect specific chemical substances in a test medium.

It is well known that organic polymeric materials can have compositions that produce mobile charge carriers, enabling the manufacture of organic semiconductor devices. U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,903 discloses a p-type conductivity polyacetylene film that can be doped with acceptor dopants to selectively increase its p-type electrical conductivity. A semiconductor material is known as "p-type" conductivity when its majority mobile charge carriers are positive charge carriers called "holes." A semiconductor material is known as "n-type" conductivity when its majority mobile charge carriers are negative charge carriers or "electrons."
Inorganic semiconductor materials, principally monolithic crystalline silicon, are readily fabricated so that both n-type and p-type regions can be formed in a silicon chip. Additionally, inorganic semiconductor materials have much higher charge carrier mobilities than organic semiconductor materials. Such characteristics enable silicon semiconductor devices to dominate high speed, high density semiconductor applications using various microscopic elements, like MOSFETs, constructed from n-type and p-type regions in a silicon chip. Yet, organic semiconductor materials have advantages over silicon in their relative simplicity of fabrication and lower finished-device cost. Organic semiconductor materials also have certain functional advantages over silicon-based devices. For example, organic semiconductor devices do not require the same rigid, hermetically sealed packages that are commonly employed with silicon semiconductor devices, since organic semiconductor devices are less susceptible to damage from exposure to various contaminants.
However, as observed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,245, only a limited number of organic semiconductor materials have been developed that are n-type. This has restricted the functionality of organic semiconductor devices and limited their practical applications. The fused-ring tetracarboxylic diimide compounds disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,245 have the potential to enable practical fabrication of both n-channel and p-channel organic thin film transistors (OTFTs), from which complementary OTFT circuits can be constructed. Devices made using such or similar organic semiconductor technologies can incorporate complex circuit functionality enabling practical applications that do not require the circuit densities and high switching speeds of present silicon-based semiconductor devices.
Additionally, certain applications of organic semiconductor technology may require only p-type material for the fabrication of practical devices. Since the decades old work done with materials like polyacetylene, described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,903, higher performance p-type materials have been disclosed in the art. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,970 discloses the use of pentacene to manufacture a p-type OTFT with a relatively high field-effect mobility.
The above-noted U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,222,903; 5,981,970; and 6,252,245 are hereby incorporated by reference. These patents are only a few representative examples of an extensive body of knowledge that has arisen in recent years in the field of organic semiconductor materials. It would be desirable to employ organic semiconductor technology in the design of sensor devices for reasons that will become apparent from the following description of the invention.