Method and apparatus for deflecting connection flooding attacks. Specifically, the stateful firewall allows all connection attempts to flow into the destination host, but monitors the connection attempts to ensure that only legitimate connections are allowed. If the firewall detects that a connection is half-open for longer than a certain timer threshold, it will instruct the destination host to tear down the half-open connection, thereby freeing up resources in the destination host for other connection attempts. The timer threshold can be dynamically adjusted if a connection flooding attack is detected.

With the proliferation of the Internet, host systems can provide their services to numerous client systems, where both host and client systems are distributed throughout the world. Once a proper connection is established, information can flow freely between a host system and a client system.
For example, in a conventional distributed network a plurality of host systems or servers are in communication with a plurality of client systems via a network or a collection of networks, e.g., the Internet. The architecture of such a distributed network is a source of strength (e.g., enabling free flow of information between numerous systems) and a source of vulnerability (e.g., creating vulnerabilities to malicious attacks).
Specifically, when a client system attempts to establish a connection, e.g., a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) connection, to a host system, the client and host exchange a set sequence of messages or packets. This general approach applies to all TCP connections: Web, telnet, email and so on.
The client system starts by sending a "SYN" message or packet to the host system. The host system then acknowledges the SYN message by sending a "SYN-ACK" message back to the client system. The client then finishes establishing the connection by responding with an "ACK" message, which completes what is known as a "TCP three-way handshake".
Unfortunately, this simple connection protocol is vulnerable to potential abuse by malicious users. For example, a remote client may transmit a large volume of TCP connection requests that cannot be completed, i.e., where the host system has sent an acknowledgement (SYN-ACK) back to the SYN packet's IP Source Address, but will never receive the ACK message since the source address was spoofed, and is either an invalid address, or a machine that did not send the SYN packet in the first place. Because only the receiver of the SYN (which has sent the SYN-ACK) thinks the connection is open, the connection is in the "half-open" state.
The potential abuse is that the host system has built in its system memory a data structure of finite size that describes all connections, pending or active. By flooding the host system with an overwhelming amount of half-open connections, the effect of this attack on the host system is that this data structure will quickly fill up, thereby crippling its ability to establish new connections with legitimate TCP users. This type of "SYN flooding" is the basis for several forms of distributed "Denial of Service" attacks on the Internet.
Creating half-open connections can be easily accomplished with IP spoofing. Specifically, the attacking client system will send SYN messages to the target host system. These SYN messages appear to be legitimate but may in fact reference a client system that is unable to respond to the SYN-ACK message or is not actually trying to establish a connection. The effect is that the final ACK message will never be sent to the target host system.
Although most host systems will eventually remove expired half-open connections, the attacking system can simply continue sending IP-spoofed packets at a greater rate than the rate in which expired half-open connections are removed. The location of the attacking client system is often unknown because the source addresses in the spoofed SYN packets are often not genuine. Thus, when the SYN packet arrives at a target host system, it is often impossible to determine its true source.
Host systems that are the targets of such malicious attacks will likely be rendered inoperable. The inability or even the mere difficulty of accepting any new legitimate incoming network connections will greatly damage the business of a host system.
Therefore, a need exists for a novel method and apparatus that is capable of deflecting such attacks without having to modify the operating system of the host system or requiring complex packet manipulation for active TCP sessions.

Method and apparatus for deflecting flooding attacks


A high-speed electrical connector includes an insulating case, several signal terminals, several grounding terminals, an electrical bridge, and several resilient conductive buffers mounted in the insulating case. Each of the signal and grounding terminals has a fixing segment and a swing segment swingable with respect to the fixing segment. The electrical bridge corresponds to two of the grounding terminals. The conductive buffers are disposed on the electrical bridge and are respectively arranged in the swing paths of the swing segments. Each conductive buffer is configured to transform from an initial state to a deformation state by pressing. Each swing segment can swing to press the corresponding conductive buffer, causing the corresponding conductive buffer to be in the deformation state, thereby establishing an electrical connection path between the electrical bridge and the corresponding grounding terminals. In one example, the buffer can be formed of elastomer mixed with conductive particles.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to an electrical connector; in particular, to a high-speed connector with an electrical ground bridge.
2. Description of Related Art
The insertion loss or crosstalk of a conventional high-speed connector is usually reduced by using a grounding sheet to connect a plurality of grounding terminals thereof. The conventional grounding sheet includes a main portion and a plurality of elastic arms extended from the main portion. Each one of the elastic arms is embodied in a cantilever form, and the elastic arms and the main portion are formed by stamping a metal sheet. Thus, the material and thickness of each elastic arm is identical to that of the main portion.
However, each one of the elastic arms can be pressed to deform to contact one of the grounding terminals and to generate a normal force between the contact interface, thereby electrically connecting to the corresponding grounding terminal. The deformation of each elastic arm is relative to the compression stroke of the grounding terminal. The values of the deformations of the elastic arms can be summarized in a wide distribution because of accumulation of manufacturing tolerances, and the conventional grounding sheet cannot simultaneously satisfy two different functional demands, which are respectively corresponding to a smaller deformation in the wide distribution and a larger deformation in the wide distribution. Specifically, when the functional demand is corresponding to the smaller deformation in the wide distribution, the normal force provided from each elastic arm of the conventional grounding sheet is not large enough to maintain the electrical connection of each elastic arm and the corresponding grounding terminal. When the functional demand is corresponding to the larger deformation in the wide distribution, the normal force provided from each elastic arm of the conventional grounding sheet is difficult to be maintained at a suitable value to avoid insertion problems during mating with the counterpart, such as insertion difficulty, insertion force too large and yielding of the elastic arm or the grounding terminal.
Moreover, each elastic arm of the conventional grounding sheet is usually realized in a form of slender cantilever beam, which tends to be excited in a bending or torsional vibration, and the contact interface between each elastic arm and the corresponding grounding terminal is a point or a line. Thus, under shock or vibrating environment, at least one of the elastic arms may be instantly separated from the corresponding grounding terminal, which results in electrical discontinuity.

High-speed connector with electrical ground bridge


The shift register includes first to fourth flip-flops. A first clock signal which is in a first voltage state in a first period and in a second voltage state in second to fourth periods is input to the first flip-flop. A second clock signal which is in the first voltage state in the second period and in the second voltage state in the third period and the fourth period is input to the second flip-flop. A third clock signal which is in the second voltage state in the first, second, and fourth periods and in the first voltage state in the third period is input to the third flip-flop. A fourth clock signal which is in the second voltage state in the first and second periods and in the first voltage state in the fourth period is input to the fourth flip-flop.

A thin film transistor (TFT) formed over a flat plate such as a glass substrate, which is typically used in a liquid crystal display device, is generally formed using a semiconductor material such as amorphous silicon or polycrystalline silicon. Although TFTs formed using amorphous silicon have low field-effect mobility, they have an advantage that larger glass substrates can be used. On the other hand, TFTs formed using polycrystalline silicon have high field-effect mobility but need a crystallization step such as laser annealing and are not always adaptable to increase in size of glass substrates.
In view of the foregoing, TFT formed using an oxide semiconductor as a semiconductor material has attracted attention. For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 each disclose a technique in which a TFT is formed using zinc oxide or an In—Ga—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor as a semiconductor material and used for a switching element in an image display device.
A TFT in which a channel formation region is provided in an oxide semiconductor can have a higher electric-field mobility than a TFT formed using amorphous silicon. Further, an oxide semiconductor film can be formed at a temperature of 300° C. or lower by a sputtering method or the like, and a manufacturing process of the TFT formed using an oxide semiconductor is simpler than that of the TFT formed using polycrystalline silicon.
TFTs which are formed using such an oxide semiconductor are expected to be applied to switching elements included in a pixel portion and a driver circuit of a display device such as a liquid crystal display, an electroluminescent display (also referred to as an EL display), and electronic paper. For example, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a technique by which a pixel portion and a driver circuit of a display device include TFTs formed using the above oxide semiconductor.
Note that the TFTs formed using the above oxide semiconductor are all n-channel transistors. Therefore, in the case where a driver circuit includes a thin film transistor formed using an oxide semiconductor, the driver circuit includes only n-channel transistors (hereinafter also referred to as a unipolar transistor).

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A system, apparatus, and method for predicting a camera lens attribute using a neural network are presented. The predicted camera lens parameter may be used to produce a 3D model of an object from one or more 2D images of the object.

One of the AI tools for learning and predicting may be neural networks (NN). Neural networks are trained on specific datasets that include relevant data for the training task. Neural networks may be used to predict, for example, processes, movements, etc., and/or to detect faces, smiles, posture, pose, body parts, etc.
An image and/or a photo and/or a video frame was taken by a camera, and/or camcorder may include metadata. The metadata may include camera settings, time and date, shutter speed, exposure, image size, compression, camera name, color information, etc.
Sometimes, camera metadata is not applied, and one or more camera settings, such as camera lens attributes set up for each image, cannot be used to combine two or more images into one image.
Thus, there is a need to predict one or more camera lens attributes.

System, apparatus and method for predicting lens attribute


A method for determining a mated portion of an object can include receiving design data defining a three-dimensional object having a first member mated with a second member. Each member can be represented by a plurality of triangles. The method can include determining an outer layer of the three-dimensional object and a mated surface of the three-dimensional object. The mated surface may be determined by utilizing a recursive process to analyze each specific triangle of the plurality of triangles. The recursive process can classify a triangle as: (i) on the outer layer when all of its vertices are on the outer layer, and (ii) in the mated surface when none of its vertices are on the outer layer. When a triangle has at least one but not all of its vertices on the outer layer, the triangle can be subdivided into sub-triangles, which are then analyzed individually.

Computer aided design (CAD) is used in many different fields. For example, an object of manufacture may be represented in a CAD or similar computer program to assist with the design, manufacture and analysis of that object. In such programs, three-dimensional objects may be represented by millions or tens of millions of triangles, where each triangle can be represented by three vertices, each of which having three coordinate values. Complex objects may be represented by multiple objects or members in a mated arrangement. Each of the members of the object may be represented by a plurality of triangles, and the object can be defined by the combination of its members.
It may be desirable to determine a surface area of an outer layer of an object, for example, to estimate the amount of paint needed to coat the object. For a simple, one-member object, the surface area of the object may be determined based on the plurality of triangles (e.g., summing the area of the triangles). For multi-member objects, however, the sum of the area of the triangles of each of its members may result in an inaccurate estimate as such a determination fails to account for the area of the mated portions, which will not be on the outer layer of the object. Thus, there is a need for a more accurate method of determining the surface area of the outer layer of multi-member objects.

System and method for determining a mated surface of an object having a plurality of members


A dishwasher rack basket assembly that includes a water impervious basket of open mesh construction, the basket is selectively positionable between a first size and a second size, the first size securing small items while permitting flow of liquid therethrough, the second size smaller than the first size and not securing small items while permitting flow of liquid therethrough, and a projection positioned on the basket, wherein the projection is engageable to transform the basket from the first size to the second size.

This invention relates generally to basket assemblies, and, more particularly, to small, item basket assemblies for use in automatic washing machines.
Conventional dishwashing machines include a washing chamber in which upper and lower dishware racks are slidably mounted. Each rack is typically supported on side walls of the dishwasher and includes rollers for sliding movement between an extended position wherein the rack is substantially outside of the washing chamber and a retracted position wherein the rack is substantially inside the washing chamber. As dishware items are loaded and unloaded, the racks are moved to their extended positions for substantially unobstructed loading of items. The racks are lattice structures adapted for holding dishes, plates, cups, pots, pans and other dishware, cookware, and food storage containers while permitting water spray action for cleaning items in the racks. As at least some small items, such as bottle tops, lids, and measuring spoons, are too small for the racks to accommodate, a small item basket containing one or more compartments is typically attached to one of the racks to hold smaller items within the washing chamber.
Typically, users remove the small items basket when not in use and store under the sink or in a drawer. Removing the basket increases usable rack space. However, attaching and detaching the basket may be time consuming and awkward. Eliminating the need to remove the basket while not in use and increasing usable rack space during dishwasher operations are desirable features of a small items basket.


A method is provided for making a reinforced polymer electrolyte membrane, such as may be used in electrolytic cells such as fuel cells, by mixing a sulfonate- or sulfonyl halide-functional polymer with a bisamidine compound and subsequently trimerizing the amidine groups of the bisamidine compound to form triazine linkages. The sulfonyl halide or sulfonate groups may then be converted to sulfonic acid groups, yielding a polymer electrolyte reinforced with a polytriazine.

International Patent Application Publication No. WO 02/50142 A1 purportedly discloses fluorosulfonated nitrile crosslinkable elastomers based on vinylidene fluoride with low Tg.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,351 purportedly discloses perfluoroelastomers cured by radiation in the absence of curing agents. The reference purportedly relates to curing of fully fluorinated polymers, such as those prepared from tetrafluoroethylene, a perfluoroalkyl perfluorovinyl ether, and cure site or crosslinking units providing at least one of nitrile, perfluorophenyl, bromine or iodine in the resulting terpolymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,861 purportedly discloses nitrile containing perfluoroelastomers cured by a combination of a peroxide, a coagent, and a catalyst which causes crosslinks to form using the nitrile groups.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,334,082, 4,414,159, 4,440,917, and 4,454,247 purportedly disclose an ion exchange membrane for use in a chlor-alkali electrolysis cell formed from a copolymer of a vinyl ether monomer of the formula:Y2CFO(CF(CF3)CF2O)nCF═CF2 where Y is selected from the group consisting of CF2CN, CF2CO2R, CF2CO2H, CF2CO2M, CF2CONH2 and CF2CONR; a perfluorinated comonomer selected from tetrafluoroethylene, hexafluoropropylene, and perfluoroalkylvinyl ether; andCF2═CF(OCF2CF(CF3))nOCF2CF2SO2Fwhere n is 1 or 2. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,247 at claim 1). These references purportedly disclose a method of curing fluoroelastomers by trimerization of nitriles to form triazine rings. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,247 at col. 10, lns. 60-68).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,498 purportedly discloses crosslinked elastomeric polytriazines.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,748 purportedly discloses a high molecular weight polyimidoylamidine and a high molecular weight polytriazine derived therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,512 discloses a polymer electrolyte membrane comprising an intimate mixture of an ionomeric polymer and a structural film-forming polymer. Optionally, one or both are crosslinked.


A highly advantageous process for the preparation of 2-(3-hydroxy-1-adamantyl)-2-oxoacetic acid or a salt thereof is described. The process comprises subjecting 1-acetyl 3-hydroxyadamantane to liquid phase oxidation with permanganate to produce 2-(3-hydroxy-1-adamantyl)-2-oxoacetic acid or a salt thereof, with acidification to form the free acid when appropriate.

The compound, 2-(3-hydroxy-1-adamantyl)-2-oxoacetic acid, is a desired chemical intermediate for a product under development for potential commercial use by a well-known United States corporation. That corporation wishes to purchase the 2-(3-hydroxy-1-adamantyl)-2-oxoacetic acid for use in its developmental work. There appears to be no published method for synthesizing this compound.
A need thus exists for a simple straightforward synthesis route for preparing 2-(3-hydroxy-1-adamantyl)-2-oxoacetic acid, especially if such a route could result in good yields of the 2-(3-hydroxy-1-adamantyl)-2-oxoacetic acid in a minimum number of synthesis steps.

Synthesis process for 2-(3-hydroxy-1-adamantyl)-2-oxoacetic acid


A breather structure for ventilation between the inside and outside of the housing of the disk drive is realized by a simple, inexpensive construction. The cover structure is for a disk drive provided on a base with a spindle motor carrying recording disks and an actuator for driving a carriage carrying heads for writing information on the disks, with the inside sealed airtight by attaching a cover to the gas through a gasket, and with an antivibration plate for preventing vibration and noise from generating when driving the disks at the surface of the cover contacting the outside air either directly or through a viscoelastic member. A ventilation groove for ventilating between the inside and outside of the disk drive is realized by forming a breather passage designed considering the passage conductance between the cover and the antivibration plate, providing a breather vent communicating the breather passage with the outside in the antivibration plate at one end of the breather passage, and providing a breather vent communicating the breather passage with the inside of the disk drive at the cover at the other end.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ventilation structure of a cover for a disk drive, more particularly to a ventilation structure of a cover for a magnetic disk drive designed so that air can circulate between the inside and outside of the disk drive.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, magnetic disk drives, optical disk drives, and other disk drives have been used as storage devices for computers. These disk drives are used in various environments together with the computers. Accordingly, when leaving a disk drive in a general environment in a nonoperating state, there is the risk that the passage of air between the inside and outside of the enclosure of the disk drive, comprised of a cover and base, will lead to the entry of harmful sulfur, sulfur dioxides, and the like to the inside of the disk drive (the entry of molecules of gas due to diffusion).
Therefore, in the past, a ventilation structure (breather structure) for preventing the entry of harmful gas into the disk drive by providing the cover of the disk drive with a gas adsorption filter has been proposed. The conventional ventilation structure provided for the cover of a disk drive, however, has been complicated in construction and high in cost, so a ventilation structure of a simpler configuration and lower cost has been desired.
For example, U.S. Re. Pat. Nos. 34,497 and 5,030,260 disclose conventional disk drives providing ventilation structures at their housings or covers, but since the ventilation members with the ventilation grooves are made by separate members from the housings and covers, work has been required for assembling these separate members with the covers etc. Considering the cost of fabricating the separate members themselves, further, there is the problem that the cost of manufacturing the disk drives becomes higher.

Ventilation structure of a cover for a disk drive


The present invention is a toner including toner particles prepared by forming particles of a polymerizable monomer composition including a polymerizable monomer, a pigment, a pigment dispersant and a crystalline polyester resin in an aqueous medium, and polymerizing the polymerizable monomer, wherein the polymerizable monomer is a polymerizable monomer for preparing a vinyl copolymer, the difference in an SP value between the pigment dispersant and the crystalline polyester resin is −1.5 to +0.8, the difference in an SP value between the pigment dispersant an the vinyl copolymer is −1.1 to +1.2, the pigment dispersant has a polymer component and an adsorbable component adsorbed to the pigment, the polymer component is a vinyl polymer, the polymer component of the pigment dispersant has a number average molecular weight of 3,000 to 20,000, and a rate of adsorption of the pigment dispersant to the pigment is 30% or more.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner for developing an electrostatic charge image, used in electrophotographic image forming apparatus, such as copiers and printers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, energy-saving electrophotographic image forming apparatus, such as copiers and printers, have been demanded because of environmental concerns. An important factor to energy saving is a reduction in fixing energy in particular. To reduce fixing energy, a reduction in the amount of the toner to be applied onto a recording medium (such as paper) has been studied as one of solutions. To reduce the amount of the toner to be applied onto the recording medium, an improvement in the coloring ability of the toner is important.
Examples of the method for improving the coloring ability of the toner include a method of increasing the content of a colorant in toner particles, and a method of improving the dispersibility of a colorant in toner particles. The colorant, which is typically expensive, may increase cost of the toner in the former method. A high content of the colorant in toner particles may increase the influences of the colorant on the chargeability and polarity of the toner, reducing the chargeability of the toner or reducing granulation properties when the toner particles are prepared by a wet method.
In the toner particles prepared by suspension polymerization, a pigment dispersant can temporarily improve the dispersibility of a pigment while this method is susceptible to improvement in stable dispersion of the pigment in a liquid such as a polymerizable monomer.
In preparation of the toner particles by suspension polymerization, a shell layer containing a polar resin is often disposed on the surfaces of the toner particles to enhance stress resistance and chargeability. In such a case, the pigment dispersant may affect the polar resin rather than the pigment in a dispersing step, a granulating step or a reacting step (polymerization step), not attaining a sufficient pigment dispersing effect. The effect of the pigment dispersant on the polar resin may result in an insufficient shell layer disposed, leading to difficulties in precise control of the chargeability of the toner. The effect may also reduce the stress resistance of the toner, preventing high image quality from being kept in long-term use.
Another solution to the reduction in fixing energy is a toner that can be quickly melt at low temperatures to be fixed quickly with small energy. Such a toner has been demanded.
To meet these requirements, the toner has to be softened. Unfortunately, the toner is difficult to simply soften from the viewpoint of heat-resistant storage stability and durability.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2002-287426 and 2007-093809 disclose toners the low-temperature fixability of which is improved by incorporating a crystalline resin having sharp-melting properties into toner particles. Through the specification, the term "having sharp-melting properties" means "having a high speed of response to heat." A known crystalline resin includes crystalline polyester resins.
The present inventors, who have conducted extensive research, found that the dispersibility of the pigment is prone to reduce when a crystalline polyester resin is incorporated into the toner particles. In particular, it was found that the dispersibility of the pigment is prone to reduce when the toner particles are prepared by suspension polymerization.


A wireless system having a central family calendar. Individual family members may access the family calendar from their wireless devices. The system also includes telephone and address information for non-family members. Important dates such as birthdays, associated with the non-family members may automatically appear in the calendar. The system may be incorporated into other family accessible devices such as a family bulletin board.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a calendar shared between family members and, more particularly, to a calendar which can be accessed from wireless devices by members of the family.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Since members of present day families have active lives outside the family, they often have schedules beyond family events, and it is desirable that some kind of common listing of various activities of the family members be available for planning purposes. One of the simplest methods of doing this in the past has been taking a paper calendar and posting it in a common area of the household so that various scheduled events can be listed together. While such a system is convenient in terms of simplicity of use and easy scanning, there are some drawbacks to this type of system. In particular, in order to access this system, it is necessary to physically be present at its location. Thus, it is impossible for a family member to obtain information about events unless he or she is at home and in front of the calendar. Also, there is some difficulty for recurring events in that they must be entered manually a number of times. While this system is very workable, these drawbacks make it less convenient for family members who are away from home most of the day.
A more recent suggestion for an electronic calendar is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,343, which uses a web based system so that individual calendars can be accessed from their own computers. However, this does not provide a system which is easily shared among multiple users of the same family. Also, it is still necessary for a user to be at his or her computer in order to utilize this system.
Another recent development is referred to as the "Ericsson Air Calendar". This system utilizes a wireless telephone to allow access to calendar information on the web or on a corporate network. This system utilizes synchronization between the phone and the air calendar server. The desired access to one users calendar may be granted to other users to facilitate scheduling.
While these systems do not require a physical centrally located calendar, the ability to share information is still limited, and the use of a single calendar also for individuals within the family is not easily provided. In addition, the use of such a calendar to interact with other family related devices is not available.


A powered toothbrush includes a handle having a neck. A head is mounted to the neck and has a first portion and a second portion. A plurality of tuft blocks is mounted to the second portion, with each tuft block having a tooth cleaning element. At least one projection is positioned on one of the first and second portions, each projection engaging one of the tuft blocks and pivoting the tuft block with respect to the second portion. A drive assembly is operably connected to one of the first and second portions to drive the one of the first and second portions in an oscillating manner.

A variety of toothbrush configurations exist that have stationary and/or mechanically-driven movable cleaning elements. These conventional toothbrushes are dedicated to tooth cleaning/polishing operations and typically include a head portion directed to the cleaning/polishing operation, and a handle portion. The head typically has a flat or slightly altered surface to which the cleaning elements are attached, or to which mechanically-driven movable carriers for the cleaning elements are attached.
Many powered toothbrushes have a round head with cleaning elements that move in an oscillating fashion with respect to the brush head. Such brushes may have a round tuft block that oscillates through a range of about 10 to about 30 degrees. The cleaning elements are typically rigidly mounted to the moving tuft block and, therefore, all go through the same angular range of movement.
It would be desirable to provide a toothbrush that reduces or overcomes some or all of the difficulties inherent in prior known devices. Particular objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that is, those who are knowledgeable or experienced in this field of technology, in view of the following disclosure of the invention and detailed description of certain embodiments.

Powered toothbrush with multi-action movement


The cost of building a five thousand pound boat lift is substantially cut in half by using three pilings instead of four. The three pilings include a pair of outboard pilings and a single inboard piling. A boat-supporting cradle includes a leading frame member having an outboard end positioned near a leading piling of the pair of outboard pilings and an inboard end positioned near the single inboard piling. A trailing frame member has an outboard end positioned near a trailing piling of the pair of outboard pilings and an inboard end positioned near the single piling. A longitudinally disposed brace interconnects the leading and trailing frame members near their respective outboard ends and a longitudinally disposed plate interconnects the frame members near their respective inboard ends. An equalizer assembly is pivotally mounted to the plate and opposite ends of the equalizer assembly are connected by separate cables to a winch that surmounts the single piling. Another winch surmounts the pair of outboard pilings and supports separate cables that engage pulleys mounted to the respective free ends of the leading and trailing frame members. The winches lift a five thousand pound cradle-supported boat from the water and the equalizer assembly prevents the cradle from rotating about its transverse axis even though it is supported by only three pilings.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to boat lifts. More particularly, it relates to a boat lift that requires fewer pilings than a conventional boat lift.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A boat is typically lifted from water by positioning a cradle below the surface of the water, positioning a floating boat above the cradle, and lifting the cradle out of the water. A typical cradle is square or rectangular in configuration, and typically includes a pair of longitudinally disposed, transversely spaced apart frame members that are interconnected to one another at their respective opposite ends by transversely disposed braces. Cable-engaging pulleys are mounted at opposite ends of each frame member and overhead winches, mounted on pilings or other suitable support surfaces, are used to raise and lower the frame members.
A conventional boat lift includes four pilings that are driven into a sea bed adjacent a pier, wharf, or dock in a generally square or rectangular array. A first set of two pilings is positioned close to the dock and the second set of two pilings is positioned away therefrom by a distance substantially equal to the width of a boat and a reasonable amount of clearance space. A first winch surmounts the first or inboard set of pilings and a second winch surmounts the second or outboard set.
A boat is positioned between the inboard and outboard pilings such that its longitudinal axis is substantially parallel to a first centerline drawn through the first set of pilings and therefore substantially parallel to a second centerline drawn through the second set of pilings.
Pile driving is an expensive and time-consuming procedure. When the cost of winches, cables, pulleys and motors is added to the cost of the pilings and the boat cradle, a boat lift capable of lifting a five thousand pound boat from the water can cost about twenty five hundred dollars. Consumers will pay only about three thousand for such lifts; accordingly, the profit margin is low and as a result few companies are willing to serve the market. Profit margins increase as the pilings and winches become larger and more powerful, respectively, so most companies serve boat owners having large vessels. Clearly, there is a need for a boat lift that substantially reduces the cost of a five thousand pound boat lift.
However, in view of the prior art in at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how such a boat lift could be built.
The longstanding but heretofore unfulfilled need for a boat lift of substantially reduced manufacturing costs is now met by a new, useful, and nonobvious boat lifting apparatus. The novel structure includes a pair of outboard pilings disposed in longitudinally spaced apart relation to one another, a single inboard piling disposed in transversely and equidistantly spaced apart relation to said pair of outboard pilings, and a cradle disposed between said pair of outboard pilings and said single inboard piling. The outboard pilings are spaced apart from the inboard piling by a distance sufficient to accommodate a boat therebetween when the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the boat is in substantially parallel relation to the outboard pilings.
A first lifting means, supported by the pair of outboard pilings, is provided for lifting an outboard end of the cradle means and a second lifting means, supported by said inboard piling, is provided for lifting an inboard end of the cradle means. In this way, a boat positioned between said pair of outboard pilings and said single inboard piling is lifted upwardly when the outboard and inboard ends of the cradle are lifted upwardly by the outboard and inboard lifting means, respectively.
The cradle includes an elongate brace, a truncate plate, a leading frame and a trailing frame. The elongate brace and the truncate plate are disposed in parallel, transversely spaced apart relation to one another. The leading frame is disposed in interconnecting relation between a first end of the elongate brace and a first end of the truncate plate, and the trailing frame is disposed in interconnecting relation between a second end of the elongate brace and a second end of the truncate plate. Accordingly, the leading and trailing frames are disposed in converging relation to one another as they extend from the outboard pilings to the inboard piling. The angle of convergence is determined by respective lengths of the elongate brace and the truncate plate.
An equalizer assembly is mounted in closely spaced, parallel relation to the truncate plate. The first lifting means is mounted on said outboard pilings and is adapted to lift respective outboard ends of the leading and trailing frame members. The second lifting means is mounted on the single inboard piling and is adapted to lift the equalizer assembly. The equalizer assembly is rotatably mounted at its mid-point to the truncate plate.
An equalizer assembly is mounted in closely spaced, parallel relation to the truncate plate. The first lifting means is mounted on said outboard pilings and is adapted to lift respective outboard ends of the leading and trailing frame members. The second lifting means is mounted on the single inboard piling and is adapted to lift the equalizer assembly. The equalizer assembly is rotatably mounted at its mid-point to the truncate plate.
The elongate brace is formed of two parts that are slideably adjustable with respect to one another and lockable into a plurality of functional positions of adjustment.
The first lifting means includes a reversible motor means and an elongate rotatably mounted drum connected in driven relation to the motor means. A first cable has a first end coiled about the drum and a second end of the first cable is secured to the first end of the leading frame. A second cable has a first end coiled about the drum, and a second end of the second cable is secured to the first end of the trailing frame so that rotation of the drum in a first direction lifts the respective first ends of the leading and trailing frame and rotation of the drum in a second direction lowers the respective first ends of the leading and trailing frame.
The second lifting means means includes a reversible motor means and a truncate rotatably mounted drum connected in driven relation to the motor means. A first cable has a first end coiled about the drum and a second end of the first cable is secured to a first end of the equalizer assembly. A second cable has a first end coiled about the drum and a second end of the second cable is secured to the second end of the equalizer assembly so that rotation of the drum in a first direction lifts said respective first ends of the leading and trailing frame and rotation of the drum in a second direction lowers the respective first ends of the leading and trailing frame.
An important object of this invention is to provide a low cost boat lift capable of lifting a five thousand pound boat.
A closely related object is to achieve the foregoing object by providing a boat lift that requires a support structure that includes only three pilings.
These and other important objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become clear as this description proceeds.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts that will be exemplified in the description set forth hereinafter and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.


A substrate processing apparatus includes: a processing container including a processing space capable of accommodating a substrate in a state where a surface of the substrate is wet by a liquid; a processing fluid supply that supplies a processing fluid in a supercritical state to the processing space toward the liquid; a first exhaust line connected to a first exhaust source; a second exhaust line connected to a second exhaust source and connected to the first exhaust line between the first exhaust source and the processing space; and a controller controlling the second exhaust pressure. The processing fluid in the supercritical state contacts the liquid to dry the substrate, and the controller makes the second exhaust pressure to be higher than the first exhaust pressure during a period in which the processing fluid supply stops supplying the processing fluid to the processing space.

In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device in which a laminated structure of integrated circuits is formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer, which is a substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer), a liquid processing step of processing a surface of a wafer using a liquid is performed, for example, by removing minute dust and a native oxide film on the surface of the wafer with a cleaning liquid such as a chemical liquid. A method is known in which a processing fluid in a supercritical state is used when removing a liquid adhering to the surface of a wafer in a liquid processing step (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-012538).

Substrate processing apparatus and control method thereof


A machine (4) for tying a length of wire (46) around one or more objects (2) comprising a wire feed mechanism adapted to feed wire (46) from a spool during a first phase; and to withdraw the wire (46) during a second phase, said wire feed mechanism comprising a gripping mechanism (102, 103) including a pair of rollers urged together to grip the wire (46) therebetween and drive it in the appropriate direction, said gripping mechanism (102, 103) being configured such that during said second phase, increasing tension in the wire (46) automatically increases the gripping force on the wire (46).

This invention relates to machines for tying wire bindings around reinforcement bars as used in the construction of reinforced concrete.
WO 2007/042785 gives an example of a wire binding machine used for tying wire loops around intersections of steel reinforcement bars for constructing reinforced concrete structures. The design of machine shown in this document has been shown to produce tight and reliable ties in a practical and compact package. However as with any battery-powered tool, it would always be desirable to be able to reduce its power consumption even further in order to extend battery life or allow a smaller and therefore lighter battery to be used.
The Applicant has now appreciated that one area where a reduction in power consumption might be possible is in the motor used to feed the wire from the spool to the head and to withdraw it again to pull the loop tight prior to spinning.
When viewed from a first aspect the present invention provides a machine for tying a length of wire around one or more objects comprising a wire feed mechanism adapted to feed wire from a spool during a first phase; and to withdraw the wire during a second phase, said wire feed mechanism comprising a gripping mechanism including a pair of rollers urged together to grip the wire therebetween and drive it in the appropriate direction, said gripping mechanism being configured such that during said second phase, increasing tension in the wire automatically increases the gripping force on the wire.
Thus it will be seen by those skilled in the art that in accordance with the invention the grip on the wire increases with wire tension during the second, retraction phase. The invention involves a recognition by the Applicant that a much greater gripping force on the wire is required in the second phase, especially during the latter part thereof if the wire is to be pulled tightly around the reinforcement bars. It has been recognised accordingly that during the first phase there is a lower gripping force requirement as it is only necessary for the drive mechanism to overcome the friction encountered by the wire in being withdrawn from the spool and fed through the machine.
In previously proposed arrangements the grip on the wire was set at a constant high value to ensure sufficient tension could be applied to it during the second, retraction phase to ensure a good tie. However this meant the torque in the driving motor and so the current used by the drive mechanism was higher than it needed to be in the first phase. By employing an automatically increasing grip as the tension in the wire increases as result of wire is drawn tightly, the grip and so current drawn can be kept low during the first phase without compromising how tightly the loop can be drawn during the second phase.


A carbon dioxide and nitrogen infused wine product includes wine infused with both carbon dioxide and nitrogen. A ratio of carbon dioxide to nitrogen in the wine can be in a range of 80% CO2/20% N2-60% CO2/40% N2.

Alcoholic beverages including beer, wine and liquor have long been a hallmark of civilization. Over the years, many different types of alcoholic beverages have been introduced, refined and reinvented as tastes and technology change.
Wine is a fermented beverage generally produced from grapes (or other fruits). As part of the wine making process, the sugar in the grapes is consumed by yeast yielding ethanol and carbon dioxide during the fermentation process. Fermented wine is then aged for a period of months or years before being packaged for consumption.
Winemaking is a complicated process since the taste and quality of the wine can be impacted by many variables including the type of grape and yeast used, the process used to make the wine, the terroir in which the grapes were grown etc. In addition, other external factors such as oxidation, bacteria and spoilage can negatively impact a wine's development. Regarding oxidation, it has been found that the use of nitrogen in various phases of the winemaking process can be helpful to reduce the negative effects of oxidation.
For example, nitrogen can be used to flush pumps, hoses and other transfer devices before bottling of the wine so that unwanted oxidation can be prevented during transfer. Additionally, since wine naturally dissolves oxygen during the fermentation and aging process, a technique called "sparging" was developed to counteract this oxidation effect. Specifically, sparging involves introducing fine gas bubbles of nitrogen to the bottom of a holding container and rise through the wine, enabling previously dissolved gases (e.g., oxygen or carbon dioxide) to transfer back into their gaseous states and rise to the top of the holding container where they can be removed. Nitrogen can also be used for "blanketing" to displace oxygen in the top of a wine holding container.
While nitrogen has historically been used as an inert gas in the winemaking process to remove (or avoid the introduction of) other gases to the wine, carbon dioxide has been infused into the wine intentionally to create so-called sparkling wine. Sparkling wine has a fizzy or effervescent quality to it that non-sparkling wines lack. This quality of sparkling wine is the result of carbon dioxide infusion which can, for example, be the result of a secondary fermentation of the wine or via a direct infusion of carbon dioxide into the wine, i.e., the carbonation process similar to that used to make soda drinks fizzy.
Unlike wine, beer typically has a foam component referred to as the beer's "head". A beer's head is generated by the wort protein, hops and yeast residue which are brought to the top of a poured beer by carbon dioxide which is typically generated by the beer fermentation process. However, somewhat more recently, it was determined that nitrogen could be used to give the beer's head a more creamy or frothy characteristic. See, e.g., UK Patent No. 1266351, assigned to Arthur Guinness Son and Company, published Mar. 8, 1972, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein. Unlike carbon dioxide, nitrogen is largely insoluble in liquid and, it has been found, that by using a ratio of nitrogen to carbon dioxide of between 50/50 and 75/25, a creamier frothier beer head can be generated.
Notwithstanding the very long history of these differences existing between the characteristics of beer and wine, Applicants decided to make a nitrogen infused sparkling wine. Much to their surprise, the result was a sparkling wine with a softer, frothier texture than other sparkling wines which contain only CO2 gas. When the nitrogen infused sparkling wine is poured into a glass it has a beautiful, cascading effect.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide wine making systems, methods and products which, among other things, enable consumers to enjoy nitrogen infused sparkling wine.

Nitrogen infused sparkling wine and methods of making same


Provided is concerned with a method of erasing a NAND flash memory device, capable of restraining an erasing disturbance fail arising from a deselected cell block and improving a product yield of the device by applying a negative voltage to a well of a high voltage transistor forming an X-decoder during an erasing operation in the NAND flash memory device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a method of erasing a NAND flash memory device and particularly, to a method of erasing which is able to improve a protecting function for erasing disturbance fails.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Data stored in a NAND flash memory device is erased in the unit of block. During this, there is no disturbance because a non-erased block is boosted such that a wordline of memory cells is supplied with 20V that is offset with a well bias 20V.
However, when a high voltage transistor employed in an X-decoder is conditioned in an abnormal state, a leakage current is generated and increases up to several tens through hundreds pA/μm. As a result, the bias voltage of 20V boosted at a gate of a non-erased memory cell decreases under 13V, so that information stored in the memory cell is lost due to disturbance by an erasing bias voltage of 20V set in a sell of a memory cell array.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional problem.
Referring to FIG. 1, while a gate of a non-selected memory cell A is required to be boosted and conditioned on 20V, there is a voltage drop due to a leakage current arising from a high voltage NMOS transistor B used as a selection transistor. Such a leakage current is generated from various reasons. Especially, a junction region of the high voltage NMOS transistor highly acts as the source of the leakage current (refer to the region L shown in FIG. 1).
Therefore, when the leakage current makes a voltage boosted for a control gate of a memory cell down more than 7V from its original voltage level, it causes a disturbance effect in a deselected cell block and then results in a serious problem that memory cells to be programmed are undesirably forced to be erased.

Method of erasing NAND flash memory device


A fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing processing is disclosed. The apparatus for this processing includes a plurality of fixed-length cell transmitting apparatuses, each of which sends a fixed-length cell, and a fixed-length cell multiplexing apparatus which multiplexes the fixed-length cells received from the fixed-length cell transmitting apparatuses and outputs the thus multiplexed cells. One of the plurality of fixed-length cell transmitting apparatuses is configured as a highest-priority fixed-length cell transmitting apparatus. Further, the highest-priority fixed-length cell transmitting apparatus comprises a fixed-length cell storage section and a fixed-length cell read control section. The fixed-length cell multiplexing apparatus comprises a plurality of FIFO storage sections, an FIFO control section, and a multiplexing section. With this structure, information to be notified is divided into fixed-length cells for transmission. The fixed-length cell from the highest-priority fixed-length cell transmitting apparatus is directly output without storing it, thereby accurately performing first-come, first-served processing for fixed-length cells.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixed-length cell multiplex transmission apparatus, a fixed-length cell multiplex transmission method, a fixed-length cell multiplex transmitting apparatus, a fixed-length cell multiplexing apparatus, and a fixed-length cell distributing apparatus; all of which are suitable for use in a system (e.g., an ATM network) which transfers information to be transferred by dividing it into units of fixed-length cells [ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) cells].
(2) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 39 is a block diagram showing one example of a general fixed-length cell (ATM cell) multiplexing/distributing processing system. As shown in FIG. 39, a fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing system 501 usually comprises a fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing processing unit 401 which is connected to a plurality of fixed-length cell transmitting/receiving devices 101-1 to 101-n (n is a natural number). The fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing processing unit 401 is arranged so as to be able to collect monitor information from each of the fixed-length cell transmitting/receiving devices 101-i (i=1 to n).
The fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing processing unit 401 comprises a fixed-length cell receiving section (TED LSI) 101, an overhead processing fixed-length cell receiving section (OH LSI) 102, a fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing device (HUB LSI) 201, and a cell format preparation section (Ti TDC 1500A) 301. The fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing device 201 comprises a fixed-length cell multiplexing section (Send) 201A and a fixed-length cell distributing section (Receive) 201B.
FIG. 40 is a block diagram which shows the configuration of the previously described general fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing device 201. As shown in FIG. 40, the fixed-length cell multiplexing section 201A of the fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing device 201 multiplexes fixed-length cells (sending-side processing), and the fixed-length cell distributing section 201B distributes the received fixed-length cells (receiving-side processing).
When the fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing device 201 in the fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing processing unit 401 receives information (fixed-length cells) from each fixed-length cell transmitting/receiving device 101-i other than the fixed-length fixed-length cell transmitting device 101-1, i.e., each of the cell transmitting/receiving devices 101-2 to 101-n, start-stop synchronous sections 202-2 to 202-n in the fixed-length cell multiplexing section 201A first carry out start-stop asynchronous processing for the input cells, and SPS (Start Parity Stop) bit detecting sections 203-1 to 203-n detect a start bit, a parity bit, a stop bit, etc.
The fixed-length cell transmitting device 101-1 handles the cells which should be sent in preference to the cells handled by the other fixed-length cell transmitting/receiving devices 101-2 to 101-n. As shown in FIG. 40, the information (OH) sent from the fixed-length cell transmitting device 101-1 is subjected to neither the start-stop synchronous processing performed by the start-stop synchronous sections 202-2 to 202-n nor detection of a start bit, a parity bit, and a stop bit carried out by the SPS bit detecting sections 203-2 to 203-n. The information is received by an acquiring section 206 in synchronous with a frame pulse of the fixed-length cell transmitting device 101-1. In this way, the cells handled by the fixed-length cell transmitting device 101-1 are sent in preference to any other cells.
The fixed-length cells are written into corresponding FIFO (First-in First-out) memory devices 204-2 to 204-n, respectively. At this time, for example, the fixed-length cell multiplexing section 201A monitors the FIFO memory devices 204-2 to 204-n, in that order, with respect to whether or not the cells have been written into the FIFO memory devices 204-2 to 204-n, as shown in FIG. 41. If the cells are written into the FIFO memory devices 204-2 to 204-n, the cells are read from the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n. The thus-read cells are respectively processed by time-division multiplexing in a multiplexing section 205, so that each cell is sent.
The fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing system 501 gives priorities to the information items (i.e., fixedlength cells) which the fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing processing unit 401 receives from the respective fixed-length cell transmitting/receiving devices 101-1 to 101-n. As a result, the proportion of the fixed-length cells lost due to receipt of excessive traffic is reduced, so that the cell loss ratio of the fixed-length cells which are sent preferentially (priority cells) is prevented from exceeding a predetermined level, thereby guaranteeing desired quality.
That is, even if the fixed-length cell to be processed is in excess of the maximum permissible amount, it becomes possible to send a priority cell by discarding such an amount of the information that the quality of the information is not significantly affected. As a result of this, the efficiency of multiplexing of the fixed-length cells can be improved.
On the other hand, when the fixed-length cell distributing section 201B receives a fixed-length cell, a write control section 43 detects, from the received fixed-length cell, the port number of a port to which the received cell is to be distributed. The received cell is then distributed to a corresponding one of the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n.
The thus-distributed cell is temporarily held in a corresponding one of the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n, and in a corresponding one of SPS bit adding sections 207-1 to 207-n, there is then added to the cell a start bit, a parity bit, and a stop bit . The resultant cell is then sent to the fixed-length cell transmitting/receiving device 101-i. The sending of a priority cell is not carried out in the above distributing operation.
FIG. 42 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the previously described fixed-length cell transmitting device 101-1. As shown in FIG. 42, the fixed-length cell transmitting device 101-1 comprises a fixed-length cell storage section (RAM) 150, a read counter 151, a JK flip-flop (JK-FF) circuit 153, an edge detecting section 154, and decoders 155-1 to 155-3.
The fixed-length cell storage section 150 stores input fixed-length cell data, and the read counter 151 reads the fixed-length cell data from the fixed-length cell storage section 150 in synchronism with internal frames each corresponding to a single fixed-length cell.
The JK flip-flop circuit 153 outputs a required signal on the basis of both a RAM write termination signal, which is output when the data have been written into the fixed-length cell storage section 150, and a signal output from a decoder 155-3 which will be described later. The edge-detecting section 154 detects the leading edge or trailing edge of the pulse signal output from the JK flip-flop circuit 153.
The decoder 155-1 generates a read enable signal for use in the fixed-length cell storage section 150, and the decoder 155-2 sends a frame pulse signal for use in the fixed-length cell multiplexing section 201A to the fixed-length cell multiplexing section 201A. The decoder 155-3 generates a RAM read termination signal which represents the completion of the reading of the fixed-length cell data.
When the fixed-length cell data are entered (i.e., written) into the fixed-length cell storage section 150 of the fixed-length cell transmitting device 101-1, the RAM write termination signal, for example, as shown in FIG. 43(g) is input to the JK flip-flop 153. As a result, the output of the JK flip-flop circuit 153 is switched to the high level, as shown in FIG. 43(h).
When the output of the edge detecting section 154 is switched to the high level, the read counter 151, which receives the output from the JK flip-flop circuit 153, starts a loading operation, so that the read counter 151 outputs its Q (data) output to the fixed-length cell storage section 150 as a read address (RADD) signal, as shown in FIG. 43(b). At this time, the read counter 151 further outputs a read enable (REN) signal as shown in FIG. 43(c) to the fixed-length cell storage section 150 via the decoder 155-1. A signal which is switched to the high level in synchronism with the read enable signal is output through the decoder 155-2 to the fixed-length cell multiplexing section 201A as a frame pulse for use in the fixed-length cell multiplexing section 201A, as shown in FIG. 43(e).
As previously described, when the fixed-length cell storage section 150 receives the read address signal and the read enable signal, a cell is read from the fixed-length cell storage section 150. When the reading of the cell has been completed, a RAM read termination signal as shown in FIG. 43(f) is output from the read counter 151 to the decoder 155-3. Arrows in FIG. 43 indicate timing clock signals.
FIG. 44 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the previously described fixed-length cell distributing section 201B. In brief, the fixed-length cell distributing section 201B is designed so as to carry out the processing in reverse to that of the multiplexing operation carried out by the fixed-length cell multiplexing section 201A. As shown in FIG. 44, the fixed-length cell distributing section 201B comprises a select (SEL) signal generating section 54A, a write control section 43, the FIFO memory (RAM) devices 204-1 to 204-n, read counters (RCTR) 45C-1 to 45C-n, and parallel/serial (P/S) converts 42-1 to 42-n.
The FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n are disposed so as to correspond to respective output ports (DTOUT 1-n). Each of the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n stores a received fixed-length cell which in this case, comprises m parallel data strings (m is a natural number). The SEL signal generating section 54A detects the port number of a port to which the fixed-length cell is to be output, from the data of each fixed-length cell input as m-parallel data. The SEL signal generating section 54A then generates a signal (a port selecting signal) corresponding to the detected port number. For example, as shown in FIGS. 45(a) and 45(b), the number of the port to which the received cell is to be output is detected in synchronism with a received frame pulse (FP) signal (in the order of port numbers, that is, in this case, 1, 2, n, and 2). From the detected data is determined proper one of the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n into which the input cell is to be written, and the determined FIFO memory device is communicated to a write signal generating section 43A.
The write control section 43 writes the input data into the one of the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n corresponding to the port number that is detected by the SEL signal generating section 54A from the data of the fixed-length cell comprising M parallel data strings (hereinafter referred to as "M-parallel fixed-length cell"). The write control section 43 comprises a write enable signal (WEN) generating section 43A, a write counter (WCTR) 43B, and a read counter load (RCTRLD) signal generating section 43C.
The write signal generating section 43A generates a write enable (WEN) signal and a write counter load (WCRTRLD) signal for each of the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n corresponding to the respective ports, as shown in FIGS. 45(d) to 45(f). The write enable signal is output to the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n and the read counter load signal generating section 43C, whereas the write counter load signal is output to the write counter 43B.
The write counter 43B outputs its Q output, as a write address (WADD), to FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n on the basis of information (i.e., a write counter load signal) received from the write signal generating section 43A. The write counter 43B notifies the read counter load signal generating section 43C that the information has been written into the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n (i.e., the write counter 43B sends a write termination signal to the read counter load signal generating section 43C). For example, when a write counter counts up as shown in FIG. 45(c), a write termination signal is output to the read counter load signal generating section 43C every time the writing of the cell data into the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n has been finished, as shown in FIGS. 45(g) to 45(i).
Upon receipt of the write enable signal from the write signal generating section 43A, the read counter load signal generating section 43C generates a read counter load signal on the basis of the write termination signal from the write counter 43B. This read counter load signal is input to read counters 45C-1 to 45C-n. The read counter load signal is produced for each of the ports.
In response to the read counter load signal from the read counter load signal generating section 43C, the read counters 45C-1 to 45C-n count up in the manner shown in, for example, FIGS. 45(j), 45(m), and 45(p). The read counters 45C-1 to 45C-n then generate read address (RADD) signals for use in the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n as well as read enable (REN) signals as shown in FIGS. 45(k), 45(n), and 45(q). The fixed-length cell data are sequentially read from the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n on the basis of the read enable signals (see FIGS. 45(l), 45(o), and 45(r)). The thus-read fixed-length cell data are sent to P/S converting sections 42-1 to 42-n.
In the multiplexing operation of this type of general fixed-length cell multiplexing/distributing device 201, the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n corresponding to the ports are monitored, in that order, from the FIFO memory device 204-1 in response to respective monitor enable signals, as shown in FIGS. 46(a) to 46(c). Therefore, if, as shown in FIG. 46(d), the FIFO memory device 204-1 is monitored in accordance with the monitor enable signal (indicated by 1 in FIG. 46) before the writing of the fixed-length cell data into the FIFO memory device 204-1 has been completed, the fixed-length cell data are judged as being unfixed. As a result, the fixed-length cell data are not read.
On the other hand, if, as shown in FIG. 46(e), the FIFO memory device 204-n is monitored in accordance with a corresponding monitor enable signal (indicated by 2 in FIG. 46) after the writing of the fixed-length cell data into the FIFO memory device 204-n has been completed, the fixed-length cell data of the FIFO memory device 204-n are judged as being fixed. As a result, that fixed-length cell data are read.
The previously described fixed-length cell data, which are received by the FIFO memory device 204-1 and are determined as being unfixed, are read by the next monitor enable signal (indicated by 3 in FIG. 46). Consequently, the data stored in the FIFO memory device 204-1 which stores the highest-priority fixed-length cell data cannot be sent preferentially, and the fixed-length cell data following the highest-priority fixed-length cell data are sent most preferentially, as shown in FIG. 46(f).
The higher the number of virtual channels to be processed, the poorer the authenticity of first-come, first-served processing. If, in the course of the processing carried out in the fixed-length cell multiplexing section 201A and subsequent sections, the amount of the fixed-length cell data exceeds the storage amount of the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n, the highest-priority fixed-length cell data may be abandoned due to congestion, which in turn results in an increase in the length of delay. In the preferential processing for simultaneously arrived fixed-length cells, it is substantially impossible to accurately specify the port whose fixed-length cell is to be preferentially output, because of the difference in the order of monitor positions.
With regard to the distribution processing, each port is provided with the corresponding one of the FIFO memory devices 204-1 to 204-n, and read control sections (i.e., the read counters) are provided so as to correspond to the number of the memory devices, which resulting in an increase in a circuit scale. Further, the subsequent fixed-length cell data are immediately output after certain fixed-length cell data have been output, which makes it difficult to distinguish these two fixed-length cells from each other and, eventually, this results in inferior processing capability.

Fixed-length cell multiplex transmission apparatus, fixed-length cell multiplex transmission method, fixed-length cell transmtting apparatus, fixed-length cell multiplexing apparatus, and fixed-length cell distributing apparatus


An axle assembly may have at least one electric motor/generator. The motor/generator may be connected to a first sun gear. A first gear of a first planet carrier may be meshed with the first sun gear. A first ring gear may be meshed with a second gear of the first planet carrier. A second ring gear, a second sun gear and a second planet carrier may be provided. A selector sleeve may selectively connect a selector spline connected to the first ring gear and a ground for a low output speed, the selector sleeve may selectively connect the first and second ring gears with the first planet carrier for a high output speed and selector sleeve selectively connect to only the first ring gear for neutral.

Hybrid vehicles are enjoying increased popularity and acceptance due in large part to the cost of fuel and greenhouse carbon emission government regulations for internal combustion engine vehicles. Such hybrid vehicles include both an internal combustion engine as well as an electric motor to propel the vehicle.
Hybridization extends to commercial vehicles as well. A typical six-wheel arrangement for a commercial vehicle includes an axle having steerable wheels at the front end of the vehicle and tandem axles at the rear of the vehicle. Commercial vehicles having two or more rear axles (i.e., tandem axles) allow such vehicles to carry greater loads when compared to vehicles and trailers having a single axle.
Traditional tandem axle drivelines include 6×4 drivelines (i.e., 2 wheels on the steer axle and 4 driving wheels on tandem axles behind the steer axle) or 6×2 drivelines (i.e., 2 wheels on the steer axle and 4 wheels on the tandem axles behind the steer axle where only two wheels are on a drive axle). Any axle in the tandem axles may be a drive axle or a dead axle. When an additional axle (secondary axle) is a dead axle, it may be positioned before (a pusher axle) or after (a tag axle) a drive axle.
It may be useful and advantageous to have an electric tag or pusher axle that can provide high torque for selective use to get the vehicle moving, any time when additional power is needed, or when there is a loss of traction. The electric tag or pusher axle may then turn off, or reduce power, to save electric power and/or when supplemental power is no longer needed. An electric tag or pusher axle may also advantageously provide energy harvesting/energy recuperation abilities.


Telecommunication services systems and methods are disclosed. The telecommunication services systems and methods preferably enable the user and/or the responsible party to make payments as the user uses the telecommunication services. The systems and methods may also be employed to provide the user and/or the responsible party with specialized pricing options and other customized services.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunication services systems and methods, and in particular, to telecommunication services systems and methods that enable the user to make payments as the user uses the telecommunication services. The systems and methods may also be employed to provide the user with specialized pricing options and other customized services.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the art of telecommunication services to provide calling card accounts to customers. A customer receives account information in the form of a personal identification number ("PIN") and a toll free access number that allows the customer to utilize the account. The accounts are generally one of two types: (1) a pre-paid account, which is an account with a pre-defined amount of usage paid for in advance by the customer; and (2) a usage-based account, which is an account that is billed on a periodic billing cycle according to usage during the billing period.
Pre-paid wireless (cell phone) service provides an illustrative example. Pre-paid wireless service enables customers to utilize the convenience of cellular and digital communications by establishing a prepaid account with a wireless telecommunication vendor. Typically, prepaid wireless cards, each card corresponding to a wireless services account, are purchased in preset denominations in a limited number of locations. The cards are issued in fixed value increments, for example, $20, $50 or $100. Each card provides the user with a specified amount of wireless calling dollars or minutes. After the initial allocation is exhausted (or before), the user can "recharge" or reload their wireless account usually by calling an 800 number, having a credit card handy, and either talking with a customer service representative (CSR) or using an automated system to charge additional minutes to the credit card.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,545 discloses a method for effecting payment of goods or services. The method includes establishing an intermediary account and associating the intermediary account with a user account maintained by a vendor. The method permits the user to, e.g., pre-pay for telecommunication services.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,282,276 discloses a method for billing a value-added service call. Value-added service calls include calls that have traditionally been "800" or "900" number calls.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,055 discloses a system and method for charging a pre-paid wireless call user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,706 discloses a system and method for accessing the value associated with a pre-purchased amount of telecommunication time.
WO 01/82582 A2 discloses a communication billing system that provides interrelated processing of wireless service events and wire line service events.
WO 02/11422 A2 discloses a communication account system for dynamically providing communication accounts to communication devices for immediate transfer to users. The system includes a means of determining an amount of prepaid time for a communication.
The pre-paid systems such as those discussed above are burdensome to both the user and the telecommunication services provider. There is thus a need for a system and method for affecting payment for telecommunication services that enables a user to pay as the user uses the telecommunication services. There is also a need for a system and method that provides convenient payment options to the user.

Systems and methods for monitoring “pay-as-you-go” telecommunication services


The negative supply voltage and isolation well bias used by the drivers during sector or chip level erase operations are decoded separately from each other and from the decoding of the inputs of the individual wordline drivers in a compact wordline driver and decoder system. An integrated circuit memory comprising an array of memory cells arranged in a plurality of segments, a set of wordlines is coupled to the memory cells in the array, and wordline driver circuitry using shared isolation well MOS transistors coupled to the set of wordlines is provided. The wordline driver circuitry includes a first supply voltage source, a second supply voltage source, a third supply voltage source for the shared isolation well and a set of wordline drivers. The wordline drivers are coupled to the first, second and third supply voltage sources, and selectively drive wordlines in the set of wordlines with a wordline voltage from either the first supply voltage source or the second supply voltage source in response to address signals which identify the respective drivers. The second supply voltage source includes a set of supply voltage selectors. Each supply voltage selector in the set is coupled with a subset of the set of drivers. The subset of drivers is coupled with a respective segment in the array. The supply voltage selectors select a negative erase supply voltage or an erase inhibit supply voltage during an erase mode in response to address signals identifying the respective segments. The selected negative erase supply voltage or erase inhibit supply voltage is applied to the subsets of the set of drivers which are coupled to the respective segment on a segment by segment basis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wordline drivers used in memory arrays which are capable of driving both positive and negative voltages on the wordlines; and more particularly to floating gate memory devices which apply a negative voltage to wordlines during an erase mode, and a positive voltage to individual wordlines during a read mode and a program mode.
2. Description of Related Art
In nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices based on floating gate memory cells, such as those known as flash EEPROM, positive and negative voltages are used to read and write data into the nonvolatile memory array. The writing of data into the nonvolatile memory array for floating gate devices involves processes known as the program and erase modes. The erase mode involves setting an entire array, or at least a sector of an array, to a single state, in which either all of the cells in the array (or sector) have a low threshold or all of the cells in the array (or sector) have a high threshold. Whether the erased state is a high threshold state, in which the floating gate of the cell is charged or a low threshold state in which the floating gate is discharged, depends on the particular implementation of the flash memory. The programming mode involves charging or discharging the floating gate of individually addressed cells in the array to establish the opposite threshold level with respect to the erased state.
It is well known that in order to discharge the floating gate, it is advantageous to apply a negative voltage to the wordline for the cell to be discharged. This assists in driving electrons out of the floating gate into the source, drain or channel regions of the cell, which are typically biased to a positive level to attract the electrons. However, circuitry for applying a negative voltage to a wordline presents some difficulties.
Wordline drivers must be capable of driving a positive voltage during a normal read mode for the device to selected wordlines in response to decoded addresses. It has proved difficult in the prior art to provide a wordline driver with the simple circuitry that can also apply a negative voltage to selected the wordlines. Prior systems for applying negative voltages to the wordlines have overridden the decoding function which drives the wordline driver, making it impossible to selectively apply negative voltages to individual wordlines. See, for instance, European Patent Application No. 92112727.0 entitled NON-VOLATILE SEMI-CONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE HAVING ROW DECODER, invented by Atsumi, et al. (Publication No. 0 525 678 A2); and European Patent Application No. 92830115.9, entitled DECODER CIRCUIT CAPABLE OF TRANSFERRING POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE VOLTAGES, invented by Gastaldi (Publication No. 0 559 995 A1). In both of these European patent applications, a wordline driver is disclosed which provides a positive voltage to selected wordlines for normal read mode operations, but overrides the selecting function of the decoder during an erasing mode to apply a negative voltage to all wordlines. Because the decoding function is overridden, negative wordline voltages are applied to circuitry for all cells, even during a sector erase. This results in disturbance of cells that are not being erased.
In alternative systems, separate drivers, one for positive voltage and one for negative voltage, at opposite ends of the wordline and each coupled to the decoding circuit have been used. For instance, Arakawa, U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,541, entitled PROGRAMMABLE READ ONLY MEMORY USING STACKED-GATE CELL ERASABLE BY HOLE INJECTION, and Arakawa, U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,200 entitled ELECTRICALLY ERASABLE AND PROGRAMMABLE READ ONLY MEMORY USING STACKED-GATE CELL, describe a system for driving a wordline with a positive and negative voltage based on the use of separate drivers. (See, for instance, FIG. 3 of Arakawa's U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,541 patent).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,480 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EPROM NEGATIVE VOLTAGE WORDLINE DECODING, invented by Schreck, describes a system in which each wordline has an independent negative voltage charge pump in order to provide for decoding in a negative voltage and positive voltage state. However, when a single negative voltage source is coupled to a plurality of wordline drivers, all wordlines are driven negative at the same time. Thus, the Schreck circuit is impractical in large memory systems because of the expense and complexity in repeating large numbers of charge pumps on a single chip.
Venkatesh, et. al., "A55 ns 0.35 .mu.m 5 V-only 16M Flash Memory with Deep-Power-Down," 1996, IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, Paper JP 2.7, pp. 44-45; discloses a wordline driver for positive and negative voltages (FIG. 1(a)), and mentions sector erase. However, there is no discussion of decoding of the wordlines during erase. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,867 (FIG. 4), entitled ADJUSTABLE THRESHOLD VOLTAGE CONVERSION CIRCUIT, invented by Chen, et. al.
It is desirable to provide a simplified wordline driver capable of selectively applying positive or negative voltages to a wordline during a program mode in a floating gate device, or otherwise to the wordline in a memory array. It is further desirable that the driver be small in layout, and support sector level erase operations in which the wordlines of memory cells in the block to be erased are driven with negative voltages.

Block decoded wordline driver with positive and negative voltage modes using four terminal MOS transistors


An image quality adjustment apparatus obtains correction data for correcting display unevenness of a display panel by capturing an image of the display panel using a camera, and includes a moire frequency control unit that performs a control to position the display panel and the camera at a predetermined relative angle with respect to each other, an unevenness measurement unit that measures the display unevenness of the display panel based on the image captured by the camera, and a correction data generation unit that generates the correction data based on the unevenness measured by the unevenness measurement unit. Arranging the panel and the camera at the predetermined relative angle shifts a spatial frequency component of a moire pattern occurring in the image captured by the camera out of a region where a spatial frequency component of the display unevenness is present, and removes an influence of the moire pattern.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image quality adjustment apparatus and correction data generation method for generating correction data for correcting display unevenness caused by manufacturing variations, and an image quality adjustment technique using the apparatus and method.
Description of the Related Art
It is known that display unevenness occurs in display panels, such as liquid crystal panels, organic EL panels, and the like, due to manufacturing variation. For example, in the case of liquid crystal panels, it is known that display unevenness occurs due to uneven cell gaps or uneven illumination of the backlight. In the case of organic EL panels, it is known that display unevenness occurs due to uneven illumination of light emitting devices included in respective pixels. In order to provide consumers with a high-quality display panel with reduced display unevenness, an image quality adjustment apparatus is used to measure display unevenness (unevenness data) in advance in the production line, and based on the measured unevenness data, generate correction data. The generated correction data is written to a ROM of a correction circuit incorporated in the display panel. When the display panel is driven according to display data, the correction circuit reads out the correction data, and based on the correction data, corrects the display data, depending on the display panel, so that an image free from display unevenness can be displayed.
In measurement of display unevenness, a predetermined test pattern image is displayed on a display panel, and an image of the displayed test pattern image is then captured using a camera including a CCD (CCD camera). However, the pixels of a display panel and the pixels of the CCD of a CCD camera are arranged in a regular grid pattern, and therefore, unless both of the arrangements completely match, a moire pattern occurs. If correction data is calculated based on a captured image containing a moire pattern, display unevenness cannot be accurately corrected, which is a problem.

Image quality adjustment apparatus, correction data generation method, and image quality adjustment technique using the apparatus and method