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The plasma membrane of a cell separates the cytoplasm of the cell from its outer environment, and it is primarily composed of a phospholipid bilayer and proteins embedded in the bilayer or attached to the surface thereof. Normally the plasma membrane functions as a gatekeeper which controls trafficking of essential substances into and out of the cell. However, the cell plasma membrane also functions as a permeability barrier and blocks the passage of many useful therapeutic agents. Generally, hydrophilic molecules, highly charged molecules and macromolecules such as nucleic acid, or genes meet difficulties in crossing the cell membranes. Therefore, there is a need for a reliable means of transporting drugs and macromolecules into cells. Heretofore, a number of transporter molecules such as lipids, polymers, and dendrimers have been proposed to be capable of escorting target molecules across biological membranes, but because they are not water soluble or biodegradable, they tend to precipitate in the cell to cause toxicity. Proteins having a PTD (protein transduction domain) that allows protein permeation through the plasma membrane include HIV-1 Tat peptide, Antennapedia (Antp) homeodomain protein, Herpes virus protein VP22, and Nuclear localization signal (NLS) sequence. The above-mentioned protein domain seems to facilitate the permeation across biological membranes without the help of any specific transporter or receptor associated with the cell. Further, they contain a high content of basic amino acid residues such as arginine and lysine. For example, the basic region (i.e., 49-57 a.a.) of the Tat protein, which is a necessary transacting transcriptional activator of HIV virus reproduction, has been reported to play a critical role in the process of the protein permeation through the plasma membrane. A number of studies have reported that various oligopeptides having a multiple arginine residues can be used as molecular transporters. From these studies, it has been found that oligomers having eight to nine arginine residues show the highest permeability and are most effective in enhancing the transportation of molecules attached thereto across a biological membrane, suggesting that the guanidine group of arginine plays a crucial role in the transportation of molecules attached thereto across a biological membrane. Wender et al. designed peptoid molecular transporters based on the fact that the biological membrane permeability of a peptide largely depends on the number of the guanidine group in the peptide, the length of the linker chain, and the chirality thereof. It was found that an L-arginine nonamer is 20-times more effective in the transportation across a biological membrane than Tat protein (49-57 a.a.), and a D-arginine nonamer was also much more effective in the uptake by Jurkat cells, as was determined using FACS (P. A. Wender, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97: 13003, 2000). These results suggest that the permeability of peptides having a specific number of guanidine groups is not significantly dependent on by the chirality of the amino acid (U.S. Pat. No. 6,495,663; Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-12809). However, such polyarginine peptide or related peptoid molecules have the problems of being eliminated by rapid metabolism in the liver and kidney and the tendency that they show in vivo toxicity. Further, a peptide or peptoid having a plurality of guanidine residues can maintain its helical structure only in a basic environment, and this fact suggests that its membrane permeability depends largely on the positively charged guanidinium groups rather then the secondary or tertiary structure thereof. The present inventors have therefore endeavored to develop molecular transporters prepared by introducing positively charged guanidinium groups to sugar or its analogue having a linear or branched form with a high density of functionality, and have found that such molecular transporters significantly enhance the transportation of various physiologically active molecules attached thereto either covalently or ionically, across a biological membrane.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to treating articles with reactive spray and, more specifically, to an apparatus and method for etching or otherwise chemically treating electronic printed circuit board substrates. 2. Prior Art The art is replete with various disclosures of apparatus and methods of etching printed circuit board substrates. "Handbook of Printed Circuit Manufacturing" by Raymond H. Clark, 1985 Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., Inc., pp 396-416, discloses etching in detail. "Printed Circuits Handbook", second edition, by Clyde F. Coombs, Jr., 1979 McGraw-Hill, Inc. pp 8-8:8-45 also disclose etching. One type of etching technique is called spray etching. Spray etching techniques include single or double sided etching with either horizontal or vertical positioning of the printed circuit board substrate. In single side horizontal etchinq, it is known that spraying etchant upward onto a substrate can be used for producing very fine line work. There also exist automatic horizontal etching machines such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,781,205; 4,190,481 and 3,935,041. Various problems exist in the spray etching technology. Generally, uneven etching can result when both sides of a double sided printed circuit board substrate are etched simultaneously in either a horizontal or vertical spray etcher. In the vertical system, etching solution can run down the board causing uneven etching activity from the top of the board to the bottom. With the horizontal system, puddling of etchant can occur on the top side of the board causing different etching activity than on the bottom side. This problem has become more important as finer line geometries have been developed particularly in the range of line widths under 10 mils wide and, more particularly, to very fine line etching below 5 mils in line width. It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for etching printed circuit board panels with a substantially reduced risk of uneven etching. It is another objective of the present invention to provide spray etching for very fine line etching. It is another objective of the present invention to provide single side spray etching which can etch very fine lines on a first side of a printed circuit board panel, but can protect the panel's opposite second side from contact with the etchant. It is another objective of the present invention to provide a means for preventing etchant sprayed upwardly against printed circuit board panels from dislodging or moving the panels upward away from the support conveyed. It is another objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism according to the present invention that can be installed or adapted for use in horizontal spray etchers known in the art. It is another objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism according to the present invention that can relatively easily be removed from and installed in sprayer apparatus. It is another objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism according to the present invention that can provide a temporary mask for a whole side of an article being sprayed that can travel at the same speed as an article conveyor to prevent damage to the article being conveyed. It is another objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism according to the present invention that can allow fine line etching of thin copper with relatively little undercut.

It is well known in the art to provide cup holder assemblies having cup holders adapted to receive objects of various diameters and shapes. Such features include spring loaded grippers designed to provide a variable diameter of the cup holder. Other features include inserts having a tiered interior diameter so as to accommodate cups of various sizes. However, there are many disadvantages of the previously known cup holder assemblies. Specifically, spring loaded grippers are susceptible to damage as movable parts wear upon increased use. Also, the spring grippers can be contaminated by spillage from the cup retained in the cup holder and are difficult to clean. Further, the ability of inserts to accommodate objects of various diameters is limited to the number of tiers provided by the insert. Moreover, insertion of the object within the insert contained in the cup holder often results in the disengagement of the insert from the cup holder as the insert has attached to the object itself. In order to prevent the above disadvantages of the known cup holders it has been known to provide the cup holders with various shapes. One such cup holder assembly includes a container support region that has two receptacles for the temporary storage of items. Each receptacle is defined by walls of an upwardly opening blind inverted conical frustum. By selecting a tapered shape, such as a cone, allows the container support region 110 to be stacked for convenient storage when not in use. As the container support region, including the receptacles, are designed to be stacked for convenient storage, the container support region is constructed of a substantially rigid material to resist flexion under its intended use. Although providing a receptacle formed having an inverted conical frustum shape, which is formed of a rigid material, allows for the receipt of objects of various diameters, the rigid conical frustum fails to provide sufficient engagement between the receptacle and the object to adequately retain a vertical orientation of the object. As cup holders are often filled with objects filled with a liquid material, it is imperative that the cup holder be able to retain an upright orientation of the object to prevent spillage of the liquid contained therein. Maintaining the proper upright orientation of the object filled with liquid is particularly important in cup holder assemblies designed for automotive vehicles as driving operations often provides an inertia to the object such that cup holder assemblies that fail to maintain the upright orientation of the object result in spillage of liquid contained in the object. The inability of the cup holder assembly to properly retain the object in its upright orientation results in a decreased customer satisfaction. Thus, there exists a need in the art to provide an improvement over known cup holder assemblies having a structure capable of accommodating objects of various diameter and providing sufficient frictional resistance of the object to maintain an upright orientation.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to automated computer processing of invoices, payments, and money transfers. 2. Description of the Related Art For years companies have been trying to move transactions into an electronic system. Large businesses have the resources and scale to justify the installation of new electronic systems. However, for a large segment of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), such attempts have not fared well. This is because it is not cost effective for SMEs to install a dedicated system and there is no standardized transaction system to allow the sharing of costs among many different businesses. In addition, traditional payment methods typically require related parties to know each other's bank accounts. For example, in order for a payor to electronically transfer a payment into a vendor's bank account, the payor must know the vendor's bank account number and ABA routing number. When the vendor receives the payment, it can also find out the payor's bank account number. Thus, entities cannot hide their bank account information when making/receiving payments using the traditional payment methods.

A drilling installation constituted by drill strings enabling information to be transmitted between the bottom of a borehole being drilled and the surface of the ground is already described in French patent 2 777 594 in the name of the Applicant. As explained in that document, while a borehole is being drilled, it is very important to be able to transmit to the surface information that is collected by sensors mounted in the vicinity of the drilling tool, which tool is fixed to the bottom end of the drill string. One of the solutions proposed in the above-mentioned French patent is described below with reference to accompanying FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a drill string made up of a rod 10a constituting the bottom rod, a rod 10b constituting the top rod, and intermediate rods. A drilling tool 12 is fixed to the bottom end of the rod 10a and has measurement sensors 14. The inside face 16 of the rod 10 is coated in a layer of insulating material 18 over the entire length of the drill string. Furthermore, the drill string is disposed inside a borehole 20 that is being drilled, which borehole is filled with drilling mud 22 that conducts electricity. To enable information to be transmitted, there is a first induction coil 24 disposed close to the bottom end of the rod 10a and connected to the measurement sensor 14. There is also an inductive coupler coil 26 mounted inside the top rod 10b and connected to conductors such as 28 for transmitting electrical signals picked up by the coil 26 to a processor device. Because of the presence of the insulating layer 16, a closed current loop is established constituted firstly through the drilling mud 30 filling the inside of the rod 10 and secondly through the assembly constituted by the wall of the rod 10 and by the mud 32 outside the rod 10. Using the bottom coil 24, alternating current (AC) representing information is induced in the current loop, with this AC being picked up by the receiver coil 26. Such a installation for transmitting information via a drill string gives satisfactory results in some situations. Nevertheless, it will be understood that information is transmitted via two electromagnetic couplings corresponding to the two coils or toruses which are disposed respectively close to the top end of the drill string and close to its bottom end carrying the tool. These two couplings, constituting current transformers, present the particular characteristic of comprising a very large number of turns wound on toruses. In contrast, the other element of the coupling is constituted by a single turn and consists in the single current loop established essentially via the mud contained in the drill string. Electromagnetic coupling of that type is not optimal and its efficiency or effectiveness can turn out to be insufficient, particularly when the electrical conductivity of the mud is low.

In fabrication of semiconductor devices, particularly fabrication of SRAM bitcells, traditional methods utilize fins generated using a single sidewall image transfer (SIT) process. However, traditional single SIT methods may only generate fins having a fin pitch greater than 40 nm. Further, traditional SIT methods generate a constant fin pitch, resulting in an inefficient use of layout area. A need therefore exists for methodology enabling a generation of fins having a variable fin pitch less than 40 nm, and the resulting device.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image capturing apparatus such as a digital camera and a digital video camera and control method thereof. 2. Description of Related Art As a conventional digital camera, there is a digital camera of the type that objective functions are operated by using a menu button, a four-way operational button, a SET button and the like (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-51977). The objective functions include a function of selecting the number of frames of captured images stored in a memory card to be displayed on a liquid crystal display unit, a function of changing the captured image displayed on the liquid crystal display unit to the next or previous captured image, and other functions. Erroneous operations may be performed, however, in the state that an objective button is difficult to be visually recognized, such as in a dark environment and in the state that an objective button is hard to be manipulated.

Recent attempts to achieve high-altitude, long-endurance flight for aircraft have been based on two approaches. The first approach focused on a lighter-than-air, blimp-like craft having solar cells and electric motors driving multiple propellers. The second approach focused on a conventional aircraft having long, narrow conventional airfoils/wings (high aspect ratio wings) covered with solar cells and having multiple electric motors and propellers disposed along the wings. An example of the first approach includes the High-Altitude Airship by Lockheed Martin fabricated for the Missile Defense Agency, which has the potential to be unwieldy, expensive, and susceptible to high wind loads. An example of the second approach includes the Helios craft fabricated by Aerovironment for NASA, which had fragile, 240-foot long wings. Helios crashed due to turbulence and aeroelastic instability off Hawaii in 2003. According to the Breguet endurance formula for propeller-driven aircraft, an aircraft's endurance is proportional to η, the propeller efficiency, CL3/2/CD, where CL is the lift coefficient and CD is the drag coefficient, and √(ρS), where ρ is the air density and S is the wing area. Conventionally, if the aircraft does not carry fuel but is rather powered by solar energy, it is designed to have the lowest possible weight (Wt) and the highest possible energy storage efficiency E/Wt to enable flight during the night. One way to increase CL3/2/CD is with high-aspect-ratio, long flimsy wings that are known to inhibit aircraft safety and maneuverability. Increasing the wing area S in a conventional wing adds too much weight, and adding battery-assisted solar cells or fuel cells makes the vehicle too heavy, which reduces payload ratio. For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.

Data storage devices store digitally encoded information on a data storage medium, such as a disc. A head is used to read and/or write information to the disc or storage medium. The head includes a transducer element, such as a writer and/or reader, which is fabricated on or coupled to a slider body to read and/or write information to the disc or media. Typically, the head flies over the disc surface via pressurization of an air bearing surface or surfaces of the slider body. In particular, during operation, rotation of the disc creates an air flow along air bearing surfaces of the slider so that the slider floats above the disc surface for read or write operations. The head is positioned relative to data tracks on the disc surface via a head actuator. The head is coupled to the actuator via a suspension assembly. The suspension assembly includes a load beam, which supplies a load force to the slider body which counteracts the lifting force of the air bearing surface to provide a fly height of the slider body relative to the disc or media surface for read or write operations.

1. Field of the Invention Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein generally relate to methods and devices, and more particularly, to mechanisms and techniques for actuating one or more vanes of a variable inlet guide vanes system. 2. Description of the Prior Art Actuation systems for adjusting guide vanes are used in turbomachinery equipment, including but not limited to compressors, pumps, and expanders. In particular, variable inlet guide vanes (IGV) may be used in compressor applications to adjust an angle of incidence of inlet air into a first compressor rotor and to control an amount of inlet air to ensure proper surge and to maximize efficiency. The actuation system may be employed e.g., for recovering methane, natural gas, and/or liquefied natural gas (LNG). The recovered gases may originate from jetty pipelines in the form of boil-off gas (BOG). The recovery of such gasses would reduce emissions and reduce flare operations during the loading of LNG onto ships. Other applications of the actuation system are known in the art. Variable IGV systems provide a compressor with greater capacity control and reduce energy loss by varying the flow and pressure ratio of air and/or fluids into the compressor based on operating conditions. In this regard, it is noted that a compressor should be lightly loaded when started and then progressively loaded as the compressor becomes fully operational. The IGV system contributes to the control of gas flow during these phases. The variable IGV system is arranged at the inlet of the compressor and the vane blades can be rotated about their aerodynamic center to promote swirl. Moreover, by rotating the vane blades to have an optimal incidence angle with the compressor impeller's leading edge, inlet losses can be minimized. An example of an adjustable IGV system is shown in FIG. 1, which is reproduced from M. Hensges, Simulation and Optimization of an Adjustable Inlet Guide Vane for Industrial Turbo Compressors from the Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2008: Power for Land, Sea and Air (Jun. 9-13, 2008), the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. FIG. 1 illustrates an adjustable IGV actuation system 100 including an actuator lever 102 directly connected to a first vane 104. The first vane 104 is connected via a drive arm 106 to a driving ring 108. The first vane 104 is rotatably attached to a guide vane carrier 110. A plurality of other vanes 112 are rotatably attached to the guide vane carrier 110. The plurality of vanes 112 are actuated by a plurality of linkages 114 that are connected to the driving ring 108. Thus, when the actuator lever 102 is rotated, it determines a rotation of the first vane 104 but also a displacement of the driving ring 108, which results in a movement of the plurality of linkages 114 and a rotation of the plurality of vanes 110. In operation, when an actuation force is applied to the actuator lever 102, the force is transferred to the driving ring 108 as an asymmetrical force that causes the driving ring 108 to rotate eccentrically. This happens as the plurality of linkages 114 are linked to the driving ring 108 on a single side of the driving ring, which makes the opposite side of the driving ring 108 free of any force, and thus unbalanced. The asymmetrical forces create a bending torque that may cause the vane assembly to deform, making it susceptible to misalignment and vibrations. Additionally, high actuation forces are required in order to drive the actuator lever 102 to rotate the driving ring 108, which exacerbates the bending torque. Another approach is to have a geared configuration, i.e., a geared mechanism between the driving ring and the guide vane carrier. However, this approach is not favored by the users as it requires high precision machining, a high actuation force and a design that takes into account the changing temperatures of the teeth. Still another problem observed in the traditional IGVs is the seizing of the adjustable vanes in applications where the vane assembly is subjected to cryogenic temperatures. This happens when a clearance between the driving ring and its housing is small and the thermal expansions of the driving ring and the housing are different. Yet another problem observed is that the location of the actuator lever 102 on a lateral side of the variable IGV increases the overall width of the assembly making them unsuitable for applications and installation beyond the first stage of a compressor. Accordingly it would be desirable to provide methods and devices that avoid that aforementioned problems and drawbacks.

The present invention relates to a switching type AC adapter, and more particularly to such a switching type AC adapter in which a current mode PWM (pulse-width-modulated) controller, a monostable multivibrator, and a MOSFET are installed, and operated to eliminate presence of horizontal synchronizing interference on the screen. A regular switching type AC adapter for an electric apparatus is comprised of a switching element, which is alternatively switched on and off to let a stable voltage be provided to the electric apparatus for working. When this structure of switching type AC adapter is used in a monitor, voltage waveform and current waveform are changed quickly upon switching of the switching element, causing the displayed picture to be interfered with an interference. More particularly, when this structure of switching type AC adapter is used in a television set, image signal which was converted from radio signal by a tuner tends to be interfered with harmonic waves, causing the picture to be distorted.

Patients with cardiac diseases recently show a rapid increasing tendency. One major cause is a delay of development of definitive drug for the treatment of cardiac diseases in addition to the increasing population of aged persons and changes of living environments. Cardiac diseases such as cardiac failure, cardiac hypertrophy, abnormal heart rate and valvular diseases have been mainly managed with symptomatic treatment of lesions including prevention of cardiac hypertrophy with a hypotensive agent, diet or exercise therapy. Particularly, cardiac diseases often accompanies with hypertension which is suspected to be one of a cause of aggravation, thus, hypotensive agents have been generally used. Among them, inhibitors of production or action of angiotensin II have often been tried because angiotensin II elevates blood pressure and stimulates proliferation of interstitial cells of heart causing aggravation of cardiac diseases. Therefore, elimination of these factors as far as possible is expected to improve the symptoms of cardiac diseases and determinative therapeutic drugs for cardiac diseases have been eagerly awaited. An agent for inhibiting the enzyme which converts angiotensin I to a pressor angiotensin II, that is angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor (ACEI) such as Enalapril or Captopril.RTM. has been used as a hypotensive. These hypotensives are reported to lower blood pressure and improve the progress of renal dysfunction (J. Clin. Pharmacol., 30:155-158, 1990). However, these drugs are pointed out to cause dry cough or adverse reaction of acute renal failure accompanied with hypotensive action and require carefil administration The Saishin-Igaku Modern Therapy), 48: 1404-1409, 1993!. In addition, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist (AGIIRA) was developed as a hypotensive. Two type 1 and 2 receptors of angiotensin II have been known. The type 1 has been known to participate in blood pressure, however, the action of type 2 has not thoroughly been elucidated, thus, an antagonist of type 1 receptor became a target for the development of hypotensive agent. A hypotensive imidazole derivative having potent antagonistic action to angiotensin II receptor, 2-butyl-4-chloro-5-(hydroxymethyl)-1-2'-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl! methyl!imidazole (DuP 753 or MK 954) has been known. Its action on renal diseases has already been investigated. Furthermore, compounds having similar chemical structure with that of above mentioned imidazole derivative have been disclosed in specifications, for example, Published Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 23,868 (1988), and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,128,355, 5,153,197 and 5,155,118. These compounds are disclosed to be effective to hypertension and congestive heart failure in Published Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 23,868 (1988), effective to hypertension in U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,197, effective to cardiac failure in U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,355, and effective in renal failure caused by non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,118, respectively. However, all these imidazole derivatives have characteristic potent angiotensin II receptor antagonistic action and exhibit hypotensive action. In addition, compounds having benzene structure are disclosed in, for example, EP058829A2 and EP0475206A2 and their indication to renal diseases are also disclosed. However, these benzene compounds have characteristic features of potent angiotensin II receptor antagonistic action accompanying hypotensive action. Administration of a benzene analogue, 2-N-propyl-N-2'-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl!methyl!amino!-pyridine- 3-carboxylic acid (A-81988), to rats with renal diseases was reported to show improvement in proteinuria accompanied with hypotension (J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 267: 657-663, 1993). That is, the above mentioned benzene analogues exhibit hypotensive action because of potent type 1 receptor antagonistic action and are likely to lead to acute renal failure by application to patients with renal diseases. Cardiac failure is a final stage in cardiac diseases with progressive symptoms and very poor prognosis of 50% survival rate within five years. Their treatment is classified in acute and chronic phases. Treatment in acute phase is mainly composed of countermeasures to sudden failure of cardiac pump function and administration of cardiotonics. On the other hand, chronic phase treatment is focused to arrest the progress of diseases and improve the quality of life (QOL). Under these situation, administration of cardiotonics in a similar manner to that of acute phase often leads to insuffticient therapeutic effect or aggravation of the prognosis. At present, it is clear that angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) solely improve the prognosis. However, some administration of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) caused hypotension as mentioned above and led to adverse reactions such as dry cough and acute renal failure. Treatment of cardiac diseases with conventional hypotensives basically requires potent hypotensives as far as possible. Though hypertension is an important symptom to be treated in cardiac diseases, not only to lower blood pressure but also to maintain appropriate blood pressure is important. Control of blood pressure by various combination of hypotensives at suitable dosages according to the symptoms are necessary. While cardiac diseases perse is desirably treated continuously with sufficient dosage, blood pressure control and effective treatment of cardiac diseases are essentially incompatible in the treatment with a sole drug. The inventors of the present invention have been investigating to find novel unknown characteristic compounds which exhibit sufficient improvement in renal disturbances and devoid of action on blood pressure, and found novel benzene derivatives with antagonistic action to type 1 receptor of angiotensin II at ratios of 1/100 to 1/1,000 or less to those of typical hypotensives and with sufficient improvement in renal disturbances without substantial antagonistic action Published Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 48,651 (1996) and Japanese Patent Application No. 148,382 (1996)!. The inventors of the present invention further investigated the pharmacological action of these benzene derivatives and found that these compounds not only improve renal failure, but also improve symptoms of cardiac diseases such as cardiac failure, while maintaining moderate blood pressure without lowering blood pressure. The present invention is accomplished on the bases of above mentioned characteristic results.

The following description is provided to assist the understanding of the reader. None of the information provided or references cited is admitted to be prior art. Systems can be used to monitor one or more conditions. For example, a thermal sensor can be used to measure the temperature of a room. Such systems can have an upper limit and a lower limit that, if the sensed temperature is above the upper limit or below the lower limit, can be used to set off an alarm. However, what is considered acceptable to occupants of the room may change over time.

Phthalocyanines are useful for preparation of paints, printing inks, catalysts, or electronic materials. In recent years, they have been extensively investigated for use in materials for electrophotographic photoreceptor, optical recording materials, and photoelectric conversion materials. In connection with electrophotographic photoreceptor, a laser printer utilizing semiconductor laser has been increasingly demanded, and various photoconductive materials for the semiconductor laser have been proposed. In particular, a large number of phthalocyanine compounds as photoconductive materials have been reported. It is known that a phthalocyanine compound generally exhibits varied crystal forms depending on a method of preparation and a method of processing thereof, and that this difference in crystal form exerts great influences on photoelectric conversion characteristics of the phthalocyanine compound. In connection with the crystal form of the phthalocyanine compound, in the case of copper phthalocyanine, for example, as well as a .beta.-type crystal form which is of the stabilized system, .alpha.-, .pi.-, .chi.-, .rho.-, .gamma.-, .delta.-, and like crystal forms are known. It is also known that the above crystal forms can transfer from one another upon application of mechanical stress, sulfuric acid treatment, organic solvent treatment, or heat treatment (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,770,629, 3,160,635, 3,708,292, and 3,357,989). In addition, JP-A-50-38543 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined Japanese patent application") describes a relation between the crystal form of copper phthalocyanine and electrophotographic characteristics. In connection with the crystal form of oxytitanium phthalocyanine, and electrophotographic characteristics, JP-A-62-67094 describes the .beta.-type crystal form which is of the stabilized system, and JP-A-61-2170506 describes the .alpha.-type crystal form obtained by the acid pesting method or the solvent treatment. In addition, JP-A-63-366, 64-17066. 1-153757, and 63-20365, for example, describe crystal forms other than the .alpha.- and .beta.-crystal forms. It is generally well known that doping of impurities in organic or inorganic semiconductors results in great changes of electric characteristics thereof. N.R. Armstrong et al report doping of I.sub.2, and changes of photoconductive characteristics are due to adsorption of O.sub.2, H.sub.2 O, etc., in an oxytitaniumphthalocyanine vacuum deposited film (AIP Conf. Proc., 167 (1988), Proc. Electrochem. Soc., 88 14, 267 (1987), and J. Phys. Chem., Vol. 91, 5646 (1987)). The aforementioned conventional oxytitanium phthalocyanine compounds, however, have poor crystallinity in solvents and thus cannot hold their crystal forms for a long time in the state after being dispersed and coated. Moreover, when used as photosensitive materials, they are not yet satisfactory in light sensitivity and durability.

One of the goals of current research on cell signaling and receptor activation is to enable therapeutic modulation of processes involved in cell growth and survival. Such processes determine outcome in diverse medical conditions, including organ failure, fetal development, and tumor growth, among others. Each of these conditions is of worldwide clinical importance, and has limited efficacious treatment options. It is an object of the invention to provide compositions and methods for promoting regeneration or survival of damaged tissue, as well as for treating disorders involving the aberrant growth and development of tissues. Tissue loss or end-stage organ failure affects millions of people worldwide each year and adds substantially to health care costs. Organ or tissue loss is usually treated by transplanting organs from donors, by surgical reconstruction, or with mechanical devices. Each of these remedies has shortcomings. Transplantation is limited by donor shortage, surgical reconstruction can create other long-term problems, and mechanical devices cannot perform all the functions of a single organ, and therefore cannot prevent progressive deterioration. Thus, a real medical need exists for new solutions to these problems. Protein factors that affect the growth, differentiation and/or survival of cells may be useful in the treatment of disorders of organs which contain responsive cells. Factors or ligands that interact with receptors of the receptor protein tyrosine kinase (RPTK) family are of particular interest in this regard. These receptors are involved in many cellular programs including cell growth and differentiation, and the genesis of many neoplasias. Thus the factors or ligands that interact with these receptors may prove useful in treating disorders of certain organs where the tissue has been damaged. Alternatively, it may be useful to block the interaction of these factors with their receptors in order to block tumor growth. The Ret proto-oncogene encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase that is expressed during development in a variety of tissues, including the peripheral and central nervous systems and the kidney. The abnormalities present in ret null mice suggest that Ret is critical for the migration and innervation of enteric neurons to the hindgut, and for proliferation and branching of the ureteric bud epithelium during kidney development (Nature 367, 380-383, 1994). The search for a key component of the Ret signaling pathway, the Ret ligand, has been an area of intensive research.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications services management. To be more precise, it relates to the management of telecommunication services using policy rules. The invention applies particularly well to networks using protocols of the Internet Protocol (IP) family or other protocols of higher level. 2. Description of the Prior Art Such networks provide services of various types, including virtual private networks (VPN), videoconferences, etc. The provision of these services impacts on the behavior expected of the network. The expected behavior can include compliance with a particular quality of service (QoS) associated with the service. In this case, the quality of service is negotiated between at least the operator of the telecommunication network and the provider of the service, in the form of a service level agreement (SLA). The SLA is then specified in a more technical form in a service level specification (SLS), which can conform to the specifications of the Internet engineering task force (IETF). In other words, the SLS is derived from an SLA and contains the technical parameters that must be used to implement the service. To provide a service on a telecommunication network, it is therefore necessary to set the network parameters to enable the service to be established, including compliance with the negotiated quality of service, for example. The parameters can be set using policy rules, referred to for simplicity hereinafter as rules. The rules typically include a set of conditions and a set of actions. The sets can be reduced to a single element, i.e. a rule may consist of only one condition and/or only one action. FIG. 1 shows how rules are implemented. Conventionally, they are defined at the level of a policy manager (PM) and then transmitted to a policy server (PS). The policy server is responsible for their application by network elements which in this context are referred to as policy enforcement points (PEP). The policy manager and the policy server are conventionally part of the network management layer (NML); to be more precise, they can belong to a network management system (NMS). However, it is important to note that a network may include only one of these elements, as the policy manager PM and the policy server PS can be two independent physical systems that can be marketed separately. It is apparent that there is an important semantic difference between the definition of the service, for example in the context of an SLA/SLS, and the corresponding rules, which must be implemented by the network elements or PEP, in particular the configurations of the network elements. In concrete terms, the difference can become apparent at two or more levels: Firstly, it obliges the designer of the service to have network expert knowledge. For example, it is incumbent on the service designer to decide how a virtual private network VPN should be implemented, for example whether the IPsec protocol must be used, or if preference must be given to the multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) technology. Secondly, it obliges the service designer to have access to the exact specifications of each network element to be configured. Depending on the manufacturer, the same type of network element (IP router, firewall, etc.) may be configured differently, because the capacities may be different. The object of the present invention is to alleviate this drawback and to facilitate the development of new services by means of rules.

(a) Field of the Invention This invention relates to a cap mounting arrangement in which a cap with a sealing member is detachably attached to a container to hermetically closes an opening of the container. (b) Description of Related Art Cap mounting arrangements of this type have conventionally been used, for example, for oil caps for engine oil filling provided on cylinder head covers in automobile engines. These oil caps are generally of a screw type which is fitted with an O-ring as a sealing member and closes an opening of a cylinder head cover by screwing internal threads formed on the opening of the cylinder head cover with external threads formed on the oil cap. For example, a cap mounting arrangement in which a cap opens/closes an opening serving as an engine oil inlet is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-81316 (page 2 and FIG. 1). The cap is of a screw type formed of a plug having external threads on its outer periphery and a flange formed at one end of the plug. The cap opens or closes the opening by turning the flange grasped with one hand to screw the plug into or out of the opening. In hermetically closing the opening with the cap in the above cap mounting arrangement, however, the plug cannot be screwed into the opening unless the external threads of the plug are properly mated with the internal threads of the opening. In such a case, the need is to detach the plug from the opening and try the closing (plug turning) again, which deteriorates workability. Further, when the cap has been tightly screwed on in order to avoid oil leakage through the opening, it is difficult to screw off the cap and a strong turning force is needed for cap removal. In the meantime, resin molded articles have been dominating as cylinder head covers and oil caps for the purpose of weight reduction or other purposes. With resin molded articles, the internal threads on the inner surface of the opening have undercut profiles when molded, which produces the need for using a mold having a sliding platen or a rotating platen. This results in raised mold cost. Therefore, there is a need for a cap mounting arrangement in which a cap with a sealing member can open and close the opening of a container without providing internal and external threads as described above. A known cap mounting arrangement in which a cap is inserted into an opening without providing internal and external threads is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-106530, though it is different in use from the first-mentioned cap mounting arrangement. In this arrangement, a mounting member for fixing a part to a vehicle body is formed with engaging holes and a slit extending in an axial direction, and a cap insertable into the mounting member is provided with engaging extensions for the engagement with the engaging holes and an engaging pin insertable into the slit. In mounting the cap to the mounting member, the engaging pin is engaged with the slit at its intermediate part so that the cap can be prevented from undesirably getting out of the mounting member.

Mobile communications networks are in the process of offering increasingly sophisticated capabilities associated with the motion and/or position location sensing of a mobile device. New software applications, such as, for example, those related to personal productivity, collaborative communications, social networking, and/or data acquisition, may utilize motion and/or position sensors to provide new features and services to consumers. Moreover, some regulatory requirements of various jurisdictions may require a network operator to report the location of a mobile device when the mobile device places a call to an emergency service, such as a 911 call in the United States. Such motion and/or position determination capabilities have conventionally been provided using digital cellular positioning techniques and/or Satellite Positioning Systems (SPS). Additionally, with the increasing proliferation of miniaturized motion sensors (e.g., simple switches, accelerometers, angle sensors, etc), such on-board devices may be used to provide relative position, velocity, acceleration, and/or orientation information. In conventional digital cellular networks, position location capability can be provided by various time and/or phase measurement techniques. For example, in CDMA networks, one position determination approach used is Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT). Using AFLT, a mobile device may compute its position from phase measurements of pilot signals transmitted from a plurality of base stations. Improvements to AFLT have been realized by utilizing hybrid position location techniques, where the mobile device may employ an SPS receiver that can provide position information independent of the information derived from the signals transmitted by the base stations. Moreover, position accuracy can be improved by combining measurements derived from both SPS and AFLT systems using conventional techniques. Furthermore, navigation devices often support popular and increasingly important SPS wireless technologies which may include, for example, the Global Positioning System (GPS) and/or a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Navigation devices supporting SPS may obtain navigation signals as wireless transmissions received from one or more transmitter equipped satellites that may be used to estimate geographic position and heading. Some navigation devices may additionally or alternatively obtain navigation signals as wireless transmissions received from terrestrial based transmitters to estimate geographic position and heading and/or include one or more on-board inertial sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc.) to measure an inertial state of the navigation device. Inertial measurements obtained from these on-board inertial sensors may be used in combination with or independent of navigation signals received from satellite and/or terrestrial based transmitters and/or inertial sensors on a vehicle (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, odometers, etc.) to provide estimates of geographic position and heading. However, conventional position location techniques based upon signals provided by SPS and/or cellular base stations may encounter difficulties when the mobile device is operating within a building and/or within urban environments. In such situations, signal reflection and refraction, multipath, and/or signal attenuation can significantly reduce position accuracy, and can slow the “time-to-fix” to unacceptably long time periods. These shortcomings may be overcome by having the mobile device exploit signals from other existing wireless networks (e.g., a wireless local area network (WLAN) that implements one or more 801.11x standards) to derive position information. Conventional position determination techniques used in other existing wireless networks may utilize a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or round trip time (RTT) measurements derived from signals utilized within these networks and/or knowledge relating to time delays that the signals incur when propagating through various devices that make up the network. Such delays may be spatially variant due to, for example, multipath and/or signal interference. Moreover, such processing delays may change over time based upon the type of network device and/or the network device's current networking load. Accordingly, conventional methods to augment position estimation using signals from SPS and/or cellular base stations and/or other existing wireless networks tend to be insufficient to effectively reduce error or location uncertainty. Moreover, using WLAN signals may incur additional costs in terms of hardware changes in wireless access points, time-consuming pre-deployment fingerprinting, and/or operational environment calibration, which may not be optimally exploited due to the existing limitations mentioned above. Further still, although sensor-assisted navigation techniques may use inertial sensors to overcome limitations associated with GPS and/or GNSS technology alone (e.g., when satellite signals may be unavailable in a parking garage or tunnel or severely degraded in urban canyons and other environments where sightlines to satellites may be blocked or subject to multipath propagation), existing sensor-assisted navigation techniques (e.g., dead reckoning techniques) typically advance a previous location fix according to known or estimated velocities and headings to calculate the current position and thereby navigate from the previous location fix. Furthermore, when navigating from absolute rest, existing sensor-assisted navigation techniques may not have any knowledge relating to an initial position until and/or unless GPS and/or GNSS signals can be suitably acquired and tracked, and moreover, an initial heading or other navigation state may be unavailable until sufficient vehicle movement has occurred to enable the inertial sensors to determine velocities or other suitable parameters that may indicate the heading. In other words, existing sensor-assisted navigation techniques tend to fall short in suitably providing an initial position estimate and navigation state at start-up because a previously determined position to advance may not exist and because an initially stationary device does not have any data available to estimate current velocities or headings (e.g., sensors that know wheel diameters and record wheel rotations and steering directions may not produce any relevant velocity or heading readings while in a stationary state).

1. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to the field of internal combustion engine controllers and more particularly to that portion of the above noted field which is concerned with the provision of exhaust gas sensors for use in analyzing the chemical composition of exhaust gases. More particularly still, the present invention is concerned with an exhaust gas sensor support or probe, which will be capable of withstanding the exhaust gas environment for substantial periods of time without cracking or exhibiting other typs of fatigue failure, and with its method of manufacture. 2. Description of the Prior Art Ceramic exhaust gas sensors of the electrically variable resistance type are known. For example, copending commonly assigned patent application Ser. No. 391,424 - "Air Fuel Ratio Sensor System" by H. L. Stadler et al. now U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,230 describes one such sensor fabricated from titania ceramic material and copending commonly assigned patent application Ser. No. 463,345 - "Air Fuel Ratio Sensor For Air Fuel Ratios In Excess Of Stoichiometry" now U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,028 describes such a sensor fabricated from cobalt monoxide ceramic material. Each of these materials demonstrates an electrical resistance change as a function of the partial pressure of oxygen in the gaseous environment of the ceramic material. The resistance changes may be measured by use of a pair of embedded electrodes. Each of these materials functions best at elevated temperature. However, the optimum operating temperature differs for the particular material. In order to operate the materials at their preferred operating temperature, the ceramic usually incorporates a heating means in the form of a platinum heater wire embedded within, or surrounding, the ceramic material. The embedding of the heater follows from the need to prevent any exothermic reactions from occurring at the surface of the platinum such as the catalyzation of carbon monoxide and the need to embed the resistance sensing leads. In attempting to develop a sensor configuration which may be used in production as an exhaust gas sensor for automobile combustion engines, difficulties have been encountered in the laboratory in mounting the sensitive sensor ceramic material to a support or probe member in such a way that the sensor is reliably operable for periods of time sufficient to meet the demands of automotive production. The presently utilized method comprises bonding or cementing the sensor ceramic directly to a support ceramic with the electrical leads passing through the bonding material. Sensor problems have arisen due to a variety of causes. In testing, sensor ceramics have become disunited from their support member. Also, vibrations induced by normal engine operation have operated to fracture the electrical wires at the surface of the ceramic sensor body. These problems are believed to stem, at least in part, from the fact that the resistive type ceramic exhaust gas sensor materials require a high degree of porosity in order to provide low response times. This high degree of porosity necessitates a mounting mechanism which places a minimum of the surface area of the sensor ceramic in masked contact with the support member. A further problem has arisen from the fact that the prior exhaust gas sensor probes have utilized sensor ceramics which have placed a heater element physically within the sensor ceramic. Expansion due to, for example, differential rates of heating has caused nonuniform stresses on the sensor ceramic further complicating the mounting mechanism. It is therefore a specific object of the present invention to provide a probe for supporting an exhaust gas sensor ceramic of the resistive type in such a fashion that fracturing of the ceramic and/or of the electrical connections may be minimized. More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a structure in which the heating means may be physically distinct and separate from the sensor ceramic. More particularly still, it is an object of the present invention to provide a probe for supporting a wafer of exhaust gas sensor ceramic material which is capable of shielding the wafer of sensor material from direct exhaust gas flow impingement. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a probe which will support a wafer of exhaust gas sensing material in gas flow contact with an exhaust gas stream while supporting a heating means in heat exchange relation with the exhaust gas sensor material without being in direct contact with the exhaust gas sensor ceramic. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a support member for a sensor ceramic which permits edge bonding between the ceramics without incorporating the electrical leads in the bond. It is a further object of the present invention to provide for edge bonding which does not require the use of cements or pastes. As noted hereinabove, two types of resistive exhaust gas sensor ceramics are known to operate at temperatures which differ by several hundred degrees centigrade. It follows from the difference in temperature requirements that substantial differences in the sensor ceramic support mechanism can be expected. It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide a ceramic support member for a resistive type exhaust gas sensor ceramic material which may be used with sensor ceramic materials which may require operation at widely different temperatures. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary heating mechanism for assisting an exhaust gas sensor ceramic and its support probe to retain sufficient quantities of heat so that the exhaust gas sensor ceramic material may operate with the assistance of the auxiliary means at temperatures substantially in excess of that at which it would operate in the absence of the auxiliary means.

Over the last few years, the popularity and the development of social networks has strongly increased. Indeed, an important number of social networks exist in parallel. Consequently, there has been a rising number of enterprises wanting to further leverage the benefits of this trend. However, the possibilities to bind several networks are limited. For example, a user A from Facebook™ cannot write an email to a user B from LinkedIn™ as neither is visible on the other network. Solutions such as social network aggregators have been implemented in order to aggregate several social networks and to provide them to end users. Nevertheless, these solutions do not fully comply with enterprises wishing to utilise and explore the potential of social networks, thus causing the following shortcomings. Although the aggregators enable to update information to multiple social networks, contacts of different social networks cannot be interconnected. In addition, enterprises are currently sceptical about using social networks as all information is publicly available. Furthermore, if enterprises expose a social account to customers, all the information associated with this social account are available as no levels of private grouping are currently possible in the popular social networks. Furthermore, enterprises that need to create their own social network for privacy reasons cannot do so at the moment, because there is no conception of creation of private social networks.

1. Field of the Invention The invention relates generally to the field of tendon anchoring systems. More particularly, in one aspect the invention relates to post tension systems for reinforcing concrete structures. 2. Background Art The present invention is described herein primarily with reference to post-tension anchoring devices and systems. However, the invention can be used in any application requiring retention of a tendon within an anchorage or other device which transfers tension from the tendon to another structure. Such applications include, without limitation, prestress chucks and couplers, post tensioning applications for bridges, post tension jacks, cable stay wedges, post tensioning applications for roads, bridge tie-backs, mine shaft wall and roof retainers, wall retainers and wall forming systems, multi head stressing jacks, heavy cable lifting systems, post tensioning slabs, barrier cable systems and single post tensioning rams. As is relates to post-tension anchoring systems, the background of the invention can be described as follows. For quite some time, the design of concrete structures imitated typical steel structure designs of columns, girders and beams. With technological advances in structural concrete, however, designs specific to concrete structures began to evolve. Concrete has several advantages with respect to steel, including lower cost, not requiring fireproofing, and having plasticity, a quality that lends itself to free flowing or boldly massive architectural concepts. On the other hand, structural concrete, though quite capable of carrying almost any compressive (vertical) load, is essentially unable to carry significant tensile loads. In order to enable concrete structures to carry tensile loads, it is necessary, therefore, to add steel bars, called reinforcements, to the concrete. The reinforcements enable the concrete to carry the compressive loads and the steel to carry the tensile (horizontal) loads. Structures made from reinforced concrete may be built with load-bearing walls, but this configuration does not use the full potential of the concrete. The skeleton frame, in which the floors and roofs rest directly on exterior and interior reinforced-concrete columns, has proven to be most economical and popular method of building concrete structures. Reinforced-concrete framing appears to be a quite simple form of construction. First, wood or steel forms are constructed in the sizes, positions, and shapes called for by engineering and design requirements. Steel reinforcing is then placed and held in position by wires at its intersections. Devices known as chairs and spacers are used to keep the reinforcing bars apart and raised off the form work. The size and number of the steel bars depends upon the imposed loads and the need to transfer these loads evenly throughout the building and down to the foundation. After the reinforcing is set in place, the concrete, a mixture of water, cement, sand, and stone or aggregate, of proportions calculated to produce the required compressive strength, is placed, care being taken to prevent voids or honeycombs. One of the simplest designs for concrete frames is the beam-and-slab. The beam and slab system follows ordinary steel design that uses concrete beams that are cast integrally with the floor slabs. The beam-and-slab system is often used in apartment buildings and other structures where the beams are not visually objectionable and can be hidden. The reinforcement is simple and the forms for casting can be used over and over for the same shape. The beam and slab system, therefore, produces an economically advantageous structure. With the development of flat-slab construction, exposed beams can be eliminated. In the flat slab system, reinforcing bars are projected at right angles and in two directions from every column supporting flat slabs spanning twelve or fifteen feet in both directions. Reinforced concrete reaches its highest potentialities when it is used in pre-stressed or post-tensioned members. Spans as great as 100 feet can be attained in members as deep as three feet for roof loads. The basic principle is simple. In pre-stressing, reinforcing rods of high tensile strength steel are stretched to a certain determined limit and then high-strength concrete is placed around them. When the concrete has set, it holds the steel in a tight grip, preventing slippage or sagging. Post-tensioning follows the same principle, but the reinforcing is held loosely in place while the concrete is placed around it. The reinforcing is then stretched by hydraulic jacks and securely anchored into place. Prestressing is performed with individual members in the shop and post-tensioning is performed as part of the structure on the construction site. In a typical tendon tensioning anchor assembly in such post-tensioning operations, there is provided a pair of anchors for anchoring the ends of the tendons suspended therebetween. In the course of installing the tendon tensioning anchor assembly in a concrete structure, a hydraulic jack or the like is releasably attached to one of the exposed ends of the tendon for applying a predetermined amount of tension to the tendon. When the desired amount of tension is applied to the tendon, wedges, threaded nuts, or the like, are used to capture the tendon and, as the jack is removed from the tendon, to prevent its relaxation and hold it in its stressed condition. One such post tensioning system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,607 issued to Rodormer. The general principle is explained with respect to FIG. 3 in the '607 patent and states, in relevant part, “[i]n accordance with conventional techniques, a center hole electro-hydraulic jack is placed on each tendon to tension the tendon. When the jack is released the live end anchor chuck 40 will set and grip the tendon holding the latter at the desired tension.” The retaining wedge known in the art is typically a conical-exterior shaped insert which fits in a mating, tapered opening in an anchor plate. The wedge may be divided into two or more circumferential segments to enable application to the exterior of the tendon or cable prior to insertion into the opening in the anchor plate. The interior opening of the wedge typically includes conventional buttress threads in order to deform and thus grip the exterior surface of the tendon or cable, such that when the jack or tensioning device is released, the tension in the tendon will be transferred to the wedge, and thus to the anchor plate (or other load transfer device). Recently, certification procedures for the tensile strength of post tensioning devices promulgated by the Post Tension Institute (PTI) were amended to provide a new minimum standard for the absolute ultimate tensile strength (AUTS) of post tensioning anchoring devices. As a result of the new certification procedures, it has been determined that post tensioning anchoring devices known in the art fail certification testing in a substantial number of cases. The steel alloys used in post tensioning anchoring devices are already developed to such an extent that improving the tensile strength of the anchoring devices themselves would be difficult and expensive. Accordingly, there is a need for a configuration of a post tensioning anchor system, or tendon retaining system for use in other tension applications, which has improved anchoring strength using materials known in the art, and while substantially maintaining the dimensions of post tensioning and other tendon anchor systems known in the art.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a top for a vehicle that has a stationary intermediate support between removable panels forward of the support and a multiple section retractable hardtop rearward of the support. 2. Background Art A wide variety of vehicle tops are available, ranging from conventional hardtops to retractable convertible tops. Recently, retractable hardtops have become more popular for high-end vehicles. Retractable hardtops require substantial storage space. The amount of storage space required for retractable hardtops increases as the size of the retractable hardtop panels increase and as the number of retractable sections increases. Most retractable hardtops are designed to be used in a fully extended position or a fully retracted position. There is a need for a retractable hardtop that provides additional operational positions that adds versatility to the top. The present invention is directed to overcoming the above problems by providing a simple, cost-effective and versatile retractable hardtop.

Decentralized wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are widely used in both military and commercial applications due to the advantages of scalability and robustness to link failures. WSNs are commonly employed for many applications including for environmental protection, structural monitoring and passive localization and tracking. A wireless sensor network can include a number of sensor nodes distributed across an area of interest. These nodes can operate as transceivers, communicating with one another in an ad-hoc or coordinated manner, and can be at known locations. For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures herein illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements. The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms “include,” and “have,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus. The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. The terms “couple,” “coupled,” “couples,” “coupling,” and the like should be broadly understood and refer to connecting two or more elements or signals, electrically, mechanically or otherwise. Two or more electrical elements may be electrically coupled, but not mechanically or otherwise coupled; two or more mechanical elements may be mechanically coupled, but not electrically or otherwise coupled; two or more electrical elements may be mechanically coupled, but not electrically or otherwise coupled. Coupling (whether mechanical, electrical, or otherwise) may be for any length of time, e.g., permanent or semi permanent or only for an instant. “Electrical coupling” and the like should be broadly understood and include coupling involving any electrical signal, whether a power signal, a data signal, and/or other types or combinations of electrical signals. “Mechanical coupling” and the like should be broadly understood and include mechanical coupling of all types. The absence of the word “removably,” “removable,” and the like near the word “coupled,” and the like does not mean that the coupling, etc. in question is or is not removable.

The foam heretofore known includes polyurethane, polyurea, polystyrene, polyolefin, and polycyclopentadiene foams. In addition, as an innovation conducive to improved productivity of polyolefin foam, an ionomer foam produced by reacting a carboxyl group-containing copolymer with a metal carbonate (Japanese Kokoku Publication Hei-2-11621) has been proposed. However, the conventional foams have several drawbacks: use of raw materials unfriendly to the environment, evolution of noxious gases and soot due to incomplete combustion, excessive generation of heat of combustion during incineration which detracts from the serviceable life of the incinerator, and generation of static electricity. The ionomer foam is also disadvantageous in that the starting carboxyl group-containing copolymer is either a solid or a super-high-viscosity liquid which requires a melt-kneading extruder capable of high temperature and high pressure services and that the expansion ratio is as small as about 2 to 5, thus failing to provide only a low-density foam. Furthermore, when the carboxyl group-containing copolymer is dissolved in water or an organic solvent to reduce its viscosity and fed to a low-pressure foaming machine, the insufficient foam strength tends to result in collapse of cells, thus failing to give a foam of low density. In addition, because the density of the foam is not sufficiently low, the temperature-time area and the emitting smoke factor are markedly increased in the test for incombustibility (JIS A-1321) so that the requirements for flame retardancy grades 1 to 3 are not satisfied. The inventors of the present invention explored into low-density foams that would be benign to the environment and could be easily produced, for example using a low-pressure foaming machine. The present invention is the result of this research endeavor.

Supplemental feeding of wild game has become a common practice among outdoorsmen. In an effort to improve animal health as well as animal numbers, more and more people who hunt have engaged in supplementing the normal food sources found in the wild. By providing feed such as various grains and minerals year-round, numerous species of animals can be attracted to an area (feeding site). Animal feeders are commonly used by outdoorsmen to distribute feed to attract wild game into a particular outdoor area. These animal feeders must typically be transported to the feeding site and set-up. Often times an outdoorsman will place more than one feeder to cover a particular hunting area. Larger or more bulky feeders are more inconvenient to use, as they require vehicles with substantial capacity to transport or more than one trip to move to a feeding site of interest. During the period of time that the animal feeder is being used, the user must regularly re-visit the feeding site to monitor food levels and replenish animal feed as needed. Once on site, in order to determine the status of the feed supply contained in the animal feeder, the user must often remove the covers or hatches or other parts of the animal feeder, or otherwise partially disassemble the animal feeder, in order to conduct a visual inspection of the feed storage compartment of the animal feeder. Wild game animals are very sensitive to smells and can easily detect the scent of a human being. Typically, when a wild game animal does detect the scent of a human its' natural response is to flee and stay away from the area in which the scent was detected. For this reason, it is in the outdoorsman's best interest to have as little contact with the animal feeder and/or the area where the animal feeder is located. A number of known animal feeders exist. These feeders are designed to hold and distribute animal feed at a given feeding site over a period of time typically defined by how long the animal feed supply lasts. In order to avoid a user having to make frequent trips to the feeder to refill its contents, typical feeders are configured to be large enough to hold enough feed to last a extended period of time. As result, they are large and bulky and typically difficult to transport. They also require substantial amount of space to store when the feeder is not in use. The typical feeder has no provisions for perpetual dispensing of feed. Thus it is necessary for a user to replenish the feeder with animal feed on a regular basis. This requires the user to visit the feeding site at which the animal feeder is located to see if the animal feeder is running low or has run out of animal feed supply. Supplemental feeding of wild game has become a common practice among outdoorsmen. In an effort to improve animal health as well as increase animal numbers, more and more people who hunt are engaged in supplementing the normal food sources for animals found in the wild. By feeding various grains and minerals year-round, numerous species of animals can be attracted for hunting purposes. In order to carry out supplemental feeding of wild game, numerous known feeding devices have been proposed. These feeding devices include gravity feeders, trough feeders and tripod feeders. Gravity Feeders typically include a large container that includes one or more openings at or near the bottom of the container. Feed is placed into the container where in then is free to pass down thru the opening and out onto the ground where it is accessible to wildlife. Some examples of gravity type feeders have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,941,506 to Fulton. These feeders are typically large and bulky and band not easy to transport, move or otherwise store. Further, in order to determine when feed needs to be replenished, it is necessary to visit the feeding site of the feeder to make visual inspection at close range. This may also require at least partial disassembly of the feeder in order to access the fill holes. Trough Feeders are typically configured as an open tub or trough like container that is placed on or above the ground and in a position that makes feed placed in the trough easily accessible to wildlife. In order to keep the feed dry, trough like feeders may provide for a shelter structure, such as, for example, a roof to shield the trough from rain and other elements. In order to provide enough feed for wildlife, the trough must be configured of sufficient size. This typically translates into a large and bulky structure that is not easy to transport, move or otherwise store. Further, in order to determine when feed needs to be replenished, it is necessary to visit the feeding site of the trough to make visual inspection at close range. Tripod or Suspended Feeders typically include a drum-like container that is attached to, and supported at a predetermined level above the ground, by a tripod or other support system. The drum like container typically includes a hole near the bottom of the container that allows feed to pour from the container and onto a spinner plate. The spinner plate can be activated by a timed, motorized system so as to rotate the spinner plate for a predetermined period of time. When the spinner plate rotates, any feed on the plate is tossed from the spinner plate and onto the ground within a predetermined radius of the feeder. The timed distribution of feed aids the conditioning of wild life to feed when the feed is available. The motorized system is typically powered via a battery system which requires periodic replacement/recharging. These types of feeders are typically suspended at least eight feet in the air so as to maximize the area that can be covered by the feeder when feed is spin from the spinner plate. Determining whether or not the drum of the tripod feeder needs to be replenished with feed typically requires that the outdoorsman climb to the top of the suspended drum and/or, to partially disassemble the feeder so that the drum may be lowered to the ground for inspection/replenishment.

This invention relates generally to work stands and more specifically to a new and novel bicycle work stand and method. The new and novel bicycle work stand and method is designed to place a bicycle in a proper position to effect repairs and adjustments to a bicycle while providing stable and balanced support of the bicycle. While there are a wide variety of bicycle stands that provide some support for a bicycle, such as The Greenfield Easystand.RTM., manufactured by Greenfield.RTM., these stands are designed to be portable kick-stands providing support to a bicycle while both front and rear wheels of the bicycle remain on the ground. Thus, since the rear wheel of a bicycle is not elevated by this type of stand, repairs and adjustments to the bicycle cannot be easily and readily effected thereby limiting the use if this type of stand. Other storage type stands are also available and are equally unsuited for effecting repairs and adjustments on a bicycle. These types of storage stands are generally constructed of lightweight material that cannot adequately support the bulk of the weight of a bicycle and further, are not designed to support the bulk of the weight of a bicycle. Like the before mentioned portable kick-stand, these types of storage stands are designed to support a bicycle while both front and rear wheels remain on the ground, thereby utilizing the contact points between both the front and rear wheels and the ground as additional support. Another type of stand that functions solely as a bicycle work stand is of the type having a base and elevated curved arm. The end of the elevated curved arm is designed to grip a bicycle at some point on the bicycle frame thereby elevating the bicycle from the ground. These types of work stands are cumbersome and require extra work space to effect repairs and adjustments on a bicycle. Additionally, these types of work stands must either be left assembled, taking up valuable space, or the stand must be disassembled after each use and reassembled prior to the next use. Another problem encountered with stands of this type is that these stands limit the accessibility of various areas of a bicycle that may be in need of repair or adjustment. Since this type of stand has an elevated arm which holds the bicycle in place, the elevated arm may at times be in the way of a technician or other person attempting to repair or adjust various components of a bicycle. The bicycle must then be re-positioned in the stand to continue the repairs or adjustments.

A. Technical Field The present invention relates to hearing devices, and, more particularly, to miniature hearing devices that are deeply positioned in the ear canal for improved energy efficiency, sound fidelity, and inconspicuous wear. B. Description of the Prior Art The external acoustic meatus (ear canal) is generally narrow and tortuous as shown in the coronal view in FIG. 1. The ear canal 10 is approximately 25 mm in length from the canal aperture 17 to the tympanic membrane 18 (eardrum). The lateral (away from the tympanic membrane) part, a cartilaginous region 11, is relatively soft due to the underlying cartilaginous tissue. The cartilaginous region 11 of the ear canal 10 deforms and moves in response to the mandibular (jaw) motions, which occur during talking, yawning, eating, etc. The medial (towards the tympanic membrane) part, a bony region 13 proximal to the tympanic membrane, is rigid due to the underlying bony tissue. The skin 14 in the bony region 13 is thin (relative to the skin 16 in the cartilaginous region) and is more sensitive to touch or pressure. There is a characteristic bend 15 that roughly occurs at the bony-cartilaginous junction 19, which separates the cartilaginous 11 and the bony 13 regions. The magnitude of this bend varies significantly among individuals. The internal volume of the ear canal between the aperture 17 and tympanic membrane is approximately 1 cubic centimeter (cc). A cross-sectional view of the typical ear canal 10 (FIG. 2) reveals generally an oval shape and pointed inferiorly (lower side). The long diameter (DL) is along the vertical axis and the short diameter (DS) is along the horizontal axis. Canal dimensions vary significantly among individuals as shown below in the section titled Experiment A. Physiological debris 4 in the ear canal is primarily produced in the cartilaginous region 11, and includes cerumen (earwax), sweat, decayed hair, and oils produced by the various glands underneath the skin in the cartilaginous region. There is no cerumen production or hair in the bony part of the ear canal. The ear canal 10 terminates medially with the tympanic membrane 18. Laterally and external to the ear canal is the concha cavity 2 and the auricle 3, both also cartilaginous. Several types of hearing losses affect millions of individuals. Hearing loss particularly occurs at higher frequencies (4000 Hz and above) and increasingly spreads to lower frequencies with age. Conventional hearing devices that fit in the ear of individuals generally fall into one of 4 categories as classified by the hearing aid industry: (1) Behind-The-Ear (BTE) type which is worn behind the ear and is attached to an ear mold which fits mostly in the concha; (2) In-The-Ear (ITE) type which fits largely in the auricle and concha cavity areas, extending minimally into the ear canal; (3) In-The-canal (ITC) type which fits largely in the concha cavity and extends into the ear canal (see Valente M., Strategies for Selecting and Verifying Hearing Aid Fittings. Thieme Medical Publishing. pp. 255-256, 1994), and; (4) Completely-In-the-Canal (CIC) type which fits completely within the ear canal past the aperture (see Chasin, M. CIC Handbook, Singular Publishing (xe2x80x9cChasinxe2x80x9d), p. 5, 1997). The continuous trend for the miniaturization of hearing aids is fueled by the demand for invisible hearing products in order to alleviate the social stigma associating hearing loss with aging and disability. In addition to the cosmetic advantage of canal devices (ITC and CIC devices are collectively referred to herein as canal devices), there are actual acoustic benefits resulting from the deep placement of the device within the ear canal. These benefits include improved high frequency response, less distortion, reduction of feedback and improved telephone use (Chasin, pp. 10-11). However, even with these significant advances leading to the advent of canal devices, there remains a number of fundamental limitations associated with the underlying design and configurations of conventional canal device technology. These problems include: (1) oscillatory (acoustic) feedback, (2) custom manufacturing and impression taking, (3) discomfort, (4) occlusion effect and, (5) earwax. These limitations are discussed in more detail below. (1) Oscillatory feedback occurs when leakage (arrows 32 and 32xe2x80x2 in FIG. 3) from sound output 30, typically from a receiver 21 (speaker), occur via a leakage path or a vent 23. The leakage (32xe2x80x2) reaches a microphone 22 of a canal hearing device 20 causing sustained oscillation. This oscillatory feedback is manifested by xe2x80x9cwhistlingxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9csquealingxe2x80x9d and is not only annoying to hearing aid users but also interferes with their communication. Oscillatory feedback is typically alleviated by tightly occluding (sealing) the ear canal. However, due to imperfections in the custom manufacturing process (discussed below) or to the intentional venting incorporated within the hearing device (also discussed below) it is often difficult if not impossible to achieve the desired sealing effect, particularly for the severely impaired who require high levels of amplification. Oscillatory feedback primarily typically occurs at high frequencies due to the presence of increased gain at these frequencies. (2) Custom manufacturing and impression taking: Conventional canal devices are custom made according to an impression taken from the ear of the individual. The device housing 25 (FIG. 3), known as shell, is custom fabricated according to the impression to accurately assume the shape of the individual ear canal. Customizing a conventional canal device is required in order to minimize leakage gaps, which cause feedback, and also to improve the comfort of wear. Custom manufacturing is an imperfect process, time consuming and results in considerable cost overheads for the manufacturer and ultimately the hearing aid consumer (user). Furthermore, the impression taking process itself is often uncomfortable for the user. (3) Discomfort, irritation and even pain frequently occur due to canal abrasion caused by the rigid plastic housing 25 of conventional canal devices 20. This is particularly common for canal devices that make contact with the bony region of the ear canal. Due to the resultant discomfort and abrasion, hearing devices are frequently returned to the manufacture in order to improve the custom fit and comfort (Chasin, p. 44). xe2x80x9cThe long term effects of the hearing aid are generally known, and consist of atrophy of the skin and a gradual remodeling of the bony canal. Chronic pressure on the skin lining the ear canal causes a thinning of this layer, possibly with some loss of skin appendagesxe2x80x9d (Chasin, p. 58). (4) The occlusion effect is a common acoustic problem caused by the occluding hearing device. It is manifested by the perception of a person""s xe2x80x9cself-soundsxe2x80x9d (talking, chewing, yawning, clothes rustling, etc) being loud and unnatural compared to the same sounds with the open (unoccluded) ear canal. The occlusion effect is primarily due to the low frequency components of self-sounds and may be experienced by plugging the ears with fingers while talking for example. The occlusion effect is generally related to sounds resonating within the ear canal when occluded by the hearing device. The occlusion effect is demonstrated in FIG. 3 when xe2x80x9cself-soundsxe2x80x9d 35, emanating from various anatomical structures around the ear (not shown), reach the ear canal 10. When the ear canal is occluded, a large portion of self-sounds 35 are directed towards the tympanic membrane 18 as shown by arrow 34. The magnitude of xe2x80x9cocclusion soundsxe2x80x9d 34 can be reduced by incorporating an xe2x80x9cocclusion-relief ventxe2x80x9d 23 across the canal device 30. The occlusion-relief vent 23 allows a portion of the xe2x80x9cocclusion soundsxe2x80x9d 35 to leak outside the ear canal as shown by arrow 35xe2x80x2. The occlusion effect is inversely proportional to the residual volume of air between the occluding hearing device and the tympanic membrane. Therefore, the occlusion effect is considerably alleviated by deeper placement of the device in the ear canal. However, deeper placement of conventional devices with rigid enclosures is often not possible for reasons including discomfort as described above. For many hearing aid users, the occlusion effect is not only annoying, but is often intolerable leading to discontinued use of the canal device. (5) Earwax build up on the receiver of the hearing device causing malfunction is well known and is probably the most common factor leading to hearing aid damage and repair (Oliveira, et al, The Wax Problem: Two New Approaches, The Hearing journal, Vol. 46, No. 8). The above limitations in conventional canal devices are highly interrelated. For example, when a canal device is worn in the ear canal, movements in the cartilaginous region xe2x80x9ccan lead to slit leaks that lead to feedback, discomfort, the occlusion effect, and xe2x80x98pushingxe2x80x99 of the aid from the earxe2x80x9d (Chasin, pp. 12-14). The relationship between these limitations is often adverse. For example, occluding the ear canal tightly is desired on one hand to prevent feedback. However, tight occlusion leads to the occlusion effect described above. Attempting to alleviate the occlusion effect by a vent 23 provides an opportunistic pathway for output sound 30 (FIG. 3) to leak back (arrows 32 and 32xe2x80x2) and cause feedback. For this reason alone, the vent 23 diameter is typically limited in CIC devices to 0.6-0.8 mm (Chasin, pp. 27-28). Ahlberg, et al and Oliviera, et al in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,880,076 and 5,002,151 respectively, disclose an earpiece with sound conduction tube having a solid compressible polymeric foam assembly. The retarded recovery foam must first be compressed prior to its insertion into the ear canal to recover and seal within. However, a compressible polymeric foam can be uncomfortable and irritating to the ear canal after recovering (i.e., being decompressed). Furthermore, many impaired individuals do not possess the required manual dexterity to properly compress the foam prior to insertion in the ear canal. Sauer et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,530, disclose an insert associated with an ITE device (FIG. 1 in Sauer) or a BTE device (FIG. 2 in Sauer). The insert is a xe2x80x9csealing and mounting elementxe2x80x9d for a hearing device positioned concentrically within the insert. Sauer""s disclosure teaches an insert for ITEs and BTEs; it does not appear to be concerned with inconspicuous hearing devices that are deeply or completely inserted in the ear canal, or with delivering sound and sealing in the bony region of the canal. Garcia et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,692 disclose a hearing device (10 in FIG. 1 of Garcia) attached to a flexible seal (collar 30) which is fitted in the bony region of the ear canal. The device 10 is substantially positioned in the cartilaginous region along with the collar 30, which is partially positioned over the housing. It is not clear how the disclosed device with its contiguous housings and seal configuration can fit comfortably and deeply in many small and contoured canals. Voroba et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,688 discloses a mass-producible hearing aid comprising a solid shell core (20 in FIGS. 1 and 2 of Veroba) which has a flexible covering 30 affixed to the exterior of the rigid core 20. The disclosed device further incorporates a soft resilient bulbous tubular segment 38 for delivering sound closer to the tympanic membrane and sealing within. Similarly, it is unlikely for this contiguous device/tubular segment to fit comfortably and deeply in many small and contoured canals. None of above inventions addresses the occlusion effect other than by the conventional vent means, which are known to adversely cause oscillatory feedback. McCarrell, et al, Martin, R., Geib, et al., Adelman R., and Shennib, et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,061,689, U.S. Pat. Nos. 26,258, 3,414,685, 5,390,254, and 5,701,348, respectively, disclose miniature hearing devices with a receiver portion flexibly connected to a main part. Along with various accessories including removable acoustic seals, these devices have the advantage of fitting a variety of ear canal sizes and shapes thus are mass-producible in principle. However, the flexible or articulated receiver portion in these devices requires flexible mechanical and electrical connections, which result in added cost and reduced reliability compared with conventional devices which comprise instead immobile receivers contained in a singular rigid housing. Furthermore, by incorporating a seal mechanism concentrically over a rigid receiver, or a rigid receiver section, the compressibility of the seal, regardless of its compliance, is severely limited by the rigid core section which has a substantial diameter compared with the ear canal. Ward et al., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,031,219 and 5,201,007, disclose a sound conduction tube (60 in Ward) for conveying amplified sound to the ear canal within the bony region in close proximity to the tympanic membrane (30). The invention also comprises a xe2x80x9cflexible flanged tipxe2x80x9d (70), essentially a seal, for acoustically sealing in the bony region. Ward et al. state two main objectives, viz.: xe2x80x9cTo assure proper operation of the present invention, the hearing aid should [1] neither prevent unamplified sound received at the ear from entering the ear canal, [2] nor should it contact a substantial portion of the skin lining the ear canalxe2x80x9d (lines 32-36 col. 4 in the ""219 patent and lines 37-41 col. 4 in the ""007 patent). The present applicants have concluded that these limitations cause serious disadvantages for practical implementation in canal hearing devices. First, unamplified sound is allowed to freely enter the ear canal which also allows amplified sound in the bony region, which partially leaks into the cartilaginous region, to feed back to the microphone of the device and cause oscillatory feedback. This occurs because some level of leakage is always present through any acoustic barrier. Second, the contact area of the seal with the ear canal is minimized (see FIGS. 1 and 5A-5F in ""219 and ""007, and the recital xe2x80x9cit has been found that a suitable edge 72 thickness is approximately 0.05 to 2 millimeters.xe2x80x9d), so that adequate sealing along this small contact area is not possible without exerting considerable pressure on the ear canal. This is particularly problematic for canal devices having a microphone relatively in close proximity to leakage in the open ear canal as suggested and shown in the figures. Although Ward et al. briefly mention potential applications of their devices for canal devices (lines 22-26 col. 4 in ""219 and lines 27-31 col.4 in ""007), the practical application is limited to BTE hearing aids with microphones far and away external to the ear canal (91 in FIG. 3. in both the ""219 and ""007 patents). It is a principal objective of the present invention to provide a highly inconspicuous hearing device. A further objective is to provide a hearing device which comfortably delivers amplified sound in the bony region in close proximity to the tympanic membrane. Another objective is to provide an acoustic system in which acoustic sealing is maximized for prevention of feedback while simultaneously minimizing occlusion effects. Still another objective is to improve the frequency response of delivered sound, particularly at higher frequencies while reducing occlusion sounds particularly at lower frequencies. Yet another objective is to provide a mass-producible hearing device design which does not require custom manufacturing or individual ear canal impression. Unlike the prior art, the present invention is not concerned with allowing external unamplified sounds to enter the ear canal. The invention provides a canal hearing device with a dual acoustic seal system for preventing oscillatory feedback while simultaneously channeling occlusion sounds away from the eardrum, thus minimizing occlusion effects. The two-part canal hearing device comprises a generic main module and an elongated tubular insert for conducting sound from the main module to the tympanic membrane and for sealing within the ear canal. The main module is positioned in the cartilaginous portion of the ear canal, either in the medial concha area or medially past the aperture of the ear canal. The replaceable tubular insert extends medially from the cartilaginous region into the bony portion of the ear canal. The tubular insert comprises a flexible sound conduction tube, a primary seal medially positioned in the bony region, and a secondary seal laterally positioned in the cartilaginous region. The sound conduction tube is radially flexible and has a diameter substantially smaller than that of the ear canal, for ease of insertion within. The primary and secondary seals are generally cylindrically hollow and are coaxially concentrically positioned over the sound conduction tube for making a substantial sealing contact with the walls of the ear canal thus distributing and minimizing contact pressure. The primary seal and the tympanic membrane form a first chamber of air-space therebetween. The primary and secondary seal also form a second chamber therebetween. The secondary seal, although providing additional acoustic sealing benefits for the prevention of feedback, also has a relatively large vent, compared to the pressure vent associated with the primary seal. This provides a path of least resistance towards outside the ear for occlusion sounds generated by the individual wearing the hearing device. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tubular insert is disposable and comprises a coiled skeletal frame to provide high radial flexibility while maintaining sufficient axial rigidity for comfortable, kink-resistance, and consistent placement within the ear canal. In another embodiment of the invention, the tubular insert comprises only a primary seal system positioned in the bony region while the secondary seal is provided within the main module fitted in the ear canal. Similarly, the main module is appropriately vented to provide a path of least resistance for occlusion sounds while providing additional sealing for the prevention of oscillatory feedback.

Sorbents incorporated in some traditional cigarettes have not satisfactorily provided the desired taste effect to the smoker. Due to volatility of added flavorants, the uniformity of flavored cigarettes has not been totally satisfactory. Thus, there is interest in improved articles and methods of delivering additive materials or agents such as flavorings to cigarettes. Irreversible loss of volatile flavors may also occur following flavor migration to sorbents used in cigarette filters to remove one or more gas phase constituents. These sorbents also adsorb flavors delivered in mainstream smoke thus reducing the taste and sensorial character/acceptability of cigarettes.

New types of battery cells with silicon-based (e.g., silicon monoxide (SiO)) electrodes are being developed because they have the potential for better energy density and/or capacity compared to graphite-based electrodes. As a result of their new composition (i.e., silicon-based instead of graphite-based), new techniques for producing battery cells with silicon-based electrodes must be developed. Naturally, it would be desirable if such new production techniques resulted in high quality battery cells, for example with desirable electrical and/or physical characteristics.

One version of the high definition DVD (HD-DVD) standard has a method for recording button data streams on a DVD. Button data is information that describes the location, shape and color of a button. Buttons can also include navigation information and are often used to represent various options that can be executed. Buttons are typically used in the opening menu of a movie to represent items like “play movie”, “director notes”, etc. A user can select a button after the user selects a key, such as the “left” key with a remote control (or through a keypad located on the DVD player). The navigation information on a screen can indicate which button was selected with highlighting or some other system. Referring to FIG. 1, a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a button configuration presented to a user through a visual display is shown. The button configuration 20 includes a play button 22, a special feature button 24, an audio setup button 26, a commentary button 28 and a language button 30. Conventional approaches for describing button data involve recording independent compressed bit-maps for each button. In particular, the proposed HD-DVD standard records twenty four independent compressed bit-maps for twenty four buttons. Each compressed bit-map covers an entire output (i.e., 1920×1080). Referring to FIG. 2, a conventional system for decoding button data streams is shown. The system 50 comprises a disc 52, a button decoder 56, and a composite video circuit 60. The disc 52 stores button data (not shown) for each button. The disc 52 transfers the button data into button data streams 54a-54n. Twenty-four button data streams are transmitted if twenty four buttons are used. The button decoder 56 decodes each of the button data streams 54a-54n. The button decoder 56 transmits on screen display (OSD) messages 60a-60n to the composite video 62 in response to decoding the button data streams 54a-54n. Each OSD message 60a-60n corresponds to a particular button data stream 54a-54n. A user will view the button through the composite video circuit 60, which is typically connected to a monitor. Conventional approaches are expensive and have difficulty decoding individual button data streams. Conventional approaches composite each button data stream in real time and onto a video when the video is being displayed. Conventional approaches (i) maintain state information for each of the button data streams (ii) establish a buffer for each of the button data streams and (iii) maintain a direct memory access (DMA) channel for each button data stream and (iv) implement a hardware implementation that composites each button data stream in real time. It would be desirable to provide a method and/or apparatus to reduce the number of button data streams in real time by combining the button data into a multiplexed button data stream.

To fulfill requirements of speedup in mobile wireless communications, broadband wireless communications become essential. In broadband mobile wireless communications, influence of a plurality of delay paths causes frequency selective phasing to arise on a frequency axis, with which channel quality (or Channel Quality Indicator: CQI) varies. Moreover, when considering multiple access in which a base station communicates with a plurality of mobile stations (also referred to as User Equipments: UE's), the mobile stations communicate with the base station in different environments, so that CQI in the frequency domain is different from mobile station to mobile station. Thus, it has been known that system throughput is improved by making scheduling comprising comparing CQI in the frequency domain for a mobile station with each other, and allocating a sub-carrier with excellent CQI to each mobile station. Such scheduling is generally referred to as channel-dependent frequency scheduling or frequency domain channel-dependent scheduling. According to Long Term Evolution (LTE) being currently standardized in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is adopted for a downlink access scheme. The aforementioned channel-dependent frequency scheduling is applied to an LTE downlink, and a plurality of frequency blocks can be allocated per mobile station, where a frequency block is composed of resource blocks (each of which is composed of a plurality of sub-carriers) that are consecutive on the frequency axis within one transmit time Interval (TTI). FIG. 17 shows an example of frequency block allocation in an LTE downlink. This represents a case in which four mobile stations are scheduled within one TTI in a system band. The frequency block count for mobile station 1 (UE1) is three, the frequency block count for mobile station 2 (UE2) is two, the frequency block for mobile station 3 (UE3) counts two, and the frequency block for mobile station 4 (UE4) counts one. On the other hand, for an access scheme in an LTE uplink, Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiplexing Access (SC-FDMA) is adopted (which is also referred to as Discrete Fourier Transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) in a transmitter configuration for sub-carrier mapping in the frequency domain.) In an CIE uplink, again, channel-dependent frequency scheduling is applied; however, to hold the Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) down to a smaller value, a limit is placed in allocating consecutive resource blocks per mobile station within one TTI. This means that the frequency block count is always one. FIG. 18 shows an example of frequency block allocation in an LTE uplink. As with FIG. 17, this represents a case in which four mobile stations are scheduled within one TTI in a system band. The frequency block count for any one of mobile stations 1-4 (UE1-UE4) is always one. Non-patent Document 1 has proposed contemplation of improvement of system throughput by adopting an access scheme (which will be sometimes referred to as Multi-Carrier FDMA (MC-FDMA) hereinbelow), which allows allocation of a plurality of frequency blocks per mobile station within one TTI, as an extended version of SC FDMA, to enhance a multi-diversity effect in frequency scheduling. It should be noted that the Multi-Carrier FDMA (MC-FDMA) is a scheme sometimes referred to as FDMA-Adaptive Spectrum Allocation (FDMA-ASA). FIG. 19 shows exemplary SC-FDMA and MC-FDMA transmitter configurations, and their spectra. The block configurations in the SC-FDMA and MC-FDMA transmitters are the same, which is comprised of a data generating section 1701, a DFT section 1702, a sub-carrier mapping section 1703, an IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) section 1704, and a cyclic prefix section 1705. First, data production is performed in the data generating section 1701, and signals in the time domain are transformed into those in the frequency domain at the DFT section 1702, which are then supplied to the sub-carrier mapping section 1703 as input. A difference between SC-FDMA and MC-FDMA is the limit of the frequency block count in mapping sub-carriers in the sub-carrier mapping section. While the frequency spectrum is always continuous in SC-FDMA (frequency block count=1), it may be discrete in MC-FDMA (frequency block count>1). Next, at the IFFT section 1704, the signals in the frequency domain is transformed into those in the time domain, which are then added with a cyclic prefix, and transmitted. Cyclic prefix addition refers to an operation of copying a tail of data to a head of a block, as shown in FIG. 20. The cyclic prefix is inserted for the purpose of effectively implementing frequency domain equalization on the receiver side. The length of the cyclic prefix is desirably set such that the maximum delay time of delay paths in the channel is not exceeded. Moreover, PAPR in OFDM increases as the number of sub-carriers becomes larger. However, an increase of PAPR is significantly reduced for a number of sub-carriers of the order of 50, at which PAPR is almost saturated. In broadband transmission in which the multi-user diversity effect can be expected, the number of sub-carriers is usually greater than 50, in which case improvement of PAPR cannot be expected even with a smaller frequency block count. On the other hand, since in MC-FDMA, a frequency spectrum that is discrete on the frequency axis is introduced for a larger frequency block count, resulting in higher PAPR. Therefore, improvement of PAPR can be expected by holding the frequency block count down to a smaller value in MC-FDMA. By increasing the frequency block count, the degree of freedom in allocating resource blocks becomes higher, and the multi-diversity effect in channel-dependent frequency scheduling is enhanced. However, when the frequency block count is increased, the overhead due to notification of information on resource block allocation may be greater. In fact, a bitmap method (a notification method suitable for a larger frequency block count), which is currently being studied for adoption in notification of information on resource block allocation in an LTE downlink (see Non-patent Documents 2, 3), has a greater overhead than that in a tree-based method (a notification method suitable for a smaller frequency block count) for use in notification of information on resource block allocation in an LTE uplink (see Non-patent Document 4). In particular, in a case that 100 resource blocks are to be allocated, 100-bit scheduling information is required in using the bitmap method, whereas log2 100(100+1)/2=13-bit scheduling information is required using the tree-based method (for frequency block=1). In practice, in an LTE downlink, a limit is imposed on the resource blocks to be allocated such that a maximum of 37-bit of scheduling information is used. Moreover, when the tree-based method is applied to a case with a larger frequency block count, a required number of bits in notification is (frequency block count) times larger than that in SC-FDMA in which the frequency block count is one. In particular, assuming that the overhead in using the tree-based method for frequency block count=1 is 13 bit as described above, the overhead is increased such as 13×2=26 bits for frequency block count=2, or 13×4=52 bits for frequency block count=4. Non-patent Document 1: “A Study on Broadband Single Carrier Transmission Technique using Dynamic Spectrum Control” by Keigo MASHIMA and Seiichi SAMPE1, Technical Report of IEICE, RCS2006-233, January 2007 Non-patent Document 2: 3GPP R1-074208, LG Electronics, “DL LVRB allocation approach 2,” October 2007 Non-patent Document 3: 3GPP R1-072723, Mitsubishi Electric, “Scheduling Policy and Signaling way on DL Resource Allocation,” June 2007 Non-patent Document 4: 3GPP R1-070881, NEC Group, NTT DoCoMo, “Uplink Resource Allocation for E-UTRA,” February 2007

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrolytic solution including an electrolyte salt and a battery using the electrolytic solution. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a large number of portable electronic devices such as camcorders, digital still cameras, cellular phones, personal digital assistants and laptop computers have been emerged, and an attempt to reduce the size and the weight of them has been made. Research and development aimed at improving the energy densities of batteries used as portable power sources of the electronic devices, specifically secondary batteries have been actively promoted. Among the batteries, a lithium-ion secondary battery using a carbon material for an anode, a composite material of lithium (Li) and a transition metal for a cathode and a carbonate for an electrolytic solution can obtain a high energy density, compared to a lead-acid battery and a nickel cadmium battery in related arts, so the lithium-ion secondary battery has been widely put into practical use. Moreover, recently a further improvement in capacity has been desired according to enhancement of performance of portable electronic devices, and the use of tin (Sn) or silicon (Si) as an anode active material instead of the carbon material has been studied. It is because the theoretical capacities of tin and silicon are 994 mAh/g and 4199 mAh/g, respectively, which are much larger than the theoretical capacity of graphite of 372 mAh/g, therefore, an improvement in capacity can be expected. In particular, it is reported that in an anode formed through forming a thin film of tin or silicon on a current collector, the anode active material is not pulverized by insertion and extraction of lithium, and a relatively large discharge capacity can be maintained (for example, refer to the pamphlet of International Publication No. WO01/031724). Further, as a secondary battery capable of obtaining a high energy density, there is a lithium metal secondary battery using lithium metal for an anode and using only precipitation and dissolution reactions of lithium metal for an anode reaction. The lithium metal has a theoretical electrochemical equivalent of 2054 mAh/cm3, which is 2.5 times larger than that of graphite, so the lithium metal secondary battery holds promise of improving the capacity. A large number of researchers have been conducting research and development aimed at putting the lithium metal secondary battery to practical use (for example, refer to “Lithium Batteries” Edited by Jean-Paul Gabano, Academic Press, 1983, London, New York). Further, a secondary battery in which the capacity of an anode includes a capacity component by insertion and extraction of lithium and a capacity component by precipitation and dissolution of lithium, and is represented by the sum of them has been developed recently (for example, refer to the pamphlet of International Publication No. WO01/22519). In the secondary battery, a carbon material capable of inserting and extracting lithium is used for an anode, and lithium is precipitated on a surface of the carbon material during charge. The secondary battery holds promise of achieving a high energy density as in the case of the lithium metal secondary battery.

Several classes of cryptography algorithms are currently used to encrypt and decrypt data. Two classes of algorithms generally include symmetric key and asymmetric key (public key) algorithms. In asymmetric, or public key, cryptography, the key used to encrypt a message is not the same as the key used to decrypt it. The encryption key is public and widely distributed, and the decryption key is private and known only to the authorized recipient of the message. Public key algorithms, however, are very computationally intensive and the encryption and decryption operations are slow even on small amounts of data. Symmetric key algorithms, on the other hand, can be executed much faster while providing commensurate and even stronger levels of cryptographic security. There are currently three prevailing published symmetric key algorithms: the Data Encryption Standard (DES), triple DES, and the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Each of these symmetric key algorithms divides plaintext and ciphertext into blocks of a specified size for encryption and decryption. This is known as a block cipher and generally involves operations on blocks of digits with a fixed, unvarying transformation. These algorithms are related in that each utilizes the same type of sub-operations to encrypt a block of plaintext into a block of ciphertext, and the same type of inverse sub-operations to decrypt a block of ciphertext into a block of plaintext. Block cipher algorithms have inherent limitations, however, which include slower execution speeds than stream ciphers (discussed below) and require more hardware complexity. Further, messages that do not match the block size (e.g. 128 bits) require the generation of padding text to complete the block. Additionally, block cipher algorithms encrypt identical blocks of plaintext into identical blocks of ciphertext using the same key. Stream ciphers, on the other hand, encrypt the bits or bytes of a message one at a time, rather than in blocks as in block ciphers, and ideally do not encrypt identical plaintext into identical ciphertext. Further, stream ciphers typically execute at a higher speed than block ciphers and require lower hardware complexity, and can therefore be used in smaller applications, such as on mobile phones. Certain aspects of the present invention relate to the stream cipher concepts designed and developed for use in rotor machines, electro-mechanical polyalphabetic devices that produced periodic sequences of monoalphabetic ciphers, each of which were used to encrypt a character of plaintext. Rotor machines were the standard cryptographic instruments adopted for military use by the Allied and German forces in the years before and during World War II. However, history records that most adversaries were generally successful at breaking enemy ciphers generated by such machines, mainly due to the methods adopted for regular stepping of one or more codewheels to new rotational positions before each character was encrypted, as well as flaws in the procedures for field operation and operator errors. Rotor machines of this type were originally invented and patented by Edward H. Hebern. Improved versions were subsequently patented and made famous by Arthur Scherbius (e.g., ENIGMA) and later by Boris C. W. Hagelin (e.g., the eM209 and M211 machines), William Frederick Friedman (e.g., the Converter M-134-C, M-228, and M-325 machines), Laurence Safford and Seiler (the ECM Mark 11 machine, a.k.a. SIGBA) and others, including the TSEC/KL-7 (code named ADONIS) used by the National Security Agency into the 1970s. The fundamental principle supporting each of these rotor machines is the serial application of a set of rotatable codewheels, each encrypting an input character via a monoalphabetic cipher to an output character that is then used as an input to the next codewheel in the sequence. Each intermediate encryption result in the sequence is affected by the rotational position of the corresponding codewheel. The initial input value is the plaintext byte and the final output value is the ciphertext byte. The state of the machine is then modified by the automatic rotation of one or more of the codewheels to a new position and the next character is then encrypted. Some rotor machines had additional features, such as a plugboard that supported a number of cables with jacks that switched pairs of various input plaintext values in an effort to thwart cryptanalysis attacks. A codewheel was typically a circular wheel made of bakelite or ceramic material with wiring that mapped each input contact to a different output contact, establishing a single monoalphabetic cipher. Each code wheel could be rotated in these machines to as many positions as there were members in the plaintext alphabet, each different position producing a different ciphertext output character for the same plaintext input character. Consequently, for an alphabet size of 26 (α=26), each codewheel logically represented 26 different monoalphabetic ciphers as determined by its position. Even assuming an alphabet size of only 26, rotor machines supporting four codewheels (φ=4) generated approximately 450,000 (i.e., 264) different monoalphabetic ciphers before repeating an encryption with the same position of all codewheels. Later rotor machines, supporting six such codewheels (φ=6), had a cycle of approximately 309,000,000 (i.e., 266) monoalphabetic ciphers. Increasing either the size of the alphabet (α) or the number of codewheels (φ) expands the periodic cycle dramatically. For instance, the Soviet Union used a rotor machine with 10 codewheels each having a monoalphabetic cipher of 30 Cyrillic characters (α=30; φ=10), yielding approximately 590 trillion different monoalphabetic ciphers (i.e., 3010). Regardless of the number of codewheels employed, conventional rotor machines were still subject to cryptanalysis attack. Successful cryptanalysis methods and strategies involved deriving statistical information about the structure and content of individual codewheels employed during the encryption sessions as well as the stepping algorithm that systematically drove the rotor machine to the next state. Since multiple codewheels were supplied which could be mounted in various combinations, order, and positions, the cryptanalysis efforts required to break the ciphertext produced by such machines was immense, particularly before the advent of modern computing and networked supercomputers. Even today, many historical messages enciphered by such rotor machines have yet to be deciphered simply because the available message traffic for particular sets of codewheels is too small for cryptanalysis to yield meaningful results. In general, such prior art rotor machines were constructed with a “reflector” rotor that guided electronic impulses back through the set of rotors such that the ciphertext generated by each character of the alphabet was pair-wise symmetric. That is, in any given state, if encryption of the letter B produced the ciphertext letter X, then encryption of the letter X produced the ciphertext letter B. Thus, a rotor machine initialized in the same state could be used for either encryption of plaintext or decryption of ciphertext. While this strategy greatly simplifies operations by eliminating additional equipment and procedures, it introduces significant cryptanalysis vulnerabilities. Furthermore, conventional rotor machines had major operational drawbacks in that they required costly and complex procedural efforts to provide operational support. Multiple sets of identical codewheels had to be constructed in secret and protectively distributed to authorized parties, and their introduction into operation had to be carefully coordinated. Many such sets were used for months, even years, due to the effort required to initiate new sets. Detailed operational instructions were necessary, directing painstakingly meticulous steps to ensure that the exact setup and initialization process for each base session was absolutely correct since any deviation resulted in unintelligible ciphertext even to authorized recipients. Usually these setup instructions changed daily, thus adding to the complexity. A typical operational procedure required the following steps to produce each daily base session: A container with the correct set of codewheels was selected; an exact subset of 4, 5 or 6 codewheels was extracted from the container; the selected subset of codewheels was mounted into the machine in a specific order; each mounted codewheel was adjusted to a specific position; and cables were then connected to specific pairs of plugboard jacks.Once the daily base session settings were established, each encrypted message was usually preceded with directions specifying minor changes made to the base session settings prior to the encryption of the associated message. For example, one or more rotors might be adjusted to a different rotational position. Another significant issue was the manpower required for communications security. Thoroughly trained operators were absolutely essential for successful, secure communications using conventional rotor machines, and military forces had special attachments dedicated to such efforts. Multiple operators were assigned to oversee each session initiation and operation in an effort to avoid incorrect setups. Still, history reveals that during extended periods of operations, errors were unavoidable, many of them contributing to successful cryptanalysis efforts by adversaries. For example, some messages were transmitted that had been accidentally encrypted with the wrong settings, and then immediately retransmitted after being correctly encrypted using slightly different settings—a serious cryptographic mistake. Also, some procedures actually required duplicating portions of encrypted message headers, creating another serious vulnerability. Early rotor machines utilized a regular odometer-like stepping algorithm for repositioning codewheels, which is a critical design flaw due to the fact that if each letter of the alphabet is processed while a number of codewheels are held fixed in their respective positions, the cryptographic effect produced by the fixed set is identical to that produced by a single monoalphabetic cipher. Thus, sequentially advancing the first codewheel until a full revolution occurs, then stepping the second codewheel, and resuming stepping of the first, is actually equivalent to having only two codewheels in use for a period determined by the size of the alphabet. Later rotor machines addressed this vulnerability by introducing more complex and irregular stepping methods that made cryptanalysis much more difficult. One such example is the aforementioned TSEC/KL-7 that introduced two additional banks of secondary codewheels whose sole purpose was to produce a variable stepping sequence for the primary codewheels of the rotor machine. The TSEC/KL-7, however, was still subject to the other disadvantages of conventional, physical rotor machines, such as the complex procedures and operational support that were required for such devices. Even with the TSEC/KL-7, the cryptographic protection produced by such conventional rotor machines was basically generated by varying the initial installation, ordering, and positioning of a group of fixed codewheels selected from a relatively small, distributed set, and devising irregular methods of rotating the codewheels as encryption proceeded. Many of these prior art rotor machines have now been implemented as software computer applications that exactly mimic their performance. However, such applications are merely simulations of prior art rotor machines. No instance of an improved virtual rotor machine has been publicly disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to contacts structure of the electrical connector. 2. Description of Related Arts U.S. Pat. No. 7,901,216, issued on Mar. 8, 2011, discloses an electrical connector adapted for connecting a plug connector to a printed circuit board. The electrical connector comprises a body, a plurality of contacts, and a shell enclosing the body. The electrical connector is soldered to the printed circuit board through pins. The contacts are substantially flat plates electrically connected to the pins by wires. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20150349457, published on Dec. 3, 2015, shows a port including a metal frame surrounding a well, a plurality of contact pads disposed within the well, and an insulative frame for isolating the contact pads.

Field of Invention The present invention relates to lightening device, and more particularly to a double-ended high intensity discharge lamp and manufacturing method thereof, which can provide a ceramic metal halide lamp or a high-pressure sodium lamp. Description of Related Arts Double-ended high intensity discharge lamps, such as HIPS, MH, and LED, are commonly used in large area lighting application, and especially for the indoor growers, the above mentioned HID lamps are commonly used to grow corps without using sunlight indoors. In the current market, the ceramic metal halide lamps are provided in the market which can be used to provide efficient crop light that allows more harvest for less power. Compared with the other HID lamps, the ceramic metal halide lamps, for example, can be operated at higher temperature which is adapted to boost performance and quality-of-light characteristics, such as lumen maintenance, lamp color-shift and spread stability, color rendering index, and dimming. However, the ceramic metal halide lamps have several drawbacks. Since the ceramic metal halide lamps are operated under a high temperature, throughout their lifetime, the light output of the ceramic metal halide lamps is gradually reduced, and the power consumption is gradually increased. Therefore, 315 W ceramic metal halide lamps are commonly used and limited in our daily life, and a higher wattage ceramic metal halide lamp is highly desired to provide to satisfy our daily life requirement. Also, the conventional double-ended high intensity discharge lamp has to be mounted on a shell or a housing for fastening the double-ended high intensity discharge lamp and spotlighting to a certain place in the process of being used. But the housing must satisfy the needs of light-reflection and heat-dissipation. So, the housing is taken too much space with complicate structure and high cost. The conventional double-ended high intensity discharge lamp comprises a hard glass bulb, which is easily to be broken by hitting or heating, an illuminator inside the bulb, and a plurality of electrical elements mounted outside the glass bulb to be threatened by being damaged. It is worth to mention that the illuminator is connected by the electrical elements with outside, so the electrical elements are suffered through heat changing in the bulb which effects the lifetime by stretching wires of the electrical elements. In addition, light is emitted from the illuminator from all direction. Therefore, generally, only half of the light emitted from the double-ended high intensity discharge lamp installed to the ceiling is directing downwards for growing corps or other plants, while another half of the light is generally directing upwards to the ceiling and wasted.

1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a motorcycle brake system. 2. Description of the Related Art JP 2000071963 A discloses a motorcycle brake system. The brake system has a front wheel brake circuit and a rear wheel brake circuit which can be activated hydraulically and in which brake pressure can be built up in the wheel brakes jointly or independently of one another by means of a foot-activated or manually activated master brake cylinder. In order to control brake slip, inlet valves and outlet valves which can be activated electromagnetically and a two-circuit pump which can be driven by an electric motor are inserted both in the front wheel brake circuit and in the rear wheel brake circuit. In addition, an electric isolating valve and a switchover valve are also provided in each of the two brake circuits, in addition to the inlet valves and outlet valves and the pump, in order, in the case of manual activation of one of the two master brake cylinders, also to be able to build up brake pressure in the brake circuit which is not activated manually, for which purpose the pump and the isolating valve and switchover valve is activated electrically. A disadvantage of this brake system is the reaction of the pump on the manually activated master brake cylinder, as a result of which it is briefly possible to sense pulsation on the hand brake lever or foot brake lever when the pump starts up. One object of the present invention is therefore to improve a motorcycle brake system of the specified type in such a way that a reaction of the pump on the manually activated or foot-activated master brake cylinder can be prevented with means which are as simple and functionally reliable as possible.

Historically, processing pliant materials such as rubber compounds and elastomers has presented serious difficulties. This has been especially true when the processing resembled grinding to shape or finish a part as practiced on hard materials such as metals, thermosetting resins and the like. The resilience of the workpiece has produced a variable and unpredictable interface between workpiece and tool and consequent unpredictable dimensions and surface finish of the workpiece. Furthermore, the nature of the debris from the workpiece produced by a grinding operation on pliant materials presented other serious problems in productivity and product quality. Specifically, using a grinding wheel or similar grinding tool incorporating relatively large abrasive particles on the grinding surface results in excessive forces on the workpiece and consequent distortion of the product during processing, low quality and difficult quality control. On the other hand, smaller abrasive particles that do not abuse the workpiece to the same extent tend to clog the grinding surface which quickly becomes non-functional because of the debris retained on the wheel. For many grinding applications involving pliant workpieces, a grinding tool made in accordance with Neff U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,939 optimized both the speed with which a workpiece can be finished as well as the quality of the finished product. In accordance with the teaching of the '939 patent, elements of a generally conic configuration made up of many small abrasive particles are held together on a flexible matrix, transferred to a tool blank and brazed in place to form a finished tool. The tool may be in the nature of a hand file, a rotary grinding wheel or other appropriate configurations. The conic elements can be dressed to provide a precision grinding surface and the interstices between the apices of the elements provide the capability of receiving grinding debris and discharging that grinding debris from the working face. While grinding tools for many applications have been very successful utilizing the teachings of the '939 patent, certain workpieces requiring a relatively high degree of precision and high production rates were not readily produced even with the advantageous processes and products provided by the '939 teaching. However, the teaching of the '939 patent is utilized in the preferred embodiments of the invention described hereinafter and the entire specification and drawings thereof are incorporated herein by reference. One product that has heretofore escaped the full benefits of the abrasive element and tool construction of the '939 patent are automotive accessory belts and similar pliable products having one or more grooves to receive corresponding ribs in pulleys and the like. Automotive accessory belts have multiple grooves formed in the cross section to receive the ribs on the circumference of multi-rib pulleys that either drive the belt or are driven by the belt to power air conditioning systems, power steering systems and the like. The multiple grooves in automotive accessory belts have been molded, or alternatively, they have been formed in flat belts using grinding or flycutting techniques. Grinding has been achieved using wheels surfaced with small diamond particles and having the profile for the multiple lands and grooves of workpieces formed therein. In flycutting, a term adopted from the metal working industry, tungsten carbide knives are held in a rotating fixture. The knives are ground to produce the desired belt profile. Both the grinding and flycutting techniques present problems, produce imprecise results and involve short tool life and high cost. In diamond grinding wheels, very fine diamonds must be used to achieve the intricate profile in the belt. Consequently, the material removal rate is limited as are the speeds and feeds. Surface speeds with conventional belts have normally been limited to less than 6,000 feet per minute and the rate at which the belt can be fed is limited to about 90 feet per minute. Flycutting with tungsten carbide knives offers great advantages in productivity. Speeds in the order of 10,000 feet per minute are possible and a feed rate in the order of 5 inches per second has been reported. However, the flycutting tools have very short useful life and frequent resharpening is required. This necessitates constant process monitoring and downtime for removing and replacing tooling. Consequently, tooling costs for both diamond grinding and flywheel cutting have been high.

It is well known that overall fuel efficiency in a multiple-cylinder internal combustion engine can be increased by selective deactivation of one or more of the engine valves, especially the intake valves, under certain engine load conditions. For a cam-in-block pushrod engine, a known approach to providing selective deactivation is to equip the hydraulic lifters for those valves with a locking mechanism whereby the lifters may be rendered incapable of transferring the cyclic motion of engine cams into reciprocal motion of the associated pushrods. Typically, a deactivating hydraulic valve lifter (DHVL) includes, in addition to the conventional hydraulic lash compensation element, an outer body and a concentric locking pin housing disposed inside the outer body. The inner locking pin housing and outer body are mechanically connected to the pushrod and to the cam lobe, respectively, and may be selectively latched and unlatched hydromechanically to each other, typically by the selective engagement of one or more locking pins by pressurized engine oil. U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,207 discloses such a DHVL wherein a lost motion coil spring is disposed between the lifter body and a tower extension of the inner pin housing. The tower extension is hollow and open at the outer end to admit an engine pushrod. This arrangement is functionally satisfactory for many but not all engine designs. In particular, the tower results in a relatively long overall length of the DHVL and, in order for the pushrod to clear the outer edge of the tower extension, the pushrod must be aligned nearly coaxial with the DHVL. Thus, this arrangement may be incompatible with engines having limited axial space for the added length DHVL, or for engines having relatively large pushrod engagement angles. It is known in the art to shorten the operative length of a body and locking pin housing assembly by packaging the lost motion (LM) spring between the adjacent walls of the outer lifter body and the inner pin housing, thereby obviating the need for a tower and its concomitant length. U.S. Pat. No. 6,321,704 B1 (“the '704 patent”) discloses a hydraulic lash adjuster for valve deactivation in a cam-in-head roller finger follower engine having an outer body and an inner locking pin housing wherein the LM spring is disposed in an annular spring chamber between the walls of the body and locking pin housing. A significant shortcoming of disposing the LM spring between the outer body and inner locking pin housing, as shown in the '704 patent, is that oil being supplied to the hydraulic element assembly (HEA) must pass through the LM spring chamber. Thus the chamber is always filled with oil, which must be pumped out of the chamber with every stroke of the lifter body in deactivation mode. Pumping oil reduces engine efficiency, as during at least part of the pumping stroke the oil pressure generated in the LM chamber opposes the engine's own oil pressure, and may cause valvetrain stability issues, wear, and noise due to induced air bubbles or cavitations. Still further, juxtaposition of the oil passages in the outer body and inner locking pin housing under certain lash conditions can allow for a low oil drawdown (drainage) level in the lash adjuster reservoir during engine shutdown, resulting in significant engine noise at restart. In addition, the disclosure fails to account for mechanical lash in the deactivation mechanism resulting from inherent manufacturing variability in the deactivation components. The entire assembly is held together by a standard stop clip which is full-fitting in a groove in the outer body member. Thus, the amount of lash between the latching member and the latching surface after assembly, resulting from manufacturing variability in the components, cannot be compensated or adjusted in individual lifter or lash adjuster assemblies. What is needed in the art is a deactivation lifter or lash adjuster assembly wherein the LM spring chamber is not in communication with the engine oil being supplied to the HEA. What is further needed in the art is a deactivation lifter or deactivation lash adjuster assembly wherein mechanical lash within the lifter or lash adjuster may be readily set by appropriate shimming during assembly. It is a principal object of the present invention to provide improved valve deactivation without pumping of deactivation oil in an LM spring chamber in engines requiring short overall length and large pushrod angle capability in a deactivation lifter or deactivation lash adjuster.

The present invention relates to an image pickup device capable of being mounted on a cellphone or on a personal computer and to a producing method of the image pickup device. With high efficiency and downsizing of image pickup devices in recent years, a cellphone and a personal computer each being provided with an image pickup device are spreading. In the conventional image pickup device of this kind, there are provided electric parts such as a capacitor and a resistance, and an image sensor connected to an image processing IC circuit, on base board PC which is of glass epoxy, for example, and there is further arranged an image pickup optical unit having therein an optical member composed of a lens and an outer frame member that supports the optical member. The image pickup, device of this kind is produced when each part is incorporated by a robot that conducts automatic production on base board PC. Incidentally, because of high correlation with assembly processing of other parts such as an image sensor and electric parts for assembly of an image pickup optical unit in the producing process of the image pickup device stated above, when sizes and shapes of other parts such as base board PC, or an image sensor and electric parts, for example, are changed, an assembling method for the image pickup optical unit must also be changed accordingly, resulting in requirement for readjustment of machinery for production of image pickup devices and for installation of new facilities. Thus, labor and cost have been required by production of image pickup devices. An object of the invention is to provide a producing method of an image pickup device, the producing method being capable of reducing labor and cost. The object mentioned above can be attained by either one of the following Structures (1)-(6). Structure (1): A producing method for an image pickup device in which an image pickup optical unit that picks up an image of an object is provided on a base board, wherein there are provided a first process for mounting an image sensor and other electric parts on the base board and a second process for assembling the image pickup optical unit on the base board from one direction, and the first process and the second process are independent from each other. In the Structure (1), since the first process for mounting an image sensor and other electric parts on the base board and the second process for assembling the image pickup optical unit on the base board from one direction are independent from each other, even when changes in operations in the first process or changes in parts are made, the image pickup optical unit can be assembled in the same process, and neither preparation of new facilities for assembling nor readjustment is required. Therefore, it is possible to save labor and cost in production of image pickup devices. To be more concrete, the second process can be carried out independently without being affected by the first process because the image pickup optical unit can be assembled from only one direction. Therefore, the image pickup devices can be produced on the same line independently of a type of the base board, which makes it possible to save labor and cost in production of image pickup devices. Structure (2): The producing method for an image pickup device according to the Structure (1) wherein the image pickup optical unit is equipped with an outer frame member, an optical member for converging light on the image sensor and a pressing member that presses the optical member, and the second process has therein an outer frame member fixing process to fix the outer frame member on the base board in the direction perpendicular to an image pickup surface of the image sensor so that the image sensor may be covered, an optical member contact process to bring the optical member into contact with the base board or with the image sensor in the direction perpendicular to the image pickup surface of the image sensor, and a pressing member fixing process to fix the pressing member on the outer frame member in the direction perpendicular to the image pickup surface of the image sensor so that the optical member may be pressed by a prescribed pressing force. In the Structure (2), the same effects as in Structure (1) are naturally obtained, and in particular, the outer frame member is fixed on the base board so that the image sensor may be enclosed in the outer frame member fixing process in the second process, the optical member is brought into contact with the base board or with the image sensor in the direction perpendicular to an image pickup surface of the image sensor in the optical member contact process and the pressing member is fixed on the outer frame member so that the optical member may be pressed by a prescribed force in the direction perpendicular to an image pickup surface of the image sensor in the pressing member fixing process. Thus, assembling can be carried out in the direction perpendicular to an image pickup surface of the image sensor, which makes operations to be easy. Further, since the optical member is regulated in terms of movement in the direction of an optical axis by the pressing member to be fixed on the outer frame member, operations for positioning the optical member on the outer frame member are easy. Thus, it is possible to produce highly accurate image pickup devices while making the first process and the second process to be independent of each other. Structure (3): The producing method of an image pickup device according to the Structure (2) wherein the optical member is provided with an interfitted portion that is engages with the outer frame member and is prevented from rotating around an optical axis as the center, the outer frame member is provided with an interfitting portion that is engaged with the interfitted portion, and the optical member contact process has a process to make the interfitted portion of the optical member to be fitted in the interfitting portion in the direction perpendicular to the image pickup surface of the image sensor. In the Structure (3), the same effects as in Structure (2) are naturally obtained, and in particular, a movement of the optical member in the direction of rotation around an optical axis can be regulated, and therefore, highly accurate image pickup devices can be produced easily without fine adjustment such as positioning for the image sensor, because the optical member is provided with the interfitted portion that is engages with the outer frame member and is prevented from rotating around an optical axis as the center, the outer frame member is provided with an interfitting portion that is engaged with the interfitted portion, and the interfitted portion of the optical member is fitted in the interfitting portion in the direction perpendicular to the image pickup surface of the image sensor in the optical member contact process. Structure (4): The producing method of an image pickup device according to the Structure (2) or Structure (3) wherein the first process includes a process to attach the electric parts at the location that is between the adhesion part of the base board where the outer frame member is fixed and the image sensor, and is closer to the adhesion part of the base board. In the Structure (4), the same effects as in Structure (1) or Structure (2) are naturally obtained, and in particular, it is possible to use electric parts as indicators, when attaching the outer frame member on the base board in the second process, because the electric parts are attached at the location that is between the adhesion part of the base board and the image sensor and is closer to the adhesion part of the base board, in the first process. Therefore, the outer frame member can be mounted accurately without fine setting and adjustment for attaching it, which makes it possible to save labor and cost in production of image pickup devices. Structure (5): The producing method of an image pickup device according to either one of the Structures (2)-(3) wherein the outer frame member fixing process fixes the outer frame member on the base board after bringing the outer frame member into contact with the electric parts. In the Structure (5), the same effects as in Structures (2)-(4) are naturally obtained, and the outer frame member can be moved roughly in relatively prompt operations until it comes in contact with electric parts, because the outer frame member is fixed on the base board after being brought into contact with the electric parts in the outer frame member fixing process, thus it is possible to conduct positioning operations for the outer frame member promptly. Therefore, the outer frame member can be mounted accurately without careful setting and adjustment for operations to fix the outer frame member, which makes it possible to save cost and labor in production of image pickup devices. Structure (6): The producing method of an image pickup device according to the Structures (2)-(5) wherein the outer frame member fixing process has therein a process to coat an adhesive composed of a resin of a compound hardening type having both a property to be hardened by ultraviolet radiation and a property to be hardened by a prescribed hardening means which is different from the ultraviolet radiation on an adhesion part of the outer frame member and the base board, a temporal fixing process to harden the adhesion part with ultraviolet radiation for temporal fixing, and a regular fixing process to harden by the prescribed hardening means to conduct regular fixing after conducting the optical member contact process and the pressing member fixing process. In the Structure (6), the same effects as in Structures (2)-(5) are naturally obtained, and in particular, it is possible to harden the adhesive to a certain extent for temporal fixing and thereby to advance to the following assembly process without waiting until the adhesive is hardened thoroughly, when fixing the outer frame member on the base board, because a process to coat the adhesive composed of the resin of a compound hardening type having both a property to be hardened by ultraviolet radiation and a property to be hardened by a prescribed hardening means which is different from the ultraviolet radiation on an adhesion part between the outer frame member and the base board, a temporal fixing process to harden the adhesion part with ultraviolet radiation for temporal fixing, and a regular fixing process to harden by a prescribed hardening means to conduct regular fixing after conducting the optical member contact process and the pressing member fixing process, are conducted in the outer frame member fixing process. It is therefore possible to shorten a cycle time for production of image pickup devices, and thereby to improve productivity. Further, it is possible to prevent that a position of the outer frame member is shifted between the optical member contact process and the pressing member fixing process, and to adjust again in the case of regular fixing process, which makes it possible to produce a highly accurate image pickup device.

Several types of safety mechanisms are known: some safely devices are adapted to lock the trigger actuation lever assembly; other devices are adapted to place a rigid member in front of the striking mass; still others are adapted to extend the actuation spring. A common type of safety mechanism, for example, is simply constituted by a safety pin which, in safety position, makes contact with a portion of the trigger in order to prevent any movement thereof, whereas in normal firing position it leaves the trigger free to perform its movements. This type of safety device has the advantage of being extremely simple from the constructive point of view and of being adaptable to numerous and various firing mechanisms; however, in practice it cannot be used for example in firing mechanisms which provide an adjustment of the trigger, as occurs in target-shooting pistols. UK Patent No. 213,805 discloses a self-loading pistol having a toggle link interposed between the hammer and the percussion spring. Depressible means operable by the act of gripping the pistol handle are provided to impart an initial movement of the toggle link from a safety position into a ready position. In one embodiment, the percussion spring is oscillable, being accomodated in a casing which is oscillably mounted in the handle. Due to the complicated firing mechanisms and to the particular operating conditions, target-shooting pistols are normally not provided with a safety mechanism. Safety mechanisms, such as the one described above, would in fact interfere with the extremely sensitive operation of the trigger mechanism. It is nonetheless advisable to provide a safety mechanism for this type of firearms as well, and this need is now even more strongly felt because of new regulations enforced by some countries.

The present invention relates to a multilayer structure obtained by adhesion or adherence, in particular molecular adhesion, characterized by controlled internal stresses, and to a method for producing such a structure. By multilayer structure with controlled stresses, it is understood a structure comprising at least two layers, so-called main layers, having between them tensile or compression stresses. These stresses are determined and controlled depending on the purpose of the structure. The invention finds applications in the fields of microelectronics, as a substrate or as a stiffener, but also in the fields of micromechanics for manufacturing membrane sensors, for example. Among the multilayer structure assembled by means of molecular adhesion techniques (wafer bonding), let us mention SOI (silicon on an insulator) structures, as an example. Typically, a SOI multilayer structure includes a thick layer of silicon serving as a support, an insulating layer in silicon oxide and a surface layer of thin silicon, the thickness of which is between a few tens of nanometers to a few tens of micrometers. The manufacturing of SOI structures generally consists of bringing two silicon wafers into contact by molecular adhesion, one of which at least is covered by a silicon oxide surface layer. After bringing them into contact, the wafers generally undergo a heat treatment under a controlled atmosphere. The purpose of this heat treatment is to enhance the close contact and therefore the adherence of the wafers. During the heat treatment, the present materials, in particular silicon in contact with silicon oxide, may impose stresses on each other. These stresses are in particular related to the differences in thermal expansion coefficients, xcex94l/1, of the materials in contact. These differences in the expansion coefficients of materials of the surfaces in contact are also the source of stresses when cooling the closely bound structures. More generally, it is also known that a SiO2 film on a silicon wafer when it is produced at certain temperatures, has the effect of inducing deformation on the wafer upon its cooling. The relative deformation under the effect of heat, noted xcex94l/1, is the order of 2.6.10xe2x88x926/K for silicon, and of the order of 5.10xe2x88x927/K for silicon oxide (SiO2), produced by thermal oxidation of silicon. When the oxide film is formed on one face of the silicon wafer, the deformation due to the stresses may be quantified by measuring the deflection at the center of the wafer. Because of the difference in thermal expansion coefficients, a decrease of temperature generates a compression of the oxide film on the silicon wafer. This compression is expressed by a convexity of the wafer. The convexity is all the more marked because the oxide film is thick and it may cause a change in the surface morphology. The appended FIGS. 1-4 are for illustrating the stresses generated in SiO2 structures produced by conventional methods through molecular adhesion. FIG. 1 shows a first main layer 10a, or support, as a silicon plate having a thin layer of thermal oxide 20a on its surface. It is seen that the set formed by the first main silicon layer 10a and the oxide surface layer 20a is bent. The surface of the oxide layer 20a is convex. Reference number 10b refers to a silicon wafer forming a second main layer the parallel faces of which are planar In the illustrated example, the main layers 10a and 10b initially have thicknesses of the same order of magnitude. FIG. 2 shows the structure obtained by assembling main layers 10a and 10b. These layers are connected through the oxide layer 20a. The assembly, as mentioned earlier, comprises the molecular bonding of the second main layer of silicon 10b onto the oxide surface layer 20a. This bonding is reinforced by a heat treatment. It is seen that the structure obtained after assembly virtually does not have any deformation. Indeed, from the moment that the thicknesses of the main silicon layers are of the same order of magnitude, stresses generated by the oxide layer on each of the main layers tend to compensate each other. The silicon surface film with a SOI type structure is generally a thin film, the thickness of which is adapted to the requirements of electrical insulation of the components, for example. The stiffness of the structure is provided by the thick silicon layer. Thus, in order to obtain a typical SOI structure from the structure of FIG. 2, one of the main silicon layers should be thinned. The thinning may be performed by means of one of the thinning techniques known in different methods, BSOI (Bonded Silicon on Insulator), BESOI (Bonded with Etch stop Layer Silicon on Insulator). On this point, reference may be made to document (7), the reference thereof is specified at the end of the present description. When one of the main silicon layers is thinned, it appears that the generated stresses at the interfaces with the silicon oxide layer are no longer compensated. FIGS. 3 and 4 show structures obtained by thinning of the main layers 10b and 10a, respectively. These structures have a deflection and the surface of the thin silicon layer is convex in each of the cases. It is seen that the thickness of the main layers and also the thickness of the buried silicon oxide layer, i.e., the oxide layer sandwiched between the main layer and the thin surface layer, are part of the parameters which control the deflection of the finally obtained structure. As an example, for a buried thermal oxide film 20a with a thickness of the order of 1 micrometer, deflection values are obtained which may be larger than 50 xcexcm when the thin surface film of silicon 10a has a thickness of 25 xcexcm and when the main silicon layer has a thickness of the order of 500 xcexcm. When the thickness of the surface film of silicon is increased to more than 50 xcexcm, the deflection decreases by about 25 xcexcm. This shows the importance of the thickness of the silicon film as compared with that of the oxide film. A conceivable step for reducing the deformations of the structure would consist of producing a second oxide film on the free face, called the rear face, of the thick main layer of the structure. This step would actually enable the deformation of the plates to be reduced before their bringing into contact. However, in a certain number of applications, it is necessary to remove the rear oxide film. Now, after thinning, if the oxide film is removed from the rear face, it is seen that deformation is restored and finally a deformation of the SOI structure mainly related to the thickness of the oxide film, is obtained. On this point, reference may be made to document (1) the reference of which is specified at the end of the description. According to another possibility, illustrated by FIG. 5, an attempt may be made to reduce the effect of the stresses by bringing into contact two main silicon layers 10a, 10b each provided with an oxide film 20a, 20b at the surface, the films being of comparable thickness. However, it is seen that a deformation appears for the structure when thinning one of the layers. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the initial deflection of both main layers increases the difficulty for bringing into contact the surfaces of the oxide surface layers. This may locally generate areas with poor contact and therefore recesses or defects in the final structure. The deformation phenomenon described above for a structure combining silicon and silicon oxide layers exists for a large number of pairs of materials. However, the generated deformation may vary depending on the materials brought into contact with each other, and notably on the type of stress which occurs, either a tensile or compression stress. As an example, as shown in FIG. 6, when a silicon nitride film 30 is deposited on a silicon wafer 10, this coating may generate, depending on the conditions of its implementation and after cooling, stresses also leading to a deformation. The stresses between the silicon nitride and the silicon intrinsically originate from the materials but also have a thermal origin in relationship with the different thermal expansion coefficients. As an example, the thermal expansion coefficient of a silicon nitride film obtained by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is of the order of 4.2.10xe2x88x926/K whereas this coefficient is 2.6.10xe2x88x926/K for silicon. As deposition of silicon nitride takes place at a high temperature, strong stresses occur during the cooling. However, it is seen, by comparing for example, FIGS. 6 and 1, that the surface of the silicon nitride layer 30 is concave, unlike the convex surface of the silicon oxide layer 20a. This difference in curvature expresses the fact that silicon nitride and silicon oxide have contact stresses which are generally opposite (tension-compression) when they are produced on the main silicon support. It is also understood that the combination of two main silicon layers, each covered with a film of silicon nitride, according to FIG. 6, may also pose adherence or contact quality problems when the nitride films are facing each other. In particular, bubbles are likely to form at the interface between the silicon nitride layers, locally generating defects in the final structure. For a better illustration of the aforementioned problems, reference may be made to documents (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6), the references of which are indicated at the end of the description and which relate to contact stresses between different layers. Document (3) in particular, shows that it is possible to compensate the effects or stresses generated by a silicon oxide surface film formed at the surface of a silicon wafer, by covering this surface film with a second film of silicon nitride. A substantially plane structure may be obtained. The thickness of the second (nitride) film should be accurately controlled in order to finally obtain a structure with plane faces. However, it is found that the generated stresses between the layers are not simply related to the materials brought into contact, as in the case for layers produced by successive depositions for example, but they are also related to the quality of the molecular adhesion between the layers. Thus, subsequent treatments undergone by a structure according to document (3), or the combination of such a structure with other layers, may cause a change in the balance of stresses so that the final stresses of the structures are difficult to control. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a multilayer structure including at least one adhesion step, and providing accurate control of the stresses occurring in the structure after combining layers of different materials. An object is in particular, to provide such a method for changing and adjusting the stresses in order to obtain a planar final structure or having a predetermined deflection. An object is to be able to transfer, by utilizing the adhesion, at least a crystalline layer in order to obtain a structure with controlled stress. An object is also to provide such a method for producing a structure free from contact defects at the interfaces between the layers of different materials. Still another object is to provide a method able to take into account treatments prior or posterior to the production of the structure and which is compatible with the requirements of an industrial implementation such as for example an implantation treatment in order to obtain a separation. To achieve these objects, the invention more specifically relates to a method for producing a multilayer structure comprising at least a first and second layers called main layers, connected with each other by a stack of at least two stress adaptation layers and having a determined structure stress, wherein: a) the first main layer is provided with a first stress adaptation layer, and at least a second stress adaptation layer is provided on one of the second main layer and the first stress adaptation layer, b) an assembly of the first and second main layers is made via stress adaptation layers (said assembly advantageously comprising an adherence bond between layers), the first and second adaptation layers being produced in materials and with thicknesses such that at the end of the method, said determined structure stress is obtained in the structure. For example, the first adaptation layer and the second adaptation layer are selected (type of realization, nature, thickness) such as, if they are on the first main layer and on the second main layer, respectively, independently (i.e. before assembly), they cause deformations in opposite directions. These deformations are not necessarily of the same amplitude. In certain embodiments, at least one of the adaptation layers is surmounted with an intermediate layer in order to obtain the desired multilayer structure. Advantageously, a heat treatment with sufficient temperature and duration in order to adjust said determined structure stress in the structure, may then be carried out, after step b). According to a preferred embodiment, the adherence bond may be a molecular adherence type bond. The invention may also use a bond selected from a braze, a weld, a bond by means of an adhesive substance, interdiffusion between layers or a combination of these different techniques. In these techniques, the bond is produced by means of a so-called bonding layer. This bonding layer is either between the adaptation layers or between one of the adaptation layers and the corresponding main layer. The structure stress is understood as the stress resulting from the stresses of each of the adaptation layers, the stresses of each of the main layers and the stresses related to the bond interface. The structure stress determines the deflection, either convex or concave, or the planarity of the surfaces of the obtained structure. The heat treatment optionally carried out after step b) not only provides an enhancement of the quality of the bond, but especially, by adjusting the implemented heat expenditure, enables the contact stresses between the layers to be changed in order to adjust the tensile and compression stress balance. The implemented heat expenditure may be adjusted by notably taking into account the heat expenditures of treatments prior or posterior to step c). Thus, other heat treatments performed on the structure are not detrimental to obtaining a given stress. The heat treatment expenditure is also adjusted according to other parameters controlling the stresses in the layers. Among these parameters, let us mention: the implemented materials and the treatments undergone by these materials, the thickness of the layers and their embodiments, the roughness condition of the surface and the shape of the layers brought into contact, the quality of the cleaning of the surfaces and their more or less hydrophilicity. By taking into account these parameters for selecting the heat expenditure, it is possible to adapt the internal stress of the final structure and therefore its deformation. In particular, stresses in the stress adaptation layers may be increased, decreased or even reversed. According to a first possibility of implementation of the invention, in step a), the first stress adaptation layer may be formed on the first main layer and the second stress adaptation layer formed on the second main layer. In this case, in step b), a bond is produced between the adaptation layers. As the contact stresses of the stress adaptation layers with the main layers are of opposite sign, one of the stress adaptation layers has a convex surface and the second adaptation layer has a concave surface. The surfaces to be assembled thus have, to a certain extent, a shape complementarity which provides a quality contact free from bond defects such as recesses or poorly adhered areas. According to an alternative, both stress adaptation layers may be formed on the first main layer and the bonding may occur between the second main layer and the surface stress adaptation layer, securely fixed to the first main layer. According to another aspect of the invention, before step b), a preparation of the layers which are to be associated through a molecular bond may be performed in order to adjust a surface condition of these layers and to impart hydrophilicity to them, for example. The adjustment of the condition of the surface may either consist of a smoothing process (chemical, mechano-chemical process or by a heat treatment) or, on the contrary, of an operation tending to further roughen the surface of at least one of the layers to be assembled. By changing the amplitude of the roughness of the faces to be assembled, it is possible to control the adhesion energy between the layers and therefore the resulting stresses. According to an alternative, the method may include a thinning step of one of the main layers after assembly. It is advantageous to obtain a thin layer, in particular on a thin silicon layer, above the stress adaptation layers one of which is at least an insulator, for example for the subsequent production of integrated electronic circuits (the SOI substrate for example). The thinning of one of the main layers may be performed by a mechanical or mechano-chemical abrasive treatment. Thinning may also be performed by fracture. In this case, the method includes at least an ion implantation of gas species in at least one of the main layers or adaptation layers in order to form a fracture area, and the thinning step includes a separation step for said implanted layer according to the fracture area, for example with a thermal and/or mechanical treatment. The stress of the structure will then be changed by the thinning step. In addition, the stress during the course of the method may advantageously be utilized as a determined xe2x80x9cintermediatexe2x80x9d structure stress, in order to participate in this thinning. The final structure obtained after thinning, i.e. after separating one of the layers, has a new determined xe2x80x9cfinalxe2x80x9d structure stress. The structure according to the invention, in certain alternatives, may contain a certain number of layers, certain of which may be thinned, or even suppressed, their role being justified in certain cases, only for adapting the intermediate stress which participates in the thinning. The adaptation of the intermediate stress may be an object per se. By using an intermediate stress which participates in the separation, the dose of the implanted species (hydrogen and/or rare gases), and/or the heat expenditure and/or the work induced by the mechanical force(s) applied for the separation, may be reduced. For example, it is possible to obtain separation with very low heat expenditure on structures where the main layers have different thermal expansion coefficients. By controlling the intermediate stress, the method may be considerably enhanced by changing either the implantation conditions or the separation conditions. The making of a fracture area in a layer by implantation of a gas species may be performed according to known techniques per se. For example, one of the techniques uses an implantation of a gas species able to generate an embrittled layer formed of microcavities or gas microbubbles. A xe2x80x9cmicrocavity or gas microbubblexe2x80x9d means any cavity generated by implantation of hydrogen gas and/or rare gas ions in the material. The cavities may assume a very flat shape, i.e. with a low height, for example of a few interatomic distances as well as a spherical shape or any other shape different from both of these previous shapes. These cavities may contain a free gas phase and/or gas atoms derived from the implanted ions fixed on the atoms of the material forming the walls of the cavities; these cavities may even be empty. These cavities are generally called xe2x80x9cplateletsxe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cmicroblistersxe2x80x9d or even xe2x80x9cbubblesxe2x80x9d. Gas species mean elements, for example hydrogen or rare gases in their atomic form (for example H), or in their molecular form (for example H2) or in their ion form (for example H+, H2+) or in their isotope form (for example deuterium) or isotope and ion form. Moreover, ion implantation is understood as any kind of means for introducing the previously defined species, either alone or combined, such as ion bombardment, diffusion, etc. The fracture heat treatment is performed with a thermal expenditure which depends on the thermal expenditure supplied to the main layer during the implantation, and during the steps which took place before the fracture. According to the case, this thermal treatment may be zero in time and/or in temperature. Further, this heat treatment may be adjusted according to other exerted stresses, such as for example, mechanical, tensile, shear, bending forces, etc., either exerted alone or combined. The heat treatment, regardless of the type of solid material, leads to the coalescence of the microcavities which brings about an embrittlement of the structure at the microcavity layer. This embrittlement enables the material to be separated under the effect of internal and/or pressure stresses in the microcavities, this separation may be natural or assisted by applying external stresses. Mechanical forces may be applied perpendicularly to the planes of the layers and/or parallel to the latter. They may be localized at a point or an area, or be applied at different locations in a symmetrical or dissymmetrical way. In addition, if the intention is to adapt the final structure stress, the heat expenditure for the fracture is taken into account for establishing the heat expenditure of the adaptation step. The adaptation step for the stresses of the final structure may also include a thinning step, for example by sacrificial oxidation and/or chemical etching and/or plasma etching and/or polishing. Several possibilities may be contemplated for producing the stress adaptation layers. According to a first possibility, at least one of the stress adaptation layers may be formed by depositing material according to a deposition method selected for example from spray, epitaxy, chemical deposition such as chemical phase deposition, low pressure vapor deposition, and plasma-aided chemical vapor deposition methods. According to an alternative, a stress adaptation layer may also be obtained by a surface oxidation of one of the main layers. In particular, when one of the main layers is a silicon layer, one of the adaptation layers, may be a thermal oxide layer of SiO2. According to a third possibility, at least one stress adaptation layer may be obtained by implanting species in a main layer. By implanting species in one of the main layers, an area with changed properties may be formed at the surface of this layer. In particular, by implanting species, stresses may be generated and the density of the material may be changed locally. The depth at which is located the majority of the implanted species, depends on the implantation conditions, for example, on its energy, if the implantation is of the ion implantation type. The film of implanted species, defined by this depth, and its neighborhood, where the majority of the implanted species is localized, then forms one of the layers of the stress bilayer. The film between this film of implanted species and the surface of the second main layer may form one of the two films of the stress bilayer. The stress intensity may be adapted depending on the nature of the species, on the dose or on various implantation parameters (temperature, implantation current, energy, . . . ). In particular, the implantation may be performed with gas species, for example hydrogen and/or rare gases. The presence of a stress in the structure participates in the separation and enables the dose of implanted species (hydrogen and/or rare gases), and the heat expenditure and/or the work induced by the mechanical force(s) applied for separating it, to be reduced. Thus, the presence of this stress enables either the implantation conditions or the separation conditions to be changed. The method may be considerably enhanced by controlling the stress. For example, it provides fracture with very low heat expenditure on structures where the main layers have different thermal expansion coefficients. The implantation may also be performed before or after assembling the structure. In certain cases where at least one of the adaptation layers is sufficiently thick and/or stiff, the normally adjacent main layer may be omitted or may coincide with this adaptation layer. After separation, a changed main layer and a multilayer stack are obtained, wherein the latter may be reused as a main layer comprising a stress adaptation layer. The embodiment of the method described above, may be applied to main layers in miscellaneous materials. The main layers in identical or different materials may for example be in monocrystalline, polycrystalline or amorph materials and for example in silicon, germanium, silicon carbide, in type III-V or II-VI semiconductors such as GaAs, GaN, InP, . . . , in glass or quartz, in superconducting materials, in diamond, or in ceramic materials (such as LiTaO3, LiNbO3, . . . ). Thus, the main layer may be formed by one or several layers for example adhered, coated or epitaxied layers. The stress adaptation layers for example may be in a material selected from SiO2, SiN, Si3N4, TiN, diamond and metals (such as Pd, alloys, . . . ) or in one of the materials which may form one of the main layers, or in a combination of such materials. The invention also relates to a multilayer structure with controlled internal stresses comprising, in this order, a stack of a first main layer, of at least a first stress adaptation layer in contact with the first main layer, of at least a second stress adaptation layer in contact with said stress adaptation layer and a second main layer in contact with the second stress adaptation layer. In this structure, the first and second stress adaptation layers have contact stresses with the first and second main layers which are respectively with the opposite sign. In a particular application, the structure may have a suspended membrane, the suspended membrane including at least a portion of one of the first and second main layers, released from the second main layer, from the first main layer, respectively. The suspended membrane may support other functional layers. For example, it may further include at least one layer of supraconducting material covering said portion of one of the first and second main layers. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the description which follows, with reference to the figures of the appended drawings. This description is given as a purely non-limiting illustration.

High frequency radio frequency (RF) communications are becoming more and more prevalent in the world today. Products touting wireless RF communication links are becoming increasingly popular among consumers. A multitude of new products including redesigned existing ones is being built with wireless RF links today. A RF link is based on a transmitter that emits a RF signal representing the information sent, and a communication receiver that receives the transmitted signal and extracts the information transmitted therefrom. To do this, modern RF receivers use an assortment of components such as amplifiers, filters, mixers, detectors, VCOs, PLLs, etc. A common goal in designing a receiver is to achieve high sensitivity and a low noise figure while maintaining interference rejection capabilities. Typically, various types of potential interference must be considered, some being out of band signals, which may be suppressed by filtering means, and some being in-band signals which are not suppressed by the band filtering commonly placed at the input to the receiver, and therefore reach the receiver's active elements. A block diagram illustrating a conventional prior art superheterodyne receiver front end is shown in FIG. 1. The receiver, generally referenced 10, comprises an antenna 12 coupled to the input of a band pass filter (BPF) 13. The output of the BPF 13 is then amplified by an RF amplifier 14. The RF amplifier is commonly constructed so as to be tunable over a range of frequencies. The output of the RF amp is then converted (heterodyned or mixed) by mixer 16. The mixer comprises a circuit that forms the product of two analog waveforms that contains the sum and difference frequencies of the signals at its inputs. The mixer thus functions to convert RF energy at one frequency to a second frequency. Mixers are commonly used in receiver front ends to convert input RF signal frequencies to lower intermediate frequencies. They are also, used in other circuit components such as upconverters, modulators, phase detectors, frequency synthesizers, etc. The mixing action performed by a mixer is achieved by multiplying an input signal with a second signal, usually a local oscillator signal. The output comprises two signals at the sum and difference frequencies as shown below in Equation 1. cos ⁢ ⁢ ω 1 ⁢ t ⁢ ⁢ cos ⁢ ⁢ ω 2 ⁢ t = 1 2 ⁢ cos ⁡ ( ω 1 + ω 2 ) ⁢ t + 1 2 ⁢ cos ⁡ ( ω 1 - ω 2 ) ⁢ t ( 1 ) One of the two output signals is the desired signal and is termed the intermediate frequency (IF). For example, the IF may be the difference frequency while the sum frequency is suppressed (i.e. filtered out) using a low pass filter. Additional frequencies, however, other than the sum and difference frequencies, are also generated by the mixer due to the use of nonlinear elements (e.g., diodes) to perform the multiplication. The nonlinearities of these components cause the generation of the additional frequencies. A schematic diagram illustrating a typical prior art mixer circuit is shown in FIG. 2. The mixer circuit, generally referenced 30, comprises a mixer core made up of a differential amplifier including transistors Q1 and Q2. A local oscillator 34 drives the bases of transistors Q1 and Q2. Load resistors R1 and R2 are coupled between the supply voltage and the collectors of Q1 and Q2, respectively. The IF output signal is taken from the collectors of Q1 and Q2. The RF input signal is applied to the base of Q4 via coupling capacitor C1. The base of Q4 is biased by current source 32 in series with transistor Q3. In operation, transistors Q3 and Q4 form a current mirror since the bases of both transistors are connected together. The circuit is configured such that Q1 and Q2 are biased in the nonlinear region at very low current near cutoff. For the mixer to operate, the current through Q1 and Q2 must be set accurately. Thus, Q1, Q2 and Q3, Q4 must be constructed as matched pairs of transistors. Since the bases of Q3 and Q4 are tied together and the emitters of both are tied to ground, the current through one transistor must be duplicated in the other. This will be the case if both transistors are well matched since both will have the same VBE voltage drop. Consequently, the collector current will be the same through both transistors. To enable the mixing function, the constant current source 32 is configured to supply an amount of current such that both Q1 and Q2 are biased near cutoff. In the absence of any RF input signal, the IF output signal is proportional to the local oscillator signal 34. The gain of the output is set by the two load resistors R1, R2. When the RF input signal is applied, the base voltage of Q3 and Q4 changes in accordance with the input signal. A rise in base voltage causes the current through Q3 and Q4 to increase. This causes the current flowing through Q1 and Q2 to increase. Transistors Q1 and Q2 now operate in a higher beta region. The change in the gain of the transistors causes a change in the IF output signal. Similarly, when the RF input decreases, the base voltage of Q3, Q4 also decreases. This causes a decrease in the current flowing through Q1 and Q2. Transistors Q1, Q2 now operate in a lower beta region causing a change in the output IF signal. The nonlinear change in operating region, caused by the changes in the RF input signal, provides the mixing function whereby the desired sum and difference frequencies are generated. In addition, undesired intermodulation products are also produced. A narrow post mixer filter serves to remove most of the unwanted signals. The generation of spurious output frequencies in a mixer is the result of using nonlinear switching elements to perform the multiplication function. Even when the input signal comprises a single frequency, the number of products generated may be large. The situation is compounded when the input signal comprises a plurality of frequencies as in various common scenarios of wireless reception. A figure of merit that is indicative of the ability of a mixer to suppress intermodulation products is its third order intercept point, usually expressed in dBm. The intercept point is a measure of the linearity of a circuit or system permitting the calculation of distortion or intermodulation product levels from the amplitude of the input signal. An example graph illustrating the third order intercept for a mixer is shown in FIG. 3. The desired signal component response (or 1st order linear response) is shown as line 40 (above the noise level 44) while the undesired 3rd order intermodulation components are shown in line 42. The two lines meet at a point 46 (usually beyond the 1 dB compression point). Assume two signals, having frequencies f1 and f2, are input to the receiver. The signal output of the mixer includes 3rd order interfering components (line 42) having frequencies 2f1–1f2 and 2f2–1f1. Note that these components are termed 3rd order due to the combination of a second harmonic and a fundamental. Since these frequency components are likely in the pass band, it is desirable to have as high a 3rd order intercept value as possible, which corresponds to high linearity and low levels of intermodulation products. The theoretical input intercept point represents the input amplitude at which the desired signal components and the undesired signal components (i.e., third order distortion products) are equal in amplitude. Stated differently, the intercept point is arrived at by extrapolating measured data to yield an input RF level at which the IF level and intermodulation products would be equal. The order of the intercept point determines the slope at which the amplitudes of the distortion products increase with an increase in the input level. For the case of the third intercept point (referred to as IP3), the intermodulation products increase in amplitude by 3 dB when the input signal is raised by 1 dB. The IP3 determines the amount of intermodulation distortion produced in the receiver itself when subjected to high-level interference. Note that a mixer having a high intercept point generates low intermodulation distortion products. Further, the dynamic range of a receiver (i.e., the ability of the receiver to handle a wide range of levels of received signal and interference) is affected by the linearity of the RF receiver stages, such as the LNA, mixer, filters, detectors, etc. To improve the performance of the receiver, the dynamic range of the receiver must be widened by designing receiver stages having as high a 3rd order intercept point (IP3) as possible. In silicon integrated circuit (IC) design, however, a higher intercept point typically results in a higher Noise Figure (NF). An amount of harmonics and intermodulation products are typically generated when two or more signals are input to the receiver due to the nonlinear elements in the receiver. It is desirable to design a receiver so as to minimize these products that degrade the receiver's performance. The mixer that typically follows an LNA stage, having a gain in the order of 10 to 20 dB, is typically the component in the receiver most sensitive to nonlinearities. This is because it lies after the LNA wherein the signals are at a higher amplitude level having been amplified by the LNA. In addition, assuming a multi-channel FM receiver, any filters that lie before the mixer and/or the LNA must be fairly wide to accommodate the frequency range of channels the receiver must be able to handle. For example, many wireless systems operating in the 2.4 GHz ISM band must cover a frequency band of about 100 MHz. Such a wide input band permits not just the desired signal to enter the receiver but a large amount of undesired signals as well. Sources of undesired signals in the input frequency band of such a receiver include emissions from microwave ovens and various wireless transmissions in the 2.4 GHz ISM band. The fine tuning in such a receiver is not performed before the mixer but after it. The local oscillator signal input to the mixer is varied to correspond to the frequency of the desired received signal, while the channel selection filtering is performed by a fixed narrowband band pass filter after the mixer stage. Thus, the entire 100 MHz frequency band is constantly input to the mixer regardless of the desired received frequency. The goal of the receiver design is to obtain the lowest noise figure possible while obtaining the highest 3rd order intercept possible. These goals, however, conflict with one another. To achieve a low noise figure, the gain of the LNA must be set high. In this case, large levels of noise and undesirable signals enter the mixer and discriminator due to the requirement of receiving all the channels in the band. A common solution to this problem is to control the gain of the LNA thus adapting it to the level of the received desired signal and the relative level of interference present. A variable gain LNA is used typically having two gain states: 1. A high gain mode in which the LNA is active with a full gain of G dB, which is typically between 10 and 20 dB. The high gain of the LNA results in the lowest noise figure (NF) for the receiver. 2. A low gain setting in which the LNA is bypassed, thus reducing the total gain by G dB but substantially increasing the NF. Note that in the more general case, the LNA may have an adjustable gain control which ranges between these two extreme gain values thus providing combinations of gain/linearity and NF that are in between the combinations of values presented above. As in receivers based on discrete components, and in RF integrated circuit design, a higher 3rd order intercept point results in a high NF that could potentially degrade the performance of the receiver when weak signals are received. The first mixer state, which performs frequency downconversion in the front end of the receiver, typically follows a nominal LNA gain on the order of 15 dB. Therefore, in many cases the linearity of the receiver is limited by the 3rd order intercept point of the first mixer that must handle an amplified signal. The selection whether to place the LNA in low or high gain mode should be determined in accordance with the received strength of the desired signal. In the case when the interfering signal is present and the desired signal is strong enough, switching the LNA to a low gain setting will reduce the effects of the interfering signal. If, however, the desired signal is weak and requires the LNA's amplification, the gain of the LNA must be kept high. Setting the gain of the LNA to high gain mode places a considerable limitation on the linearity of the receiver. The limitation on linearity of the receiver is due to the low 3rd order intercept point of the first mixer stage. The reduction of LNA gain by 10 to 15 dB, intended to reduce the susceptibility of the receiver front end to nonlinear effects, causes an increase in the noise figure of the receiver and reduces its sensitivity. This is because the signals input to the mixer are not as strong as without the reduction in LNA gain. Consequently, the sensitivity of the receiver is reduced (the sensitivity is reduced as a consequence of an increase in the noise figure). In some cases, it is not appropriate to switch the LNA to low gain mode. For example, in the case of near band high interference, the performance level of the receiver may fall below acceptable levels since the desired signal may be too low and the near band interference signal too high. In this case, the improvement of linearity is achieved at the expense of receiver sensitivity. Further, in some cases, switching the LNA to a low gain mode of operation does not result in a significant enough improvement of the linearity of the receiver.