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FIG. 1 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a capacitor 100 in accordance with the prior art. The capacitor 100 includes a first plate 110, a first electrode 115 coupled to the first plate and permitting interconnection with other circuit elements (not shown in FIG. 1), a second plate 120 together with a second electrode 125 coupled to the second plate 120 and a dielectric 130 disposed between the first 110 and second 120 plates of the capacitor 100.
The capacitor 100 operates by storing and releasing charge in response to signals coupled to the first 115 and second 125 electrodes. It is generally desirable to form capacitors 100 together with CMOS circuit elements but without requiring modification of standard CMOS processes. This allows greater choice of foundry for CMOS IC manufacturing, simplifies production, and reduces expense in realizing ICs that include the capacitor 100.
Some applications for capacitors 100 require larger breakdown voltages than are needed for most of the other circuit elements forming the IC. Such applications may include power supplies associated with programming circuitry for programmable or nonvolatile memory elements.
The first 110 and second 120 plates may be realized in a number of forms in ICs using standard CMOS processes. These forms can include metal or semiconductor layers comprising the capacitor plates 110, 120, separated by a layer forming the dielectric 130, or interdigitated conductive patterns comprising the capacitor plates 110, 120.
Capacitors 100 formed using interdigitated conductive patterns for the capacitor plates 110, 120 tend to provide relatively high breakdown voltage. These also tend to be relatively large and to provide relatively little capacitance per unit area of the IC in which they are formed.
Capacitors 100 may also be formed by using a first conductive plate 110, which may be relatively planar, formed on or in a substrate, a relatively planar dielectric 130 disposed atop the first plate 110 and a relatively planar second conductive plate 120 formed on and supported by the dielectric layer 130. The first plate 110 may be formed from metal or from a conductively doped semiconductive layer. When formed on a semiconductive substrate using conventional CMOS processing techniques and employing a dielectric analogous to a FET gate dielectric, such capacitors may be referred to as MOS capacitors or MDS (metal-dielectric-semiconductor) capacitors, although the dielectric may or may not be an oxide or silicon dioxide, and the first 110 and second 120 plates may be semiconductive or other conductive material rather than including metal.
For example, first 110 and second 120 plates may be formed using polysilicon or metal layers separated by a dielectric layer 130 formed using polyimide or an oxide such as silicon dioxide. Such capacitors 100 may be formed to have relatively high breakdown voltage using a relatively thick dielectric layer 130 but then provide relatively little capacitance per unit surface area of the IC because of the thickness of the dielectric layer 130.
Alternatively, MDS structures may be formed either as FETs or as MDS capacitors, using the same material for the dielectric 130 as is used to form gate dielectrics for other FET structures that are also part of the IC. This allows the capacitor 100 to be formed via the same processes that are employed to form transistors and the like. However, gate dielectrics are typically made relatively thin because, among other things, the transconductance of a FET per unit gate width (i.e., per unit area of the IC) decreases as the gate dielectric thickness increases. As a result, while use of dielectric layers 130 that are also suitable for FET gate structures provides relatively high capacitance per unit area, the breakdown voltage of the resulting capacitor 100 is relatively low.
Various prior art capacitors have been employed to address these conflicting aspects of high-voltage capacitor realization. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,637, entitled “Monolithic High-Voltage Capacitor” and issued to Embree describes a capacitor employing multiple dielectric layers and a guard ring but requires process steps not normally associated with CMOS IC fabrication, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,587,869 entitled “High-Voltage Capacitor Manufacturing Method And High-Voltage Capacitor” and issued to Azumi et al. describes a high-voltage capacitor not suitable for monolithic integration.
Various prior art capacitors have been employed to address the conflicting aspects of high-voltage capacitor realization in the context of CMOS ICs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,137,153, entitled “Floating Gate Capacitor For Use In Voltage Regulators”, issued to Le et al. describes a single floating-gate NMOS transistor used together with other circuitry as a constant-capacitance capacitor in a voltage-divider structure for voltage regulation, while U.S. Pat. No. 6,262,469, entitled “Capacitor For Use In A Capacitive Divider That Has A Floating-Gate Transistor As A Corresponding Capacitor” and issued to Le et al. describes one or more floating-gate NMOS transistors used together with other circuitry to provide a capacitive voltage divider for voltage regulation. These circuits are not intended to provide high-voltage capacitors; they also require a conventional control gate disposed atop the floating gate in order to operate, but the processing required to fabricate such control-gate structures is not available in many modern CMOS foundry processes.
One approach that has been employed to address these conflicting aspects of high-voltage capacitor realization in CMOS ICs is to stack a pair of FETs with source/drain contacts connected together, or a pair of MOS capacitors, in series by forming each capacitor structure so that they share a contact in the form of a well of semiconductive material. FIG. 2 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a high-voltage capacitor 200 formed from two MOS capacitor structures 205 and 210, in accordance with the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,064, entitled “Floating Gate MOS Capacitor” and issued to Hariton describes a voltage-independent capacitor circuit analogous to that of FIG. 2 and describes the associated biasing circuitry required for such.
Each of the MOS capacitor structures 205 and 210 of FIG. 2 is illustrated as comprising a PMOS FET-like structure having a respective externally accessible capacitor electrode 212, 214, a floating gate 231 and control electrode 232, source/drain electrodes or power electrodes 215, a channel 220 electrically coupling the source/drain electrodes 215 of each structure 205 or 210, and a body or well contact 225. In each of the structures 205 or 210, the gate structure includes a dielectric 230 such as a conventional gate oxide, and is capacitively coupled to the source/drain electrodes 215 and channel 220 through the dielectric 230.
Each FET structure 205, 210 is shown as comprising a floating-gate electrode 231 formed on a first portion of the dielectric layer 230 and a control-gate electrode, 232, formed on and separated from the floating-gate electrode 231 by a second portion of the dielectric layer 230. Conventional floating-gate transistors incorporate separate floating gate 231 and control gate 232 structures, with only the control gate 232 typically being electrically accessible.
A conventional stacked capacitor 200 is formed by interconnecting one of the source/drain contacts 215 from each of the FETs at a common intercapacitor node 235 and employing the control-gate electrodes 212 and 214, respectively, as the first 115 and second 125 capacitor electrodes (FIG. 1). One issue with such stacked capacitors 200 is that conventional MOS or floating-gate transistor structures have no means for adjusting charge on common node 235, and, consequently, are unable to avoid one of the two structures 205, 210 carrying a disproportionate amount of the voltage impressed across the electrodes 212, 214.
Furthermore, the semiconductive structure forming the common source/drain region has leakage currents associated with it. As a result, a bias circuit (not illustrated) is required in order to maintain the intercapacitor node 235 voltage and to provide a path for addition or removal of charge caused by leakage currents. Requiring such bias circuitry for each high-voltage capacitor 200 undesirably increases the complexity of the resulting integrated circuit that includes the high-voltage capacitors 200 and results in poorer form factor, i.e., a larger circuit layout.
Accordingly, improved techniques and structures are needed for realizing high-voltage capacitors having a compact form factor using standard CMOS processes. | {
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The invention relates to fuel control valves for diesel engines. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicular battery charging switch and more particularly pertains to electrically connecting an alternator with a battery of a vehicle for charging when held downwards or held level and disconnecting an alternator with a battery of an alternator when tilted upwards with a vehicular battery charging switch.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of electrical level switches is known in the prior art. More specifically, electrical level switches heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of activating and deactivating an electrical connection when positioned accordingly are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,301 to Bitko discloses a mercury tilt switch. U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,040 to Bitko discloses a mercury type tilt switch. U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,519 to Elenbaas discloses a mercury tilt switch and method of manufacture. U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,208 to Shostek et al. discloses a level sensor. U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,402 to Olson discloses a mercury float switch.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a vehicular battery charging switch that activates or deactivates a circuit between an alternator and battery based on the orientation of a vehicle.
In this respect, the vehicular battery charging switch according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of electrically connecting an alternator with a battery of a vehicle for charging when held downwards or held level and disconnecting an alternator with a battery of an alternator when tilted upwards.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved vehicular battery charging switch which can be used for electrically connecting an alternator with a battery of a vehicle for charging when held downwards or held level and disconnecting an alternator with a battery of an alternator when tilted upwards. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a molded package and a light emitting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A light emitting device using a frame insert type resin package tends to accumulate heat generated by a light emitting element in the resin package, and it is thus required to improve heat dissipation properties of the light emitting device. If the frame insert type resin package has leads that are exposed from a rear surface of the resin package, the leads easily separate from a molded resin of the resin package. It is thus required to improve adhesiveness between the molded resin and the leads.
JP 2008-251937A discloses a resin packages having improved heat dissipation properties, in which leads are exposed from the rear surface of a molded resin so that heat generated by a light emitting element mounted in a recess of the resin package can be effectively discharged through the leads to a mounting substrate.
JP 2003-110145A discloses configurations for improving adhesiveness between a molded resin and lead, in which a metal plate is provided with a recess formed on a vertical side (lateral cutout) and a recess formed on a horizontal bottom (bottom recess). These recesses are covered with a molded resin so as to allow the molded resin to hold the lead.
These light emitting devices using the resin package are mounted on the mounting substrate with solder paste. | {
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Conventionally boats are transported and stored in their normal keel side down position. This applies usually to boats in the length of 4-8 meters. For storage and maintenance purpose on land, smaller light weighted boats are turned around their longitudinal axis by hand, thus the boats are stored keel side up. Boats longer than 7 to 8 meters are usually so heavy that heavy duty equipment are needed for handling the boat in connection with lifting the boat from water and launching the boat to water.
Some solutions to the problem of lifting to and launching a boat from upside down position are known from patent literature, but they are typically limited in boat sizes and include major remodeling of the transporting device or the boat.
It is thus an aim of the present invention to provide a device for launching and lifting of a boat, that overcomes the prior art problems. An aim is to provide a device that allows an easy handling of the boat, without the need for excessive force, thus allowing it to be handled also by a single person.
The present description relates to a device for launching and lifting a boat, comprising a frame comprising at least a first frame part having a first end and a second end, at least a first cross-structure coupled with the first frame part essentially perpendicular to it and at a distance B1 from the first end of the first frame part, at least a first boat guide coupled with the first frame part at a distance C1 from the first end of the first frame part, at least a first actuator arranged to be coupled with the first frame part at a distance D from the first end of the first frame part, at least one counterpart, means for attaching the frame to the counterpart, wherein the first actuator is arranged to be coupled with the counterpart for enabling movement of the frame between a first position and a second position.
The present description also relates to a system comprising a device for launching and lifting a boat according to the present description, a boat arranged along the first frame part, a storing device for the boat selected from the group consisting of a dock, a shore docking station and a boat trailer,wherein the counterpart of the device for launching and lifting the boat is arranged on the storing device. | {
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Input devices including proximity sensor devices (also commonly called touchpads or touch sensor devices) are widely used in a variety of electronic systems. A proximity sensor device typically includes a sensing region, often demarked by a surface, in which the proximity sensor device determines the presence, location and/or motion of one or more input objects. Proximity sensor devices may be used to provide interfaces for the electronic system. For example, proximity sensor devices are often used as input devices for larger computing systems (such as opaque touchpads integrated in, or peripheral to, notebook or desktop computers). Proximity sensor devices are also often used in smaller computing systems (such as touch/proximity screens integrated in cellular phones, tablet computers, wearable devices (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.) and other electronic systems). Such touch/proximity screen input devices are often superimposed upon or otherwise collocated with a display of the computing system. | {
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A variety of techniques are available for providing visual displays of graphical or video images to a wearer. In many applications cathode ray tube type displays (CRTs), such as televisions and computer monitors produce images for viewing. Such devices suffer from several limitations. For example, CRTs are bulky and consume substantial amounts of power, making them undesirable for portable or head-mounted applications.
Matrix addressable displays, such as liquid crystal displays and field emission displays, may be less bulky and consume less power. However, typical matrix addressable displays utilize screens that are several inches across. Such screens have limited use in head-mounted applications or in applications where the display is intended to occupy only a small portion of a wearer's field of view. Such displays have been reduced in size, at the cost of increasingly difficult processing and limited resolution or brightness. Also, improving resolution of such displays typically requires a significant increase in complexity.
One approach to overcoming many limitations of conventional displays is a scanned beam display, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,104 of Furness et al., entitled VIRTUAL RETINAL DISPLAY (hereinafter “Furness”), which is incorporated herein by reference. As shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1 of Furness, in one embodiment of a scanned beam display 40, a scanning source 42 outputs a scanned beam of light that is coupled to a viewer's eye 44 by a beam combiner 46. In some scanned displays, the scanning source 42 includes a scanner, such as scanning mirror or acousto-optic scanner, that scans a modulated light beam onto a viewer's retina. In other embodiments, the scanning source may include one or more light emitters that are rotated through an angular sweep.
The scanned light enters the eye 44 through the viewer's pupil 48 and is imaged onto the retina 59 by the cornea. In response to the scanned light the viewer perceives an image. In another embodiment, the scanned source 42 scans the modulated light beam onto a screen that the viewer observes. One example of such a scanner suitable for either type of display is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,444 to Melville et al., entitled MINIATURE OPTICAL SCANNER FOR A TWO-AXIS SCANNING SYSTEM, which is incorporated herein by reference. | {
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Semiconductor memory devices can store data and output the stored data on command. Semiconductor memory devices may be roughly categorized into random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM) devices. A RAM device is typically a volatile memory device that loses its stored data at power-off, although some types of RAM devices are non-volatile. Examples of RAM devices include dynamic RAM, static RAM, and the like. The ROM device is a non-volatile memory device that can retain its stored data even at power-off. Examples of ROM devices include programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), flash memory, and the like. Flash memories can be further classified into NAND-type flash memory and NOR-type flash memory depending on the kinds of logic gates used to implement the memory.
In general, a NAND flash memory may include a cell array, which includes a plurality of memory blocks. Each of the memory blocks may include a plurality of pages. A memory block is typically used as the basic unit for an erase operation, and a page is typically used as the basic unit for a read/write operation.
NAND flash memory devices have been successfully utilized in mobile communication terminals, portable media players, digital cameras, portable storage devices, and the like. In order to use a NAND flash memory device as a storage medium, it may be desirable to secure the integrity of data stored in the NAND flash memory device. However, a NAND flash memory can experience bit failures due to its physical characteristics. Thus, some NAND flash memory devices are configured to be able to detect and/or correct bits that have failed (i.e., “failed bits”). In order to detect/correct failed bits, an error correction code (ECC) circuit may be provided in the NAND flash memory device.
An ECC algorithm may be loaded onto the ECC circuit of the NAND flash memory. This may enable the NAND flash memory device to correct failed bits that may be generated during a read/write operation. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the reliability of a NAND flash memory through the use of error detection/correction circuitry.
In general, a number of packaged memory devices may be tested simultaneously to reduce the time required for testing. Since a test apparatus configured to simultaneously test packaged memory devices may have an error capture RAM that has a limited memory capacity, a compressed and/or summarized test result may be stored in the error capture RAM. According to this test scheme, although a memory block of a packaged memory device may have only one failed bit, the memory block will be considered to be a bad block. In this case, it may not be possible to detect the number of failed bits (i.e. a “failed bit number”) of a memory block that has been determined to be a bad block.
A software technique for individually counting failed bits at a test stage may be used to determine the number of failed bits. For example, it is possible to precisely measure a failed bit number for each memory device by storing test results corresponding to all memory cells in an error capture RAM. However, since the storage capacity of the error capture RAM may be limited, the number of memory devices to be tested at the same time may also be limited. This means that the time required to perform the test may be increased.
In methods of counting failed bits in a conventional NAND flash memory, a failed bit number can be detected by inputting expected data through input/output terminals and comparing the expected data with data read from a page of the flash memory. Such a method of generating a failed bit count is disclosed in U.S. patent publication No. 2002-0069381.
In a conventional method of counting failed bits, it may be possible to detect both the existence of a failed bit and the number of failed bits. However, it may not be possible to detect the position of the failed bits (i.e. a “failed bit position”) in the memory. In order to correct failed bits, the position of the failed bits must be determined by a tester. Further, since the sample data from a tester is input in predetermined units (e.g., byte or word units), a long time may be required to test failed bits. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an industrial controller, and addressees in particular to a fault-tolerant technique for numeric data to be processed by operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
For control in a social infrastructure, industrial controllers in use are mostly employed for a 24-hour service as a given. Such industrial controllers are employed in those systems requiring operation processes to be error-free during their services. There is thus growing role of a fault-tolerant system allowing normal processes to be continued as a whole, even with a trouble caused in part.
Such the background is based on for development of a code theory (non-patent document 1), as well as for introduction of a fault-tolerant technique using an error correcting code, primarily in a storage system, such as a memory as a main (patent document 1). Referred now as the non-patent document 1 is “Sanzyutsu Fugou Riron (arithmetic code theory) by Akio Fukuhara and Munehiro Gotoh, Corona Ltd., Japan, April 1978, pp 32-72, pp 97-181”, and the patent document 1 is Japanese Patent Publication No. 2,665,113.
For the storage system, implementation of a fault-tolerant technique is unavoidable because of, among others, (1) the number of elements very greater than operation circuitry, and (2) the factor of availability higher than operation circuitry. Referred now as operation circuitry is circuitry composed of operation circuits for arithmetic operations, such as addition and subtraction as well as multiplication and division, and their control circuits.
On the contrary, for operation circuitry, implementing a fault-tolerant technique has not been deemed so important, for reasons such as (1) a smaller element number, (2) a lower availability factor, and (3) a greater implementation cost than the storage system.
In the field of a semiconductor process technique, however, as replies to demands for higher densification and higher speeds, recent years have observed developments of a finer fabrication of logic circuit, accompanied by an increasing difficulty in designing a robust circuit with a sufficient margin ensured as in the past.
This induces a software error due to fine particles in logic circuit.
Really, such a development of finer fabrication of circuit is accompanied by an increasing probability in occurrence of a software error due to fine particles, even in operation circuitry of an industrial controller or the like.
On the other hand, for those systems to be provided with a higher reliability as necessary to meet demands for an increase in operation speed and an increase in amount to be processed by operation, attempts are positively made for parallelization of operation circuitry.
In this respect, recently known is an operation processor provided with a plurality of operators for logic operations to be performed as desirable to one or more input operands, and configured to separate from the system such an operator as high of defective fraction, causing another operator to re-execute an operation process having been assigned to that operator, allowing even for an ensured security without damages to functions of the system (patent document 2). Referred now as the patent document 2 is Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open Publication No. 2006-228,121. | {
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Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates to a method and an arrangement for controlling the flow of a coolant fluid in a compressor, in particular in a rotary compressor.
The compressors of interest here, in particular rotary compressors, are specifically screw-type compressors with fluid injection. Because such machines are frequently employed at a number of different sites, they are ordinarily movable or at least transportable. From these machines the compressed process fluid is sent through conduits to attached process-fluid consuming apparatus, for example compressed-air tools such as pneumatic hammers, pneumatic impact screwdrivers, pneumatic grinders etc.
Such compressors, for instance oil-injection screw compressors, have been known for many years. During the compression process a coolant fluid, in particular oil, is injected into the compression space to become mixed with the process fluid in these compressors. The coolant fluid serves to cool the process fluid by conducting the heat of compression away into a separate cooling circuit, and in addition acts to lubricate particular components of the compressor as well as to seal off the compression space. If the process fluid is air, it is usually sucked in from the surroundings and therefore usually contains an amount of water vapor that depends on its temperature.
A first problem, which in this case becomes apparent during the injection or recycling of the coolant fluid, lies in the risk that the temperature will fall below the condensation point for the water vapor present in the air used as process fluid. Water that has condensed out can to a certain extent become emulsified with the coolant fluid, in particular the oil, or can even be injected or recycled as an extra phase. This presents the following disadvantages, among others: reduction of the lubricant properties of the coolant fluid, increased corrosion of the components, and greater wear and tear of the bearings in the compressor.
A second problem, which should be distinguished from the first, arises when the process fluid, in particular the compressed air in the conduit leading to the pneumatic apparatus, cools off so that water contained in the process fluid condenses out. As a result, corrosion can occur in the pneumatic apparatus, with permanent damage as a potential consequence. The problem is exacerbated when within the conduits to the pneumatic apparatus, or in the apparatus itself, ice formation occurs because of the low ambient temperature and the conduits to or within the pneumatic apparatus are thereby partially or completely blocked. These effects can be made still worse by expansion of the compressed air in the apparatus, which can lead to functional inadequacies or even total failure of the associated pneumatic apparatus to operate.
A third, additional problem is created when the temperature regulation conventionally provided for the coolant fluid is designed to prevent only the first two problems, so that a process fluid at high temperatures is delivered to the pneumatic consuming apparatus. When the ambient temperature is high, only a slight degree of cooling occurs on the way to the pneumatic consuming apparatus, which can cause thermally induced injury to the operator of the apparatus.
Many preliminary considerations are known regarding ways to control the coolant fluid in compressors against the background of the problems cited above. A technical regulation principle in current use for controlling the temperature of a coolant fluid in compressors is disclosed, for example, in patent EP 0 067 949 B1. Here a thermostatic slide valve determines whether coolant fluid is sent through a fluid cooler to be used for cooling, or is shunted past the cooler in order to raise the temperature. With this form of regulation the temperature of the coolant fluid is kept relatively constant, and is set at a level such that on one hand it does not cause the temperature of the process fluid to fall below the condensation point, while on the other hand a temperature so high as potentially to damage the coolant fluid is avoided.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,461 a further developed valve unit with an inlet and an outlet for coolant fluid is described. Here again, the volume flow of the coolant fluid in a bypass conduit that bridges the fluid cooler is regulated, such that a portion of the flow of coolant fluid is always passed through the fluid cooler. The regulation is achieved by means of a valve comprising two control units that act in opposite directions, one control unit operating dependent on the inlet temperature and the second one, dependent on the system temperature. One of the disadvantages of this design is that the control valve is complicated in structure and subject to malfunction, and furthermore a certain minimal volume flow of coolant fluid passes through the fluid cooler. Hence this proportion of the coolant fluid is constantly cooled, which thus also lowers the temperature of the process fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,390 discloses a form of regulation in which a second bypass conduit is also provided as a shunt around the fluid cooler. In this second bypass conduit there is an additional valve which, when activated by a processor, allows a specific amount of coolant fluid to bypass the cooler in the form of a pulse. The release of these pulses by the processor depends on various parameters. Hence this solution is extremely elaborate to implement, both because multiple parameters must be monitored and evaluated and because an additional bypass conduit must be provided.
The solutions discussed above are predominantly concerned with the problem of keeping the coolant fluid in the compressor itself at a temperature such that water does not condense out and hence impairment of the coolant fluid and of the compressor is prevented. At the same time, the forms of regulation here disclosed are designed so as also to avoid raising the coolant fluid to a temperature high enough to be potentially damaging. However, the problems associated with the condensation of water while it is in the pneumatic consumer devices or in the conduits leading thereto are not addressed.
A variant of a solution relevant to this point is known from the patent DE 36 01 816 A1. There the compressed process fluid, which has been heated to about 60xc2x0 C. above the intake temperature of the compressor, is passed through an overdimensioned after cooler to bring it down to a temperature about 10xc2x0 C. above the intake temperature. A considerable proportion of the water vapor present in the process fluid is thereby caused to condense out and is eliminated by a condensate trap. The compressed process fluid is subsequently sent to a heat exchanger where it is rewarmed so that ultimatelyxe2x80x94influenced to some degree by the current ambient parameters, which in this design are assumed to be unchangingxe2x80x94a process fluid is produced that is quite dry and about 60xc2x0 C. above the intake temperature, i.e. very hot.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for controlling the coolant fluid in a conventional compressor which has a simple, economical and reliable construction and wherein it is possible to reduce or, where possible, avoid the condensation of water out of both a coolant fluid and a process fluid output by the compressor to another apparatus, in particular with respect to condensation and freezing events in the receiving apparatus itself, while a high degree of operating facility is maintained.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an arrangement for controlling the flow of a coolant fluid through a compressor comprising: a coolant-fluid inlet for coolant fluid discharged from the compressor and a coolant-fluid outlet for returning the coolant fluid to the compressor; a fluid cooler through which at least a proportion of the coolant fluid can be passed for cooling, when necessary; a system-control actuator which controls the magnitude of the proportion of the coolant fluid that passes through the fluid cooler on the basis of system parameters including the temperature of the coolant fluid by fluid-control means; a fluid-control device; and a summer-/winter-operation actuator, which in a summer position takes priority over the system-control actuator so as to limit the action of the system-control actuator in one direction, such that when the summer-/winter-operation actuator is activated, the proportion of the coolant fluid that is passed through the fluid cooler is increased or diminished by the fluid-control device.
The present invention therefore provides a summer-/winter-operation actuator which, taking priority over the system-control actuator, in a summer position completely or partially overrides the action of the system-control actuator in a direction such that when the summer-/winter-operation actuator is activated, the proportion of the coolant fluid flow that is sent through the fluid cooler is appropriately increased or reduced by a fluid-control means.
The invention achieves its object by making use of the fact that the temperature of the process fluid at the point where it emerges from the installation is determined by the temperature of the coolant fluid, and in particular corresponds approximately to the maximal temperature of the coolant fluid. Control of the temperature of the process fluid at the installation output can therefore be accomplished by influencing both the injection temperature and the injection amount of the coolant fluid.
To avoid undesired condensation of moisture in the compressor, but especially in the conduits leading to apparatus receiving the compressed process fluid from the compressor and/or within the apparatus themselves, the arrangement can initially be adjusted so that the process fluid is less strongly cooled and is sent to the consuming apparatus or into the conduits leading thereto at a comparatively high temperature. The cooling that occurs within the conduits, or by the time the fluid reaches the consuming apparatus, then usually suffices to ensure the comfort of the personnel responsible for operating the consuming apparatus. Only when the ambient temperature is high, so that the cooling effect on the process fluid as it is conducted to the consuming apparatus is in some circumstances no longer as great, does the invention provide for further cooling of the process fluid under the influence of a summer-/winter-operation actuator.
The summer-/winter-operation actuator or, more generally speaking, an ambient-temperature-compensation actuator, is provided in order to compensate as far as possible a reduction or enhancement of cooling brought about by a higher or lower ambient temperature. The terms xe2x80x9csummerxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cwinterxe2x80x9d in the context of summer-/winter-operation actuator or summer/winter position are used herein and in the claims in order to facilitate understanding, and in general designate two different kinds of ambient conditions, namely warmer surroundings on one hand and colder surroundings on the other hand.
Hence the winter operation is intended to prevent the temperature from falling below the condensation point of the process fluid on its way to the consuming apparatus, whereas the summer operation is intended to avoid exceeding a maximal temperature at the apparatus.
With the arrangement described here it is possible by simple means to solve, in a reliable and economical manner, problems of all three kinds present in the state of the art, namely condensation in the compressor, condensation in the conduits leading to the consuming apparatus or in the apparatus themselves, and excessive heating of the consuming apparatus devices just when the ambient temperature is high.
In an alternative embodiment the summer-/winter-operation actuator, which in more general terms can be called an ambient-temperature-compensation actuator for compensating effects on the cooling of fluid associated with a higher or lower temperature of the ambient air, comprises a manual control apparatus by means of which the summer-/winter-operation actuator can be adjusted, in particular can be switched between two positions, namely a summer position and a winter position. Obviously the manual control apparatus can be constructed in various ways; for example, it can comprise a hand-operated lever, a setting wheel, where appropriate with a stepping-down action, and/or another suitable control device.
In one specific embodiment the summer-/winter-operation actuator comprises an actuating shaft with a cam structure such that the cam structure acts on the fluid-control device by way of a control element. In this case the actuating shaft can, for instance, cooperate with the manual control device or also be driven by an electric motor or by pneumatic or hydraulic means.
In another alternative embodiment the summer-/winter-operation actuator is functionally connected to a thermocouple in contact with the outside air, so that the outside-air thermocouple activates the summer-/winter-operation actuator in dependence on the external or ambient temperature.
In yet another alternative embodiment the summer-/winter-operation actuator is functionally connected to a thermosensor that activates the summer-/winter-operation actuator in dependence on the outside temperature. In both of the preceding embodiments the advantage over a manual control apparatus is that there is automatic compensation of an elevated or reduced cooling effect when the ambient air is colder or warmer, whereas with a manual control apparatus the activation of the summer-/winter-operation actuator has to be performed by the operating personnel.
In an especially preferred embodiment the system-control actuator and the summer-/winter-operation actuator are functionally connected to a common fluid-control device that adjusts the proportion of the coolant-fluid flow that is directed through the fluid cooler, such that the functional connection between the system-control actuator and the fluid-control device is completely or partially interrupted in one direction of action when the summer-/winter-operation actuator is adjusted in the direction towards a summer position. In this way, when both the system-control actuator and the summer-/winter-operation actuator influence the flow of the coolant fluid by way of only one common fluid-control device, control of the cooling of the process fluid can be especially simply and effectively accomplished. At the same time the actuator prioritization, which is regarded as a useful feature, is implemented in a particularly simple manner, inasmuch as when it is needed, the summer-/winter-operation actuator can be put into a position in which it completely or partly eliminates the action of the fluid-control device in one direction. This makes it possible to set the installation initially to a relatively high temperature of the process fluid, as described at the outset, and then, when the ambient temperature is high, to make corrections by means of the summer-/winter-operation actuator.
In one embodiment of the invention the system-control actuator and summer-/winter-operation actuator are disposed coaxially, which enables a relatively simple construction.
In another preferred embodiment a displaceably mounted control element is made integral with the fluid-control device, as a control cylinder. Here the displaceably mounted control element is a force- or action-transmitting means, which need not necessarily be immersed in the fluid flow. Preferably also, the one-piece cylinder extends into the fluid flow and simultaneously comprises sealing surfaces, to seal off the fluid channel.
In a structurally preferred embodiment the system-control actuator is attached to and preferably within the control element and is braced against a contact surface that is fixed in a given position regardless of the position of the summer-/winter-operation actuator. Thus depending on the position of the summer-/winter-operation actuator, the system-control actuator is only partially effective or in some circumstances entirely ineffective in one direction of action with respect to adjustment of the fluid-control device.
In one concrete, advantageous embodiment the summer-/winter-operation actuator acts on the control element by way of a displacement piston, directly or indirectly, to adjust the fluid-control device.
The summer-/winter-operation actuator can be switched between at least two positions. Preferably it can also occupy one or more intermediate positions or, as is especially preferred with respect to control technology, can be shifted continuously between a first (winter) position and a second (summer) position.
Furthermore, it is also possible to apply a logical reversal of the idea underlying the present invention, namely to use the arrangement for controlling the flow of coolant fluid so as to keep the process fluid in a compressor initially at a relatively low temperature, at which it is subject to condensation, and at critical, in this case cool ambient temperatures to give the summer-/winter-operation actuator or compensation actuator priority for influencing the flow of coolant fluid so as to raise the temperature of the process fluid. Moreover, with the concept of prioritization according to the present invention, the temperature of the process fluid can be influenced not only by controlling the temperature of the coolant fluid injected into the compressor but also, additionally or alternatively, by altering the volume flow of the coolant fluid.
Preferably also, the fluid-control device is positioned at a junction between a bypass conduit that bridges the fluid cooler and a cooling conduit associated with the fluid cooler, in such a way that when the flow of coolant fluid through the fluid cooler is increased, the amount of coolant fluid flowing through the bypass conduit is simultaneously reduced. In this case the junction at which the fluid-control device is positioned can be situated either ahead of the fluid cooler in the direction of flow or after the fluid cooler. Positioning of the fluid-control device at a junction is regarded as particularly advantageous because as the one flow component is increased, a simultaneous reduction of the other component is brought about, so that the influence of this action is extremely effective.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of controlling the flow of a coolant fluid through a compressor, in particular through a rotary compressor, in order to adjust the temperature of a process fluid wherein the coolant fluid discharged from the compressor can be directed through a fluid cooler when necessary for cooling, the proportion of coolant fluid injected into the compressor or the proportion of the coolant fluid that is directed through the fluid cooler being controlled on the basis of system parameters including the temperature of the coolant fluid, and wherein, in order to prevent condensation or ice formation in apparatus receiving the output from the compressor or in conduits connecting the compressor to such apparatus when the temperature of the outside air is low, in particular when the temperature of the outside air falls below a certain threshold TG, the proportion of coolant fluid injected into the compressor is decreased or the magnitude of the proportion of the coolant fluid directed through the fluid cooler is reduced or is interrupted.
In a preferred embodiment of this method, the coolant flow directed through the fluid cooler is initially reduced irrespective of the outside-air temperature and is only increased when the outside air becomes warm, in particular when its temperature rises above the threshold TG.
The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the attached drawings. | {
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This invention relates to a method of producing acrylamide polymers, more specifically, this invention relates to an improved method for polymerizing concentrated aqueous monomer solution. Obtained acrylamide polymers are water soluble, porous, hydrous gel and can be dried quickly.
Various processes for preparing polymers of acrylamide have been already known in the art, and many products of acrylamide polymers are now available on the market. The techniques on production of such material are also rapidly advancing. The commercially feasible acrylamide polymers may be grouped into two types: aqueous liquid and powder. These two types of polymers have their own traits, and both of them are widely used in many fields of industry. Recently, however, preference is being given to use of the powder as it has now become possible to obtain the powder with very high quality and also because such powder are more easy to treat.
Various kinds of techniques have been proposed for producing powdery acrylamide polymers, for instance, reversed phase emulsion polymerization method, reversed phase suspension polymerization method and precipitation polymerization method. Any of these methods, however, must use an organic solvent in the polymerization process and also can not always produce a polymer with high quality. There is also available a method in which an aqueous monomer solution at a relatively low concentration (15 to 20% by weight) and dehydration is made by using a water-absorbing solvent such as methanol, acetone or acetonitrile. According to this method, however, a great quantity of water-absorbing solvent must be used as water exists in an amount of more than 5 times the polymer, and also too much cost is required for recovery of the solvent.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 124188/74 discloses "A method of producing dry acrylamide polymers" according to which 10 to 30% by weight of aqueous acrylamide solution is polymerized, and the obtained polymerization product is kneaded and shaped by using an extruder, followed by primary drying with hot air and secondary drying with methanol. This method requires a great quantity of heat as the initial water content is high.
According to the "Method of producing water-soluble polymers" proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5222/74, high-concentration solution of acrylamide (50 to 80% by weight) is polymerized in the presence of a polymerization regulator by forming the polymerization solution into the form of a thin film to increase the surface area while removing heat of polymerization by means of radiation or external cooling. This method has a drawback that the polymerization vessel used therefor is excessively large in area because the polymerization solution is formed into a film, and hence such method is also not suited for industrial application.
In the past attempts for improvement in polymerization of acrylamide, priority has been given to the techniques for removing heat of polymerization and various methods have been proposed in this connection. For instance, in the reversed phase emulsion polymerization method or reversed phase suspension polymerization method, it is tried to dissipate heat of polymerization in a great amount of organic solvent introduced into the polymerization system. In the case of aqueous solution polymerization, as it is difficult to remove heat of polymerization, the monomer concentration usable in this method is up to about 30% by weight, and for polymerization at a higher concentration, the polymerization solution must be formed into a film, so as to expedite heat dissipation. Thus, the greatest problem in the conventional art of aqueous solution polymerization was how to keep the polymerization system below the boiling point to prevent the thermal degradation of the polymer. | {
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In this process, the tubular film material is usually pulled over the piece item stack without any tension. Afterwards, heat is applied onto the film material, wherein molecular orientations within the film material relax and the film is put in close contact with the contour of the piece item stack. However, the tubular film can equally be stretched elastically to an excessive size and put itself elastically in contact with the contour of the piece item stack during fitting without a separate heat input being required. The device according to the invention and the respective method according to the invention are therefore suitable both for shrinking the tubular film as well as for stretching of said tubular film.
During change of the tubular film stock in the device, the lagging end of the consumed tubular film stock is connected to the leading end of the new tubular film stock. Connected to form a unit in this way, the films of the new and the old tubular film stock are conveyed and fed in the direction onto the cutting device. Said cutting device is operated in the previously known method in a way that the connection area between the leading and the lagging end is separated by the cutting device. Then, it falls into an input area for the piece item stack due to gravity. This separated length section will then have the leading and the lagging end. These two ends are pulled by conveyer rollers of the conveyor device prior to separation with the cutting device so that the new film material does not have to be inserted there. | {
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People use a variety of approaches to attain and maintain physical fitness. Physical fitness may include strength, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, speed, balance, coordination, stamina, or other attributes (e.g., ability to perform specific tasks such as jumping or throwing a football). Many aspects of physical fitness can be realized by performing exercises that do not require special equipment, e.g., jogging, or push-ups. However, various exercise tools have been developed to enable individuals to achieve their physical fitness goals efficiently and consistently.
Physical training equipment is available in a variety of forms. From simple weight sets and exercise balls to sophisticated exercise machines typically only found in fitness centers, training tools share a common purpose: to augment the training capabilities of the human body alone. Undeniably, individuals must themselves exert sheer effort in order to achieve their fitness goals, but the tools they use may make the training process more efficient.
Conventional free weights, such as barbells and dumbbells, are renowned for their simplicity and versatility. One can perform many different free weight exercises to target various parts of the body by using gravity to counter muscular contractions. Some devices (e.g., bench racks and Smith machines) use weights in constrained manners (e.g., by constraining a range of motion). Other devices use a combination of weight stacks, rods, pulleys, and other mechanical means to provide gravity-based resistance for specific exercises. Yet other devices (e.g., rowing machines) use other means of resistance, such as hydraulic (shocks-based), water-based, air-based, or magnetic resistance.
These devices have several disadvantages. Free weights and machines are cumbersome. A set of fixed dumbbells, spanning a range of weights that might reasonably be needed to target various parts of the body, takes up a considerable amount of space. Adjustable barbells or dumbbells, which allow the addition or removal of weight plates, solve this problem but require time to make the adjustments. Training machines are typically large and target only a limited range of body parts. Individuals typically find it unaffordable to buy enough machines to target the entire body. Even machines that have been designed to provide a full-body workout while occupying a minimal footprint, e.g., certain machines by Bowflex®, suffer from another drawback shared by all of the foregoing devices: lack of portability. Additionally, many of the foregoing devices are not suitable for all people (e.g., children) to use. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image taking apparatus employing a solid-state image-sensing device, and more particularly to a slim image taking apparatus, such as a digital still camera or digital video camera, provided with a zoom tens system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, as personal computers and the like become wide-spread, digital still cameras and digital video cameras (hereinafter collectively referred to as digital cameras), which permit easy capturing of image data into digital equipment, have been becoming increasingly popular among individual users. Such digital cameras are expected to continue to become more and more popular into the future as an image data input device.
In general, the im age quality of a digital camera depends on the number of pixels provided in a solid-state image-sensing device, such as CCD (charge-coupled device). Nowadays, digital cameras for general consumers boast of high resolution over one mega pixels, and are closing in on cameras using silver-halide film in image quality. Moreover, even in digital cameras for general consumers, the capability of varying the magnification with which images are taken (i.e., zooming capability) is desired; in particular, optical zooming is desired because it causes minimum image degradation. Furthermore, lately, digital cameras are required not only to offer high image quality but also to be compact, in particular slim so as to be easily portable.
In conventionally proposed zoom lens systems for digital cameras, the most common way to make a digital camera slim is to adopt a so-called collapsible lens barrel. Specifically, when the camera is not used, the lens barrel collapses so as to hold the lenses with minimum distances between them, and, when the camera is used, the lenses move out so as to make the camera ready to photograph. With this construction, it is possible, while maintaining satisfactory optical performance, to reduce the number of constituent lenses and thereby reduce the thickness of the lens barrel in its collapsed state (as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,647).
Another way to make a digital camera slim, i.e., other than by using a collapsible lens barrel, is to arrange a zoom lens system with its lens optical axis parallel to, of all the external faces of the camera body that is, for example, substantially box-shaped, that which has the greatest area. Moreover, as a zoom lens system that offers a large angle of view at the wide-angle end but that nevertheless is compact, there is conventionally known a zoom lens system composed of, from the object side, a first lens unit having a negative optical power, a second lens unit having a positive optical power, and a third lens unit having a positive optical power wherein the first lens unit is kept stationary during zooming (as exemplified by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-137164). By arranging a zoom lens system like this with its lens optical axis parallel to, of all the external faces of the substantially box-shaped camera body, that which has the greatest area, it is possible to realize a slim digital camera.
For a slim digital camera to be usable, it is required to be slim but nevertheless have its most object-side lens arranged with its optical axis perpendicular to, of all the external faces of the substantially box-shaped camera body, that which has the greatest area. One way to realize this is to bend the optical axis by using a prism in the first lens unit (as exemplified by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-248318).
However, with a construction adopting a collapsible lens barrel, like the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,687 mentioned above, even though it is possible to achieve slimming-down to a certain degree, there is a limit to reducing the thickness of the lens barrel in its collapsed state. Specifically, the thickness of the lens barrel cannot be reduced to less than the total of the thickness of the lenses themselves, that of the image-sensing device, and that of the optical filter and other components required by the image-sensing device. This makes it impossible to achieve satisfactory slimming-down.
Arranging a zoom lens system, like the one disclosed by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-137164 mentioned above, with its lens optical axis parallel to, of all the external faces of the substantially box-shaped camera body, that which has the greatest area makes the external shape of the camera elongate, and thus makes the camera extremely difficult to use. Usability may be improved by rotatably fitting the lens barrel so that, when the camera is used, the lens barrel is rotated so as to make the lens optical axis perpendicular to, of all the external faces of the substantially box-shaped camera body, that which has the greatest area. This, however, additionally requires a mechanism for rotating the lens barrel, and thus eventually increases the thickness of the camera. Moreover, extra operations are required to rotate the lens barrel when at the start and end of photographing.
With a so-called positive-led zoom construction, like the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-248318, in which the first lens unit has a positive optical power, it is difficult to achieve zooming with a small number of zooming components, and in fact there are provided as many as four zooming components. This makes the structure of the lens barrel complicated, and thus makes the lens barrel large as a whole including its drive components. This makes the camera as a whole wide, and makes satisfactory slimming-down impossible. | {
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Semiconductor materials such as silicon and gallium-arsenide are commonly used to manufacture integrated circuits for use in electronics. These integrated circuits typically have many transistors that are used as building blocks for larger circuits such as amplifiers. A commonly used performance measure for amplifiers is the “gain-bandwidth product.” The gain-bandwidth product describes an inverse relationship between gain and bandwidth above a certain operating frequency. In other words, amplifiers with a large gain-bandwidth product can amplify signals at higher frequencies than amplifiers with a small gain-bandwidth product.
The gain-bandwidth product of amplifiers is influenced by many factors, including the underlying semiconductor manufacturing process. For example, an amplifier circuit manufactured using one process may have a higher gain-bandwidth product than the same amplifier circuit manufactured using a different process. This may be problematic in situations where an amplifier designed using a process that supports a high gain-bandwidth product is shared with designers that desire the same amplifier performance, but use a process that does not support such a high gain-bandwidth product.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for alternate amplifiers. | {
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In the screening of fluidizable suspensions, such as medium consistency paper pulp, it is desirable to utilize a simple yet effective apparatus, and one which will allow the production of a number of different accept streams. Medium consistency pulp typically is pulp having a consistency of about 6-15 percent, and most typically within the range of about 8-12 percent solids. In order to effectively screen such suspensions, it is necessary to fluidize them by producing pulsations and shear forces in the suspension. When the suspension is fluidized the fibers or other solid materials therein move relative to each other, and can be separated according to different sizes, shapes, or weights utilizing an appropriate screening apparatus.
In co-pending application Ser. No. 836,123 filed Mar. 4, 1986 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein) a simple yet effective screening device which is particularly adapted for screening medium consistency pulp (although it may be utilized in the screening of other fluidizable suspensions) is illustrated. That screening device is typically utilized with chemical pulps, or mechanical pulps, such as TMP, CTMP, or the like. While the screening device illustrated therein is eminently practical, it has been found according to the present invention that such a device may be made even more useful by effecting reduction of shives, and other components of the rejects, within the screening device housing itself.
According to the present invention, for a screening device such as illustrated in said co-pending application Ser. No. 836,123, or a like screening device having a rotor which is rotatable with respect to a screen, rejects refining is provided directly in the screen housing itself by providing first and second grinding elements downstream of the screening means, that is between the screens and the rejects outlet from the housing. The grinding elements comprise a first element operatively mounted to the housing, and a second element operatively mounted to, and rotatable with, the rotor. The grinding elements preferably are in the form of rings which are removably attached to the housing and the rotor, respectively, and define a grinding slot between them. The dimensions of the grinding slot may be adjusted by replacing one or both of the annular grinding elements, or by forming the grinding elements so that they have a conical shape and adjusting the axial position of the rotor within the housing.
It has also been found, according to the present invention, that further shive reduction can be effected by utilizing vanes attached to the rotor, downstream of the grinding elements, which vanes simultaneously effect pumping of the rejects out of the main outlet. The vanes are as described in said co-pending application Ser. No. 836,123.
According to the present invention a method of treating a suspension of finely comminuted cellulosic fibrous material also is provided. The method comprises the following steps: (a) Introducing suspension having a consistency between about 6-15 percent into the housing inlet. (b) Effecting fluidization of the suspension within the housing to effect screening thereof, at least one accept stream being discharged from the housing through said at least one accepts outlet. (c) During screening of the suspension, effecting thickening of the suspension so that the suspension is thickened to a consistency of between about 15-20 percent. And (d), effecting reduction of the reject material in the thickened suspension prior to discharging the reject material out of the main outlet. Step (d) is practiced by passing the rejects through a grinding slot defined by the relatively rotatable grinding elements. Further shive reduction, and powered discharge of the rejects from the housing, is practiced by supplying dilution liquid to the suspension after grinding so that it is diluted to a consistency of between about 6-15 percent, and then acting on the suspension with rotating vanes (which effect the further shive reduction and pump the rejects out of the housing). Further reject reduction can be provided exterior of the housing, too, with a significant reduction in the energy expended in practicing the subsequent refining to get the desired results.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a device and procedure which are eminently suited for effecting screening of paper pulp (preferably medium consistency), or the like, while additionally effecting reduction of shives and other rejects material. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention and from the appended claims. | {
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Sliders are often mounted to the bottom surface of a load to act as a buffer between the load and the surface on which the load rests. Typically, sliders take the form of convex discs mounted to the bottom surface of the load by means of adhesive, nails, or the like. The slider disperses the weight of the load over an enlarged area and allows the load to be slid over the supporting surface. Further, the slider prevents the scratching or marring of the supporting surface when the load is moved and prevents the forming of a depression in the supporting surface when the load remains in one place for an extended period of time.
While functional for their intended purpose, prior sliders have certain limitations. More specifically, repeated movement of the load along a supporting surface may cause the connection means that attaches the slider to the load to fail such that the slider may become detached from the bottom of the load. This, in turn, may result in the load engaging the floor and becoming damaged. Alternatively, prior sliders may not function properly on high friction surfaces such as a concrete factory floor. Consequently, prior sliders are not often used to move heavy loads across concrete factory floors. Further, if these floor sliders are used on a high friction floor, the load may become detached from the sliders and engage the floor. Once again, this may result in the load becoming damaged. Therefore, it is a highly desirable to provide a slider that may be simply and easily secured to the bottom surface of a heavy load and that facilitates sliding of such load along a high friction surface such as a concrete factory floor.
Therefore, it is a primary object and feature of the present invention to provide a slider that may be securely maintained beneath a bottom surface of a load.
It is a further object and feature of the present invention to provide a slider that is inexpensive to manufacture and simple to utilize.
It is a still further object and feature of the present invention to provide a slider that facilitates the sliding of a load over a wide variety of supporting surfaces.
In accordance with the present invention, a slider is provided for facilitating the sliding of a load on a supporting surface. The slider includes a base having an upper surface for supporting the load and a lower surface. A plurality of slider elements extends from the lower surface of the base. Each slider element has a generally arcuate outer surface that is engageable with the supporting surface.
The slider also includes a support having an upper surface and a lower surface interconnected to the upper surface of the base. A pad has an upper surface for engagement with the load and a lower surface interconnected to the upper surface of the support. The upper surface of the pad has a high co-efficient of friction. A rigid wire is positioned between the upper surface of the support and the lower surface of the pad. The wire partially overlaps the slider elements.
It is contemplated for each slider element to terminate at a generally flat apex. It is also contemplated for the slider to include a lubricating pad depending from the lower surface of the base. The lubricating pad is engageable with the supporting surface for lubricating the supporting surface. A first slider element of the plurality of slider elements may have a predetermined radius and a second slider element of the plurality of slider elements may also have a predetermined radius. The predetermined radius of the first slider is greater than the predetermined radius of the second slider.
The slider may also include a generally flat mat having an opening therethough. The base is receivable in the opening of the mat. The mat has an upper surface, a lower surface and on outer edge. A ramp may be operatively connected to the outer edge of the mat. The ramp has an upper edge lying in a generally common plane with the upper surface of the mat and a lower edge adjacent the supporting surface.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a slider is provided for facilitating the sliding of a load on a supporting surface. The slider includes a support platform having an upper surface for receiving the load thereon and a lower surface. A plurality of slider elements extends from the lower surface of the support platform. Each slider element has an outer surface engageable with the supporting surface. A lubricating pad depends from the lower surface of the supporting platform and is engageable with the supporting surface for lubricating the supporting surface.
The support platform includes an upper layer having an upper surface defining the upper surface of the support platform and a lower surface; an intermediate layer having an upper surface bonded to the lower surface of the upper layer and a lower surface; and a lower layer having an upper surface bonded to the lower surface of the intermediate layer and a lower surface defining the lower surface of the support platform. The upper layer is formed from a resilient pad such that the upper surface of the upper layer has a high co-efficient of friction. A rigid wire is positioned between the upper layer of the support platform and the intermediate layer of the support platform. The wire partially overlaps the slider elements.
It is contemplated for each slider element to terminate at a generally flat apex. It is also contemplated for a first slider element of the plurality of slider elements to have a predetermined radius and for a second slider element of the plurality of slider elements to also have a predetermined radius. The predetermined radius of the first slider is greater than the predetermined radius of the second slider.
The slider may also include a generally flat mat having an opening therethough. The support platform is receivable in the opening of the mat. The mat has an upper surface, a lower surface and on outer edge. A ramp may be operatively connected to the outer edge of the mat. The ramp has an upper edge lying in a generally common plane with the upper surface of the mat and a lower edge adjacent the supporting surface.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for sliding a load over a supporting surface. The method includes the steps of providing a slider having a first side for receiving the load thereon and a second side engageable with the supporting surface, and depositing a lubricant adjacent the slider as the load is slid on the slider over the supporting surface.
The slider includes a support platform having an upper surface for receiving the load thereon and a lower surface, and a plurality of slider elements extending from the lower surface of the support platform. Each slider element has an outer surface engageable with the supporting surface. The support platform includes a resilient pad having an upper surface that defines the upper surface of the support platform and a lower surface, and a base having an upper surface affixed to the lower surface of the pad and a lower surface that defines the lower surface of the support platform.
The method may include the additional steps of reinforcing the support platform and depositing the slider within an opening in a mat. The mat has upper and lower surfaces. Advertising indicia may be placed on the upper surface of the mat. The step of reinforcing the support platform includes the additional step of positioning a wire between the resilient pad and the base. | {
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The present invention relates to novel naphthopyran materials. More particularly, this invention relates to indeno-fused photochromic naphthopyran materials and to compositions and articles comprising such naphthopyran materials. This invention also relates to naphthols used in making the novel naphthopyrans. When exposed to light radiation containing ultraviolet rays, such as the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight or the light of a mercury lamp, many photochromic materials exhibit a reversible change in color. When the ultraviolet radiation is discontinued, such a photochromic material will return to its original color or colorless state.
Various classes of photochromic materials have been synthesized and suggested for use in applications in which a sunlight-induced reversible color change is desired. Although indeno-fused photochromic naphthopyrans are known, it has unexpectedly been discovered that materials demonstrating a bathochromic shift in the visible lambda max and/or an increase in sensitivity, which is measured as a change in optical density over time, can be prepared. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to antimicrobial compositions containing a C.sub.3 -C.sub.6 alcohol and particularly oral compositions, such as but not limited to liquids, pastes and gels for the prevention and elimination of bad breath as well as for the reduction of oral microorganisms responsible for the development of dental plaque, gingivitis, and tooth decay. A preferred embodiment of the present invention relates to a C.sub.3 -C.sub.6 alcohol-containing, reduced ethanol or ethanol-free mouthwash that is effective in preventing those problems.
2. Description of Related Art
The effectiveness of an antimicrobial composition is dependent upon the ability of the composition to deliver the antimicrobial agent(s) contained therein to the desired microbial target(s). This is particularly so for antimicrobial oral compositions where the exposure time of the target microbes to the antimicrobial agent is generally of a short duration.
Oral compositions, such as mouthwashes, have been used by people for many years for the prevention of bad breath and for the elimination of bacteria and other oral microorganisms that are responsible not only for bad breath but also tooth decay, plaque and gum diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis. To this end, antiseptic mouthwashes in the past have been designed to clean the oral cavity, provide fresh breath and kill these pathogenic microbes.
The leading antiseptic mouthwash has always contained ethanol at a level of 26.9% by volume, based on the total mouthwash volume (hereinafter referred to as "% v/v"). Ethanol is used both as a delivery vehicle and as a solvent in which the active ingredients, and additives such as astringents, color additives, flavor oils, and the like, can be dissolved and then dispersed into solution. Ethanol also enhances the flavor oil organoleptic cues.
However, the use of high levels of ethanol in consumer health products has been recently challenged from an overall health standpoint. Merely reducing the levels of ethanol in these mouthwash compositions has significant disadvantages. It has been found that lower ethanol levels result not only in a loss in the solubility of the actives and other ingredients in the composition, but there is also a noticeable decrease in the ability of the composition to kill the oral microorganisms responsible for bad breath, plaque and gum disease. This loss in antimicrobial activity is believed to be a result of less favorable antimicrobial agent kinetics due to the reduction of ethanol as a vehicle. Antimicrobial agent kinetics affects the rate at which an antimicrobial agent will diffuse from the delivery system and penetrate the dental plaque matrix. Thus, the delivery system of an antimicrobial composition should provide favorable antimicrobial agent kinetics to enhance efficacy, particularly when a composition, e.g. a mouthwash composition, is only applied for a short duration. Heretofore, fairly high levels of ethanol have been required to provide the desired antimicrobial kinetics, particularly for compositions containing antimicrobially effective amounts of essential oils.
There is a substantial need for the development of oral compositions, such as a mouthwash, having a reduced ethanol delivery system with favorable antimicrobial agent kinetics and in which the antimicrobial agents are completely dissolved so that the composition continues to be effective in the prevention of bad breath, the killing of oral microbes and the resultant penetration, reduction or elimination of plaque and gingivitis. Thymol is a well known antiseptic agent, also known as an essential oil, which is utilized for its antimicrobial activity in a variety of mouthwash preparations. In particular, thymol can be utilized in oral hygiene compositions such as mouth rinses in sufficient quantities to provide desired beneficial therapeutic effects. LISTERINE.RTM.-brand mouthwash is a well-known antiseptic mouthwash that has been used by millions of people for over one hundred years and has been proven effective in killing microbes in the oral cavity that are responsible for plaque, gingivitis and bad breath. Thymol and other essential oils, such as methyl salicylate, menthol and eucalyptol, are active ingredients (e., antimicrobial agents) in antiseptic mouth rinses such as LISTERINE.RTM.. These oils achieve their efficacy although present in small amounts. Without being restricted to any specific theory, it is now believed that the efficacy and taste of antiseptic mouthwashes such as Listerine.RTM. may be due to the dissolution and delivery kinetics of these four active ingredients. Dissolution is also important from an aesthetic point of view since a clear mouthwash solution is certainly preferred by consumers to one that is cloudy, turbid or heterogeneous.
Mouthwash compositions containing ethanol or isopropanol or a mixture of both are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,570 discloses a mouthwash composition having 0.01 to about 1% by weight, based on the total weight of the composition (hereinafter referred to as "% w/w"), of lemon oil flavoring, 0 to about 25, preferably 5 to 24% w/w of a nontoxic alcohol such as isopropanol and ethanol, about 0.1 to 5% w/w of a non-ionic surfactant and 60 to 95% w/w water. The alcohol may be denatured with flavoring agents, generally in an amount between about 1 and 2 percent of the total amount of alcohol in the composition. The disclosed flavoring agents include anethole, anise oil, bay oil, benzaldehyde, bergamot oil, bitter almond, camphor, cedar leaf oil, chlorothymol, cinnamic aldehyde, cinnamon oil, citronella oil, clove oil, coal tar, eucalyptol, eucalyptus oil, eugenol, guaiacol, lavender oil, menthol, mustard oil, peppermint oil, phenol, phenyl salicylate, pine oil, pine needle oil, rosemary oil, sassafras oil, spearmint oil, spike lavender oil, storax, thyme oil, thymol, tolu balsam, turpentine oil, wintergreen oil and boric acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,528 is directed to an oral composition containing 0.001% to 50% w/w of an organosilicone-type quaternary ammonium salt immobilized in a water insoluble solid cairier and at least one surfactant of either 0.01% to 15% w/w polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene block copolymer or 0.001% to 50% w/w of alkoxyamide. The composition may also contain 0.01% to 20% w/w of a thickening agent and preferably at least one alcohol selected fiom the group consisting of ethanol, propanol and isopropanol in an amount of about 0.01% to 60% w/w. This reference exemplifies a composition containing an immobilized quaternary ammonium salt, chlorohexidine gluconate and a mixture of ethanol and isopropanol. The reference also discloses that flavoring agents, such as various essential oils, may be used if desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,770 discloses a mouthwash composition containing about 3 to 9% w/w baking soda, 0 to about 20%, preferably about 5 to 15% w/w of a nontoxic cosmetic alcohol such as ethanol or isopropanol, about 0.5 to 4.0% w/w of a non-ionic surfactant and 60 to 95% w/w water. The alcohol preferably contains a flavor oil, such as those listed above, in an amount of about 0.05-0.4% w/w.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,373 describes a concentrated mouthwash formula having 5 to 50% w/w ethanol, 2 to 30% w/w alkali metal bicarbonate, 0.5 to 30% w/w humectant and 5 to 35% w/w water. The composition may also contain up to about 3% w/w hydrophilic polymer and up to about 5% w/w surfactant. This reference discloses that part or all of the ethanol can be substituted by a nontoxic cosmetic monohydric alcohol, such as isopropanol. Other optional components that may be present in the composition include, among others, thymol, as a bactericide, and flavorants such as oils of spearmint, peppermint, wintergreen, sassafras, clove, sage, eucalyptus, cinnamon, lemon, orange and methyl salicylate. These references do not exemplify or suggest the advantage of employing a C.sub.3 to C.sub.6 aliphatic alcohol with an antimicrobial effective amount of one or more essential oils.
Other prior art references have broadly disclosed, but not exemplified, substituting lower alkyl mono- or dihydric- alcohols for ethanol in various mouthwash formulations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,401 describes a mouthwash composition having a water-alcohol mixture with a weight ratio in excess of 10:1 and about 0.01 to about 0.9% w/w of a noncationic antibacterial agent, such as triclosan. The alcohol may be a non-toxic alkyl mono- or dihydric alcohol, such as ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol or propylene glycol, although only ethanol is exemplified. The prefelTed antimicrobial agents include triclosan, phenol, thymol, eugenol, 2,2-methylene bis (4-chloro-6-bromophenol), nerolidol and bisabolol. The use of the phenolic compounds, however, is not exemplified. It is also disclosed that surface active agents are desirable and that flavor oils may be employed, The antimicrobial is solubilized in a low amount of alcohol by using low concentrations of the antimicrobial in the composition.
Clearly, there is still a need for an antimicrobial composition having a delivery system capable of enhanced antimicrobial agent kinetics so as to provide effective antimicrobial treatment even when the duration of the treatment is short. Moreover, there is a particular need for a reduced ethanol or ethanol-free composition that is highly efficacious in the prevention of bad breath, plaque and gum disease. In addition, there is a need for such oral compositions that both kill the oral microflora responsible for these problems and clean the oral cavity leaving a finesh, lubricous mouthfeel. | {
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The present invention relates to a light beam scanning device for scanning a laser beam in an application where a delicate and precise operation is to be carried out with the laser beam under an operating microscope.
To perform a delicate and precise operation on the human body with a laser knife, in general, a light beam scanning device incorporating a movable mirror is mounted on the front part of an operating microscope and a laser beam is reflected by the movable mirror into the field of vision of the microscope to illuminate the desired location. In order to direct the laser beam to a desired point in the field of vision, it is necessary to scan the laser beam by slightly turning the movable mirror vertically or horizontally. In general, the movable mirror is disposed on the optical axis of the objective lens of the operating microscope and in front of the objective lens forming an angle of 45.degree. with the optical axis. After being reflected by the movable mirror, the incident laser beam advances along the optical axis to the desired point of illumination.
On the other hand, it is necessary for the operator to locate the part to be operated on in the field of vision of the microscope at all times and hence the laser beam must be collimated and accurately applied. Moreover, the movable mirror should not obstruct the field of vision.
The right and left sides of the circular field of vision of the objective lens of the microscope are filled by the rays which form the fields of vision of the right and left eyepieces of the microscope, respectively, and the upper part of the circular field of vision of the objective lens is used to apply light for illuminating the field of vision. Accordingly, in the field of vision of the objective lens, only the central part and a slit-shaped part below the center are available for the reflection of the laser beam.
Taking these facts into account, movable mirrors have been designed having various configurations and dimensions. A conventional movable mirror is provided with a transparent glass plate large enough to cover the diameter of the objective lens. The central portion of the transparent glass plate is formed as a small circular portion on which a metal film is deposited by vacuum evaporation with the circular portion being large enough to reflect a laser beam. Such a movable mirror, which is necessarily large in size, is supported by a mirror supporting frame which includes a mechanism for rotating the mirror around the horizontal and vertical axes thereof. Accordingly, the mirror supporting frame must be larger than the movable mirror. The rotating mechanism is, in general, a gimbal mechanism and the movable mirror is turned by operating an operating lever which is rotatable around the gimbal fulcrum.
In such a light beam scanning device, the space in front of the objective lens is occupied by the large movable mirror and therefore the gimbal part is disposed at the righthand side in the housing of the device. Accordingly, the device is quite long in the widthwise direction.
Light beam scanning devices of this type have been disclosed by Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 8085/1974 and 8997/1979.
It is desirable to reduce the size and weight of the device by decreasing both the width and depth as much as possible due to the following reasons. An operation using a laser beam under microscope is often carried out with the aid of an endoscope extended to the part to be operated on. The focal distance of the objective lens of the device ranges from 200 mm to 400 mm. However, it is desirable that the distance between the objective lens and the incidence end of the endoscope be long enough to facilitate the operation. The endoscope requires a minimum length to be suitable for performing most operations. Accordingly, the depth of the light beam scanning device, namely, the thickness in the direction of the optical axis, must be made as small as possible. Furthermore, the width of the device should be as small as possible because the spaces on the right-hand side and left-hand side of the objective lens are used to carry out auxiliary operations during the operation.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a light beam scanning device small in size and light in weight in which its movable mirror is so dimensioned as not to obstruct observation through an operating microscope and the illumination range of the microscope, its width and depth are so small that the device does not obstruct an operation, and the rotational movement of the movable mirror around any one or both of the horizontal and vertical axes is smoothly carried out without interference. | {
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A known form of picture rail apparatus comprises a rail member which is mounted horizontally on the wall, the rail member being formed with a longitudinally-extending slot. The slot is elongated in transverse section, and has a narrow opening at the front of the rail member. The apparatus includes a support member on which the picture or other article can be supported. The support member is formed with a thin tongue, and in use is detachably mounted on the rail member with the tongue slidingly engaged in the slot.
An advantage of this apparatus is that the rail member can be made quite thin and can be inset in the wall, with its slotted face flush with the wall surface. This gives a neat and attractive appearance to the wall, and facilitates decoration of the wall surface, since the apparatus avoids the obtrusive projection from the wall which is encountered with the more conventional projecting picture rails.
In the known form of the apparatus, the slot has been inclined downwardly transversely rearwardly from the opening. This is intended to make the engagement more secure, since it is to be expected that the downward pull of the article being supported would cause the tongue to seat more firmly in the slot. However, the present applicant has found that the support which is obtained is not sufficiently secure in all cases, and, particularly when used with relatively heavy articles, the support members tend to fall out of the slot. Further, the support members can be accidentally disengaged by an inadvertent lateral pull, for example when re-arranging the supported articles.
Applicant is aware of U.S. Pat. No. 46,296, Colburn, which describes a coat and hat hook which has a T-shaped projection lodging in a U-shaped groove in a rail. The Colburn arrangement is, however, designed to be affixed to the exterior of the wall and is not adapted to be inset in a wall surface.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,800,386 to Hoffman and 1,800,387 to Greist show channel-section rails which receive sliding support devices, but these are of considerable vertical thickness and are received in a wide channel which is not easily concealed in a wall surface.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,684,229 to Peter et al and 3,892,739 to Hoes disclose a mountings for specialised metal fittings but the mountings are not directly adaptable for receiving and retaining a thin tongue of a picture hook or like member. | {
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Photographic processors come in a variety of shapes and sizes from large wholesale photographic processors to small micro-labs. As photographic processors become more and more technologically sophisticated, there is a continued need to make the photographic processor as user-friendly and as maintenance-free as possible.
Due to the increased throughput of processors such as circular processors, which preferably process one roll of film at a time, it is necessary to remove the processed film from the processing chamber of the processor to permit the processing of another roll or strip of film. The removed processed film then gets dried and delivered to a scanner. However, the scanner speed may be slower than the processing speed of the processor, so that the scanning of the next roll of processed film as well as the film processing operation needs to be delayed to wait for the scanning operation. | {
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(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electric brake device, and more particularly to an electric brake device in which a brake motor is electrically driven in a forward direction so as to exert a braking force on a vehicular wheel, and the brake motor is electrically driven in a reverse direction so as to cancel the braking force on the vehicular wheel.
(2) Description of the Related Art
As disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.7-291120, an electric brake device is known. The brake device of the above publication includes a brake motor, a disc rotor, and a pair of friction pads. The disc rotor is attached to a vehicular wheel, and the disc rotor is rotatable together with the vehicular wheel. The disc rotor is interposed between the friction pads. The disc rotor is pinched by the friction pads by rotation of the brake motor so that a braking force is exerted on the vehicular wheel via the disc rotor.
In the electric brake device of the above publication, the brake motor is connected through a mechanical clutch to a brake caliper. In the brake caliper, an internal cylinder is formed and a piston which is slidable on the cylinder is provided in the brake caliper. The piston is movably supported on a reversible screw shaft. The piston is secured to one of the friction pads. A movement of the piston in the axial direction of the cylinder, which causes the braking force of the friction pads to be exerted on the disc rotor, is derived from a rotation of the reversible screw shaft.
An output shaft of the brake motor is connected to the reversible screw shaft via the mechanical clutch. When a brake pedal is depressed by a vehicle operator, the brake motor rotates in the forward direction by a power supplied to the brake motor in response to the brake pedal depression. As the reversible screw shaft is rotated in the forward direction by the brake motor, the piston is moved to push the friction pads on the disc rotor. By the friction between the friction pads and the disc rotor, the braking force is exerted on the vehicular wheel. When the brake pedal is released from the brake pedal, the brake motor rotates in the reverse direction so as to separate the friction pads from the disc rotor. The mechanical clutch acts to cut off the transmission of the torque from the brake motor to the reversible screw shaft. By the separation of the friction pads from the disc rotor, the braking force on the vehicular wheel is canceled.
In the electric brake device of the above publication, by electrically driving the brake motor in a controlled manner, the electric brake device can generate an appropriate braking force to be exerted on the vehicular wheel.
However, there may be a case in which the output shaft of the brake motor is subjected to excessive reverse rotation when the brake motor rotates in the reverse direction. In such a condition, the excessive reverse rotation of the brake motor is detrimental to the related parts which are connected to the output shaft of the brake motor. It is necessary to reliably prevent the excessive reverse rotation of the brake motor in order to avoid the failure of the related parts connected to the output shaft of the brake motor.
In the electric brake device of the above publication, the mechanical clutch is provided to cut off the transmission of the torque from the brake motor to the reversible screw shaft. When the reversible screw shaft is separated from the brake motor by the mechanical clutch, the reversible screw shaft is not rotated regardless of whether the brake motor excessively rotates in the reverse direction. The mechanical clutch enables the electric brake device of the above publication to prevent the excessive reverse rotation of the brake motor so as to avoid the failure of the related parts connected to the output shaft of the brake motor.
However, the electric brake device of the above publication requires a complicated structure and a relatively high cost due to the use of the mechanical clutch. According to the above publication, it is difficult to construct a simple, inexpensive electric brake device which is reliable in preventing the excessive reverse rotation of the brake motor. | {
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Magnetic head-based systems have been widely accepted in the computer industry as a cost-effective form of data storage. In a magnetic tape drive system, a magnetic tape containing a multiplicity of laterally positioned data tracks that extend along the length of the tape is drawn across a magnetic read/write transducer, referred to as a magnetic tape head. The magnetic tape heads can record and read data along the length of the magnetic tape surface as relative movement occurs between the heads and the tape. Because magnetic tape is a flexible media, its lateral position fluctuates as the tape is pulled at high speeds across the tape head. In order to maintain alignment of the read sensors or writing transducers along the tracks, the tape head is moved (actuated) laterally to follow the tape fluctuations as the high speed lateral response, termed actuation, is better achieved with lighter tape heads.
In a magnetic disk drive system, a magnetic recording medium in the form of a disk rotates at high speed while a magnetic head “flies” slightly above the surface of the rotating disk. The magnetic disk is rotated by means of a spindle drive motor. The magnetic head is attached to or formed integrally with a “slider” which is suspended over the disk on a spring-loaded support arm known as the actuator arm. As the magnetic disk rotates at operating speed, the moving air generated by the rotating disk in conjunction with the physical design of the slider lifts the magnetic head, allowing it to glide or “fly” slightly above and over the disk surface on a cushion of air, referred to as an air bearing. The flying height of the magnetic head over the disk surface is typically only a few tens of nanometers or less and is primarily a function of disk rotation, the aerodynamic properties of the slider assembly and the force exerted by the spring-loaded actuator arm.
Magnetoresistive (MR) sensors are particularly useful as read elements in magnetic heads, used in the data storage industry for high data recording densities. Two examples of MR materials used in the storage industry are anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) and giant magnetoresistive (GMR). MR and GMR sensors are deposited as small and thin multi-layered sheet resistors on a structural substrate. The sheet resistors can be coupled to external devices by contact to metal pads which are electrically connected to the sheet resistors. MR sensors provide a high output signal which is not directly related to the head velocity as in the case of inductive read heads.
To achieve the high areal densities required by the data storage industry, the sensors are made with commensurately small dimensions. The smaller the dimensions, the more sensitive the thin sheet resistors become to damage from spurious current or voltage spike.
A major problem that is encountered during manufacturing, handling and use of MR sheet resistors as magnetic recording transducers is the buildup of electrostatic charges on the various elements of a head or other objects which come into contact with the sensors, particularly sensors of the thin film type, and the accompanying spurious discharge of the static electricity thus generated. Static charges may be externally produced and accumulate on instruments used by persons performing head manufacturing or testing function. These static charges may be discharged through the head causing excessive heating of the sensitive sensors which result in physical or magnetic damage to the sensors.
As described above, when a head is exposed to voltage or current inputs which are larger than that intended under normal operating conditions, the sensor and other parts of the head may be damaged. This sensitivity to electrical damage is particularly severe for MR read sensors because of their relatively small physical size. For example, an MR sensor used for high recording densities for magnetic tape media (order of 25 Mbytes/cm2) are patterned as resistive sheets of MR and accompanying materials, and will have a combined thickness for the sensor sheets on the order of 500 Angstroms (A) with a width of 1 to 10 microns (μm) and a height on the order of 1 μm. Sensors used in extant disk drives are even smaller. Discharge currents of tens of milliamps through such a small resistor can cause severe damage or complete destruction of the MR sensor. The nature of the damage which may be experienced by an MR sensor varies significantly, including complete destruction of the sensor via melting and evaporation, oxidation of materials at the air bearing surface (ABS), generation of shorts via electrical breakdown, and milder forms of magnetic or physical damage in which the head performance may be degraded. Short time current or voltage pulses which cause extensive physical damage to a sensor are termed electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulses. Short time pulses which do not result in noticeable physical damage (resistance changes), but which alter the magnetic response or stability of the sensors due to excessive heating are termed electrical overstress (EOS) pulses.
While a disk head is comprised of a single MR element, modern tape heads have multiple MR elements, on the order of 8 to 32, or even more, all of which must be fully functional. The large number of MR sensors in a tape drive and the requirement that all are functional, makes ESD loss due to a single element very expensive as the entire head must then be scrapped. Testing during manufacturing is important in order to eliminate damaged components early in the process to minimize cost by avoiding processing of damaged parts.
Prior solutions to ESD and EOS protection can be summarized into two types of approaches: (1) one time permanent shorting devices, and (2) multi-use removable shorting devices.
The one time permanent shorting devices include: (1a) fabricating diodes on the wafer to short out high currents across the sensor; (1b) depositing a shorting element (e.g., metal) across the sensor which can be later removed at final assembly; and (1c) diodes connecting the two sensor leads together which are permanently mounted in the cable.
The Multi-use removable shorting devices include: (2a) a removable shorting element which can short out the two leads of the sensor; and (2b) removable diodes which can short out the two leads of the sensor when subjected to high currents.
The problem with (1a)-(1c) is the cost of the permanent solution. (1b) prohibits measuring the properties of the MR sensor until it is in the final device and a large amount of cost has gone into fabrication and assembly. The problem with (2a) is that the device can not be tested during assembly without removing the short and subjecting the sensors to the potential of EOS/ESD damage. The problem with (2b) is the substantial cost of the diodes.
A need therefore exists for providing ESD and EOS protection for a multiplicity of read and/or write head assemblies which has a low cost, is small enough not to affect the dynamics of the head during operation, which fits into the tight spaces within a tape or disk drive, and which allows for the higher voltages used in normal tape drive operation. | {
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The invention relates to a microwave oven comprising a cooking chamber in which food to be heated can be placed, a microwave generator for radiating microwave energy into said chamber to heat said food, fan means for producing an air flow to cool the generator and for directing air into said chamber, and humidity sensor means positioned in a sensor compartment downstream the cooking chamber after leaving said food to sense a change in humidity of the air in said chamber, said cooking chamber having a plurality of inlet apertures and an outlet opening communicating with said sensor compartment.
A known microwave oven of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,393. In this oven, the humidity emitted by the food encounters the humidity sensor together with all the cooling air. The sensed humidity can be used as an indication of the condition of the food. For equal conditions, the quantity of humidity emitted by a food product is related to its free evaporation surface area. The result is that as the cooling air flow is constant, a smaller free evaporation area leads to a greater dilution of the water vapour evolved by the food, the response of the humidity sensor thus occurring when the food has reached a temperature higher than required. Because of this fact, the use of this known method can result in differences of about 30.degree. C. with respect to the required temperature set by the user. | {
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As wind energy is clean, pollution-free and renewable, wind power plays an increasingly important role in the worldwide exploration of new energy. Output power of a wind turbine is constrained by many factors, so it is hard to forecast output power of each wind turbine in a wind farm. In addition, output power of wind turbines has such typical characteristics as being non-linear, fast changing, uncontrollable and the like, so output power of the wind farm to the power grid is prone to fluctuations.
Output power of wind turbines usually depends on meteorological elements of the location of a wind farm. Typically a wind farm is located in a remote area, while meteorological data provided by a meteorological bureau usually fail to cover the surrounding environment of the wind farm. Moreover, meteorological elements at the wind farm are constrained by other conditions (e.g., impacts on airflow of local topographic impact inside the wind farm or rotation of wind turbines themselves, etc.). Even if a meteorological bureau provides a weather forecast in the wind farm area, the weather forecast cannot completely accurately resolve meteorological conditions at the wind farm.
Currently, forecasting of output power of wind turbines mainly focuses on a level of the whole wind farm, and there lacks power forecasting of a single turbine. In addition, forecasting methods rely on analysis and statistics of historical power data and forecast future output power via historical output power or based on meteorological elements at a wind farm by buying general-purpose weather forecasts from a third party.
Solutions in the prior art still rest on commercially available (or free) general meteorological data to forecast output power of wind farms. As these technical solutions ignore special characteristics of in-situ meteorological elements at wind farms, they are prone to large errors during forecasting. On the one hand, errors in power forecasting result in that the overall output power of the power plant becomes unstable, seriously deviates from electricity producing plans and exerts impact on the power grid integration; on the other hand, since output power of the power plant falls behind or goes over far beyond the expected value, the power plant is subjected to punitive sanctions such as fines. Therefore, it becomes a research focus regarding how to accurately forecast output power of a specific wind turbine (e.g., any wind turbine) in a wind farm during a specific period of time.
Therefore, it is desired to develop a technical solution capable of accurately forecasting output power of a specific wind turbine based on meteorological elements at the location of the wind turbine. And it is desired the technical solution is capable of sufficiently leveraging sensors within the wind farm (e.g., meteorological sensors at the wind tower, sensors at hub-height of a wind turbine, etc.), and correcting a general-purpose weather forecasting model by using the meteorological data as measured in-situ, so as to reveal wind information at the specific wind turbine within the wind farm more accurately. To this end, embodiments of the present invention provide methods and apparatuses for forecasting output power of a wind turbine in a wind farm. | {
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The present invention relates to a recorded-information reproducing apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to a recorded-information reproducing apparatus for reproducing a recording medium on which is recorded a video FM signal and a digital audio signal frequency-division multiplex recorded thereon.
As recording media carrying video FM signals and digital audio signals frequency-division multiplex recorded thereon, so-called Hi-Fi video disks on which well-known video disk recording signals and EFM (eight-to-fourteen modulation) digital audio signals in a CD (compact disk) format are multiplex recorded have been commercialized. In such a Hi-Fi video disk, analog audio FM signals for two (right and left) channels are included in the information recorded on the disk. In the case, however, where the video signal band, determined by the width of the sidebands of the video FM signal, is made too wide, both the reproduced video and analog audio signals are affected by interference with the analog audio carrier. Consequently, it is difficult to make the video signal bandwidth more than about 4.2 MHz, resulting in a limit in resolution.
In this regard, in commonly assigned Japanese Patent Application No. 61-305782 there has been proposed a recording system in which no analog audio FM signal is recorded, and only an EFM digital audio signal is recorded as the audio signal so as to widen the available video bandwidth to thereby improve the resolution. FIG. 1 shows the frequency spectrum of a high frequency signal read from a recording medium carrying information recorded with the foregoing recording system. In the drawings, A.sub.- represents an EFM digital audio signal, and A.sub.+ represents the upper sideband generated as a result of pulse-width modulation multiplexing Y represents the spectrum of the video FM signal, and C.sub.+1 and C.sub.-1 respectively represent the upper and lower first sidebands of the chroma signal contained in the video signal. Further, I.sub.1 and I.sub.2 represent main components of an interference spectrum generated as a result of pulse-width modulation multiplexing of Y and A.sub.-.
FIG. 2 shows the frequency spectrum of a video signal output obtained by demodulating a high frequency signal having a frequency spectrum as described above and which is read from a recording medium. As seen from the frequency spectrum, a high-level interference component due to I.sub.1 is present in the video signal band at the high frequency end. This high-level interference component may cause beat interference in the chroma component C, lowering of the SN ratio of the Y (luminance) signal, or deterioration in the quality of the reproduced picture. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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An equalizer circuit for compensating for a loss caused by a transmission characteristic of a transmission path is known. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus capable of tracking a subject.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is conventionally an imaging apparatus equipped with a so-called subject tracking function which recognizes the position of a main subject in an imaging frame and automatically tracks its position. By using this subject tracking function, it is possible to continuously perform automatic focusing control (AF control) and exposure control with respect to a moving main subject.
As an example of an imaging apparatus equipped with such a subject tracking function, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-110429 discusses an imaging apparatus such as a single-lens reflex camera which has a light metering unit for light metering separate from an imaging element and which tracks a subject based on light metering data output from the light metering unit. However, in the case where subject tracking is performed based on light metering data output from a light metering unit as in the case of the imaging apparatus discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-110429, the following issues arise.
In an ordinary single-lens reflex camera like the imaging apparatus discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-110429, the position of a quick return mirror provided in the camera is moved to switch between a state in which the incident light from the subject is guided to an imaging element and a state in which it is guided to an eyepiece (optical finder).
When the incident light from the subject is guided to the eyepiece, the incident light from the subject is also guided to a light metering unit, making is possible to perform light metering on the subject. In other words, in the state in which the incident light from the subject is guided to the imaging element, light metering cannot be performed at the light metering unit.
More specifically, when the state in which the incident light from the subject is guided to the imaging element and the state in which it is guided to the light metering unit, are successively switched with a short period, as in the case of continuous shooting, the accumulation time of light metering at the light metering unit is limited. In particular, when the light metering data output from the light metering unit is used for subject tracking, it is necessary to complete the subject tracking computation before AF control or exposure control is performed, with the result that the accumulation time is further limited than the period in which the incident light from the subject is guided to the light metering unit.
As a result, the accumulation time of the light metering unit is shorter than the flicker period, which results in an increase in the influence of the flicker, making it unlikely to obtain an accurate light metering value. Here, the flicker will be described. When light metering is performed under a fluorescent lamp or the like, there occurs a so-called flicker phenomenon, in which the brightness of the illumination light periodically varies due to the influence of an AC power frequency. In an area where the power frequency is 50 Hz, the flicker period is approximately 10 ms; in an area where it is 60 Hz, the flicker period is approximately 8.3 ms. When light metering is performed in such an environment, if the accumulation time of the light metering unit is not an integral multiple of the flicker period, a light metering value varies depending on a portion of the phase of the flicker period with which the accumulation period overlaps. Thus, it is difficult to perform exposure control in a stable manner.
If, in view of this, the accumulation time of the light metering unit is lengthened in order to reduce the influence of the flicker, the requisite time until completing the subject tracking computation is also lengthened, resulting in reduction in a shooting speed at the time of continuous shooting. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates to a combustion chamber for internal combustion engines of the direct injection type, and more particularly to a combustion chamber which can reduce the level of noise (hereinafter referred to as the noise generated by combustion) and can also reduce the amount of nitrogen oxide (hereinafter referred to as NOx).
It is well known in the field of the art that in internal combustion engines if the timing of injection of fuel into the combustion chamber is delayed to some extent so as to reduce the explosion pressure and the rate of increase thereof the level of the noise generated by fuel combustion can be reduced and at the same time the combustion gas temperature can be lowered thereby reducing the amount of NOx.
However, there encounters a difficulty that in general when the timing of fuel injection is delayed the thermal efficiency of the Diesel cycle will be lowered so as to increase the fuel consumption rate, and so imperfect combustion is caused thereby producing black exhaust gas or smoke.
Stated in brief, the fuel consumption rate is a function of dM/dt.multidot.S.multidot.Tm.multidot.Td.multidot.d.theta./dt, and in the similar manner the color of exhaust gas, NOx, the noise generated by combustion are a function of dM/dt.multidot.S.multidot.Tm.multidot.Td.multidot.d.theta./dt, respectively.
A delay in injection timing serves to reduce an ignition lag Td, and therefore as a mean cycle gas temperature Tm and a heat generation coefficient d.theta./dt are reduced the velocity of mixing fuel and air dM/dt and the time and space distribution "S" of mixing ratio will be reduced.
Accordingly, if the timing of fuel injection is delayed the level of noise generated by fuel combustion and the amount of NOx can be reduced; however, the fuel consumption rate will be increased thereby generating black exhaust gas or smoke based on the above-mentioned relationship.
In order to eliminate such difficulty it is only necessary to increase the air and fuel mixing speed dM/dt at the time of delaying the fuel injection timing or increase the combustion speed after the fuel ignition. Stated more specifically, the emission of black exhaust gas and increase in fuel consumption rate are due to the fact that the combustion process is maintained even after the piston has reached its top dead centre, and so in order to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantage, it is necessary to increase the combustion speed thereby shortening the combustion period. In the conventional combustion chamber having a toroidal cavity formed in a piston head, in order to achieve a good combustion of fuel injected from fuel injection nozzles, pertinent combination of fuel injection angles in lateral and vertical directions with speed of air swirl can be selected.
In order to increase the combustion speed, it is required to increase the air flow (in particular, the air flow after the fuel ignition) within the combustion chamber.
The term "air flow" employed herein is meant by a large swirl motion generated in the combustion chamber and a resultant turbulence of a small scale.
To produce the above-mentioned air flow, there is conventionally provided a quadrilateral combustion chamber having a quadrilateral cavity formed in the upper part or top of a piston.
The combustion chamber of this form enables air turbulences of a small scale to be produced by a large air swirl motion in the corner square parts thereof so that a strong air flow can be produced therein.
However, the combustion chamber of such shape is disadvantageous in that the intensity of the turbulence of a small scale generated in the corner square parts and that of the large swirl are contrary to each other. In brief, if radius "R" of the corner square parts is comparatively smaller than radius "Ro" of the inscribed circle of the quadrilateral cavity (if the ratio R/Ro is reduced) the intensity of air turbulences of a small scale generated in the corner square parts can be increased; therefore the intensity of the large air swirl motion will be reduced. If the ratio R/Ro is increased, the intensity of the large air swirl can be increased, whilst the air turbulence of a small scale generated in the corner square parts will be reduced.
In any case, the combustion chamber of the conventional shape cannot afford increased turbulences of a small scale and the large air swirl motion at the same time, and further the turbulences can be produced only in the corner square parts so that a sufficiently large air flow cannot be produced therein. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to multiple screen displays, and more particularly, to an electronic device and method for displaying multiple screens.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic device may include a plurality of displays and display a screen on each of the displays. In addition, the electronic device may set a plurality of screen areas on a single display and display a screen on each of the set display areas.
When the electronic device displays a screen including a control object, e.g., an icon or button, the position of the control object within the screen is fixed, regardless of the position of the screen being displayed. The fixed position of the control object may create an inconvenience for a user to select the control object.
For example, in an electronic device including two display areas, i.e., a left display area and a right display area, when a screen including a control object is displayed on the right display area is moved to the left display area, the accessibility of the control object within the screen can be degraded, e.g., because it is not easily reached by the user's finger. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Dehydrocyclization as a unit process has held a prominent place in the petroleum refining industry for some time. Quite broadly the process encompasses the conversion of C.sub.2 -C.sub.12 olefins and paraffins to aromatics and naphthenes, but the process can be divided into two segments on both chemical mechanistic grounds and refinery operational considerations. In one branch light paraffins and/or olefins in the C.sub.2 -C.sub.5 range are converted to naphthenes and aromatics, necessarily of higher carbon number, by a sequence of reactions including dehydrogenation, dimerization and oligomerization of olefins, and cyclization. Typically the process is referred to as dehydrocyclodimerization, which clearly indicates the various component processes occurring. See S. M. Csicsery, Ind. Eng. Chem. Proc. Des. Dev., 18, 191 (1979). In another branch olefins and/or paraffins of 6 or more carbon numbers are converted to naphthenes and aromatics of the same carbon number or less. It is this last branch which is of greatest interest to us here.
The dehydrocyclization of paraffins to naphthenes and aromatics is a difficult reaction, limited by an equilibrium which shifts somewhat toward cyclization as the molecular weight (i.e., chain length) of the paraffin increases. Dehydrocyclization is favored by low pressures and high temperatures and may be catalyzed by, e.g., dual functional catalysts having both metal and acid functions. See J. A. Weiszmann, "Handbook of Petroleum Refining Processes", R. A. Meyers, ed., McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1986, page 3-8. Two types of catalysts have been identified for dehydrocyclization of paraffins; dual functional catalysts as described above and monofunctional catalysts possessing no significant acidity. The latter class of catalysts generally contains platinum on a neutral or a basing support, and includes such materials as platinum on a zeolite where all of the zeolitic activity has been removed by exchange with alkali or alkaline earth metal cations such as potassium sodium, barium, and so forth. More recently, N. Y. Chen and T. Y. Yan, Ind. Eng. Chem. Proc. Des. Dev., 25, 151 (1986) have distinguished between two mechanistic routes for the aromatization of light hydrocarbons based on studies performed with n-hexane. One reaction path is a more or less direct road from the paraffin to aromatics, largely benzene, as effected over such catalysts as Pt/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3 /Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, CoMo/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and Te/NaY. The other mechanistic route involves a pathway toward cracked intermediates which subsequently react to afford aromatics. The latter is said to be characteristic of HZSM-5 as catalyst and can be recognized by a spectrum of C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aromatics in the product stream from n-hexane.
While exploring dehydrocyclization under a range of conditions we pondered the possibility of using amines as a feedstock instead of the paraffins normally used. Various reactions can be contemplated, and without a hint from the prior art as to appropriate catalysts or probable reaction products we performed a general survey. In this application we report on our results on the dehydrocyclization of propylamines. In particular, we have found that under appropriate reaction conditions one can prepare azacycloheptanes from secondary and tertiary propylamines. Since the seven-membered nitrogen heterocycle is otherwise difficult to prepare, especially in large commercial quantities, our new synthesis provides a valuable entry into the family of azacycloheptanes. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The subject matter of this application relates to probe microscopy. More particularly, the subject matter of this application relates to methods and devices for probe and force microscopes with sensors having improved sensitivity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional atomic force microscope (AFM) and its variations have been used to probe a wide range of physical and biological processes, including mechanical properties of single molecules, electric and magnetic fields of single atoms and electrons. Moreover, cantilever based structures inspired by the AFM have been a significant driver for nanotechnology resulting in chemical sensor arrays, various forms of lithography tools with high resolution, and terabit level data storage systems. Despite the current rate of success, the AFM needs to be improved in terms of speed, sensitivity, and an ability to generate quantitative data on the chemical and mechanical properties of the sample. For example, when measuring molecular dynamics at room temperature, the molecular forces need to be measured in a time scale that is less than the time of the thermal fluctuations to break the bonds. This requires a high speed system with sub-nanoNewton and sub-nanometer sensitivity.
Current cantilever-based structures for AFM probes and their respective actuation methodologies lack speed and sensitivity and have hindered progress in the aforementioned areas. Imaging systems based on small cantilevers have been developed to increase the speed of AFMs, but this approach has not yet found wide use due to demanding constraints on optical detection and bulky actuators. Several methods have been developed for quantitative elasticity measurements, but the trade-off between force resolution, measurement speed, and cantilever stiffness has been problematic especially for samples with high compliance and high adhesion. Cantilever deflection signals measured during tapping mode imaging have been inverted to obtain elasticity information with smaller impact forces, but complicated dynamic response of the cantilever increases the noise level and prevents calculation of the interaction forces. Arrays of AFM cantilevers with integrated piezoelectric actuators have been developed for parallel lithography, but complex fabrication methods have limited their use.
Most of the scanning probe microscopy techniques, including tapping mode imaging and force spectroscopy, rely on measurement of the deflection of a microcantilever with a sharp tip. Therefore, the resulting force data depend on the dynamic properties of the cantilever, which shapes the frequency response. This can be quite limiting, as mechanical structures like cantilevers are resonant vibrating structures and they provide information mostly only around these resonances. For example, in tapping mode imaging it is nearly impossible to recover all the information about the tip-sample interaction force, since the transient force applied at each tap cannot be observed as a clean time signal.
Moreover, conventional methods of imaging with scanning probes can be time consuming while others are often destructive because they require static tip-sample contact. Dynamic operation of AFM, such as the tapping-mode, greatly reduces shear forces during the scan. However, the only free variable in this mode, the phase, is related to the energy dissipation and it is difficult to interpret. Further, the inverse problem of gathering the time-domain interaction forces from the tapping signal is not easily solvable due to complex dynamics of the AFM cantilever. Harmonic imaging is useful to analyze the sample elastic properties, but this method recovers only a small part of the tip-sample interaction force frequency spectrum.
Thus, there is a need to overcome these and other problems of the prior art associated with probe microscopy. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Grouping of social connections to form social networks have become useful in many contexts. Better understanding of a user's social connections can provide better insight into the user. Such insight can facilitate the placement of the user into optimal social networks so that the user can enjoy association with similar social connections. Such insight can also provide a competitive edge for existing and emerging businesses that depend on their ability to tailor goods and services to the particular needs of the user. As a result, it is important to understand the social connections among individuals, both in the real world and in cyberspace.
Conventional approaches in the grouping of social connections are associated with certain limitations. Some conventional techniques take a global view of social connections among a user's contacts, which can cause low grouping accuracy. In this regard, a connection between a user and his or her particular contacts of the user may be overshadowed by the relationship between the user and all of his or her contacts in the entire social network. In addition, other conventional techniques may raise privacy concerns as a user's social connections are identified by analyzing data stored in a system controlled by others. User data uploaded to such a system exposes personal information of the user to a higher risk of privacy violations and data breach. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
For controlling the functions of machines and/or vehicles, joysticks, i.e., control levers, are known which have passive force feedback in the form of a spring-acting return to the center or a fixed retention in any position by means of friction. However, control levers having passive force feedback do not provide any information regarding the condition of the machine or vehicle.
DE 103 43 141 A1 discloses a joystick, or control lever, which is equipped with two electromotors, each having a reduction gear for achieving active force feedback. The two reduction gears, and their motors, operate in opposition to each other. The motors having their gears are connected to the grip lever of the joystick by a torsion spring, so that the motors place the control lever in a position which corresponds, for example, to the steering angle.
A joystick or control lever of this type having the aforementioned active force feedback has a very expensive mechanism as well as expensive optical sensors, which results in significant costs. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to tubular knit fabric articles having an end of reduced tubular size, and to a method and knitting machine attachment for producing such reduced size ends in tubular knit fabric articles.
Various knit articles are manufactured with ends of reduced size to suit particular uses. For example, tubular knit hosiery is closed at the toe end. This is conventionally accomplished by either seaming or "looping" of the initially open toe end of the tubular hosiery blank in a separate operation after the tubular blank has been knit, which requires additional handling, equipment and processing that add significantly to the overall cost of production as compared with a closing operation that could be accomplished during knitting of the tubular blank.
A toe closing operation accomplished during the overall knitting process on a circular knitting machine is disclosed in Currier U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,500, issued June 27, 1967, which teaches the knitting of a tubular welt-like toe portion that is rotationally twisted prior to completion by effecting relative rotation between the fabric supporting dial and the needle cylinder. This twisting produces a restriction of the tubular opening in the fabric intermediate the dial and needle cylinder, which restriction is disposed as a substantially closed outer end of the toe portion when the welt-like toe portion is completed by transferring. To produce this closed end by twisting, however, it is necessary to modify significantly the construction and operation of the dial drive mechanism of the circular knitting machine, and the resulting toe portion is characterized by an undesirable twisted and bulky appearance.
In contrast, the present invention provides a substantially closed end in the toe portion of hosiery without the disadvantage of twisting and with a simple attachment that can be mounted on a circular knitting machine without modification of the existing machine parts or their operation. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In handling digital data, various security measures such as data encryption are utilized for preventing unauthorized accesses. Security measures for image data include techniques to embed a visible watermark in image data for displaying an image irrelevant to original contents over a reproduced image so as to prevent a user without valid authority from reproducing and utilizing the contents.
Visible watermarking is implemented by applying techniques for embedding a digital watermark in an image. Specifically, using a technique for embedding invisible watermark information (such as fingerprinting) in an image for the purpose of copyright protection, tracking of unauthorized use, and detection of tampered data, a visible watermark pattern is embedded instead of invisible watermark information or in addition to invisible watermark information (see Patent Document 1, for example). This operation causes the visible watermark pattern to appear over the original motion picture when the video contents into which the visible watermark has been embedded is replayed, thus obstructing one's view. Therefore, by giving information for eliminating the visible watermark to authorized users, such a system can be constructed that allows only users having valid authority can replay and see the original motion picture.
In the case image data is encrypted, an image cannot be reproduced at all if the cipher cannot be decrypted, whereas masking of an image with a visible watermark can implement various aspects depending on purposes such as covering an entire screen to prevent one to recognize a reproduced image at all and covering a portion of the screen to allow one to guess what is shown on the screen, providing greater utility.
FIG. 15 shows examples of a screen that shows a content image and one that shows the same image together with an image showing a visible watermark covering some portions of the image.
There has been a completely lossless method for embedding and removing a visible watermark in/from image data for still picture data in JPEG format and the like (see Patent Document 1, for example). However, for motion picture data that is produced by digitalizing video contents, no effective technique for embedding visible watermarks had been proposed.
Motion picture data such as video is typically handled (preserved, processed, or transferred) with the information compressed because such data involves a vast amount of data. In MPEG format, which is used for DVD video and the like, compression for motion picture data is performed through encoding using DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) and motion-compensated inter-frame predictive coding (see Non-Patent Document 1, for example).
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent No. 3269015
[Non-Patent Document 1]
“Illustrated Tutorial of the latest MPEG” editorial supervision by Hiroshi Fujiwara, Multimedia Communication Workshop ed. ASCII, Jul. 26, 1994 | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Error correction coding techniques can be used to reduce errors introduced during digital data transmission or storage. Prior to transmission, for example, each piece of data, such as a 16-bit word, can be encoded to incorporate additional information so that upon receipt, the data can be recovered even when errors are introduced during transit between transmitter and receiver.
In addition, two or more coding techniques can be combined to create more powerful encoding schemes, such as product encoding scheme. Product code can act on a data matrix that can be arranged from a data sequence. The data matrix can include a first dimension and a second dimension. Product code can encode vectors of the first dimension to incorporate additional information, and then encode vectors of the second dimension to further incorporate additional information. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention generally relates to the healing of alignments of the human body. More specifically, the present invention relates to manipulation of energy pathways in the human body.
The energy pathways of the human body are referred to as meridians. The energy pathways become congested from the daily living and the consumption of the many pathogens and chemicals that ingested by the human body. Current day to day living appears to be some of the most congesting to the energy pathways that humanity may have ever experienced. The mere act of living today causes the disruption of these pathways leading to sickness both physically and mentally. The stagnation of the human body energies are leading to more auto-immune diseases in younger and younger people.
When the energy can not flow like it should, congestion starts and the coagulation of these energies produce a thickening of the mucous in various parts of the human body. This thickening starts in the muscles and if not relieved will progress to various glands and organs making it difficult for the energies to flow through their normal pathways. When the energies can not take their normal pathway, they seek another route or outlet for their continuing pulsations. When the energies start to move in a direction that is not normal, the human body starts to run down and nothing works like it should. This is referred to as a switching or in kinesiology terms, the human body polarity is said to be reversed. When this happens, what was good for the human body before is now bad for the human body. In kinesiology, when the human body polarity is reversed, the testing will not work or the responses will be erratic. Most of the systems of the human body will now test weak. This weakness will show up as a lack of strength during muscle testing and will also show up as a weakness in the human body, such as labored breathing when walking a very short distance. Digestion will become sluggish along with the assimilations and eliminations. The human body metabolic rate will continue to become slower which will result in the human body becoming larger and over time completely worn out. When the energy can not flow properly, the natural course of flow will build up and sometimes cause a shaking of the human body or create tremors in various body parts or over the entire human body. This switching sometimes causes vertigo or the feeling of unstableness and actually falling down. This condition causes the brain to not function properly, thereby creating confusion, causing the inability to think, causing the inability to put thoughts together, causing memory loss and many other conditions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method of use of such apparatus to manipulate the human body energies along the proper pathways when the human body energies travel improper pathways. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field
Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to an adaptable target RAT (Radio Access Technology) threshold for inter radio access technology handover.
2. Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, and so on. Such networks, which are usually multiple access networks, support communications for multiple users by sharing the available network resources. One example of such a network is the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The UTRAN is the radio access network (RAN) defined as a part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a third generation (3G) mobile phone technology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The UMTS, which is the successor to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technologies, currently supports various air interface standards, such as Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), and Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA). For example, China is pursuing TD-SCDMA as the underlying air interface in the UTRAN architecture with its existing GSM infrastructure as the core network. The UMTS also supports enhanced 3G data communications protocols, such as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), which provides higher data transfer speeds and capacity to associated UMTS networks. HSPA is a collection of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), that extends and improves the performance of existing wideband protocols.
As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, research and development continue to advance the UMTS technologies not only to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance and enhance the user experience with mobile communications. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Vehicle collisions that occur at high rates of speed are deadly, resulting in approximately 43,000 lives lost every year in the United States alone. Costs associated with these vehicle fatalities run approximately $165 billion. The physics of these crashes has been well studied and has dictated many safety features deployed in vehicle design today. These features, however, are static and non-collaborative; they are deployed in the same manner in every car, regardless of the specifics of the high speed crash, and they attempt to optimize the outcome for each automobile without consideration of the outcome for the other vehicle(s).
While the known technology includes evasive and impact minimizing measures deployed upon detection of an imminent crash, we know of no technology that uses a collaborative, model-based approach to optimizing crash outcomes. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Engine blowers for blowing and collecting fallen leaves as well as pruned branches and leaves have been known. In the engine blower, a fan accommodated in a volute case is rotated by an air-cooling engine. A portion of blowing air generated by a fan is employed as cooling air for cooling the engine. In other words, an outlet port is provided on a volute case, and a part of blowing air is delivered through the outlet port to the engine as the cooling air (e.g., Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1: JP-B-3778269 | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a magneto casing of a sealed construction for an engine in which the internal pressure undergoes changes as if the magneto casing breathed as the engine operates.
In engines such as marine engines wherein large quantities of water tend to flow into the engine rooms, magneto casings are constructed in a manner to have a sealed construction for preventing the invasion of water so as to provide protection to the magneto against water. The magneto casings of the sealed construction of the prior art have encountered problems which are presently to be described.
Generally, the magneto is mounted on one end portion of the crankshaft which projects outwardly of the crankcase. Thus an oil seal is provided between the crankcase and the magneto casing for preventing leakage of oil from the crankcase side to the magneto casing side. The oil seal is effective to prevent leakage of oil but has no effect in cutting off the passage of air. Consequently, the internal pressure of the magneto casing undergoes changes as if the magneto casing breathed due to variations in the pressure in the crankcase and variations in the temperature in the magneto casing as the engine operates. Such changes in the internal pressure of the magneto casing are especially marked in the case of a two-cycle engine in which the crank chamber is sometimes subjected to a negative pressure of over 0.3 kg/cm.sup.2 when compression and expansion strokes are repeated. This causes invasion of the magneto casing having a starter by water. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In silicon nitride-ceramics, phase transformation of .alpha. to .beta. in a sintering process occurs by using powder including .alpha. type silicon nitride powder as a main component so that .beta. type silicon nitride is formed and becomes columnar crystals entangled with each other. As is well known, such an entangled structure has improved mechanical properties in comparison with a structure formed by particles having an isotropic shape. In the normal pressure sintering, the .beta. type columnar crystals entangled in three dimensions is formed. In the hot press process, the .beta. type columnar crystal is mainly oriented on a plane perpendicular to the hot pressing direction so that the mechanical properties with respect to this plane are slightly improved. However, the mechanical strength of such sintered materials is especially deteriorated at high temperature, and a sufficient fracture toughness cannot be obtained in the materials.
The silicon nitride-ceramics have problems in, especially, the deterioration in strength at high temperature and low fracture toughness. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Data centers are often composed of multiple racks of servers. The server racks are configured with power supply units that can safely supply up to a maximum amount of power to the servers in the rack. If one of the power supply units fail, the maximum amount of power that can be safely supplied by the power supply units may decrease. If the servers draw more than the maximum amount of power that can be safely supplied by the working power supply units, the working power supply units may fail and/or the servers in the rack may be damaged. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a shoe having a spring-position limitation for use, in particular, in a torsional-vibration damper and to a torsional-vibration damper having end shoes and/or slide shoes designed on the basis of such shoe.
2. Description of Related Art
EP 1 584 839 A1 discloses a torsional vibration damper having a drive-input-side primary element which has at least one primary driver and having a drive-output-side secondary element which has at least one secondary driver, which primary element and secondary element can be rotated relative to one another about a neutral position counter to at least one spring element which is provided between one of the primary drivers and one of the secondary drivers, and having end shoes arranged on the end sides of the spring elements, with at least one of the end shoes being designed such that, when a threshold relative rotational angle with respect to the neutral position is reached, at least one of the drivers comes into direct contact with the spring element, bypassing the at least one end shoe.
Torsional vibration dampers or rotary vibration dampers are known in different variations and from different applications. They are provided in particular in automotive engineering for elastically coupling the internal combustion engine and drivetrain. In this way, it is sought to prevent vibrations from being transmitted from the internal combustion engine to the drivetrain or gearbox. Such a transmission of vibrations occurs in motor vehicle drives in particular in the case of internal combustion engines with comparatively few cylinders and at low rotational speeds. Effective damping of such vibrations makes it possible for the internal combustion engine to be operated at relatively low rotational speeds, which generally entails a reduced fuel consumption and is therefore both economically and ecologically advantageous.
Torsional vibration dampers having a drive-input-side primary element and a drive-output-side secondary element which are coupled to one another by means of a spring device and which are rotatable with respect to one another to a limited extent about a rotational axis are known for example from EP 1 371 875 A1 or DE 195 22 718 A1. The primary element comprises a first driver which will also be referred to below as the primary driver. The secondary element comprises a second driver which will also be referred to below as the secondary driver. The torque is transmitted from the primary element by means of the primary driver firstly to the spring device and from there to the secondary driver of the secondary element.
The spring device is generally composed of one or more spring elements arranged in series in the circumferential direction of the torsional vibration damper, preferably helical springs or helical spring sets which are if appropriate connected to one another by means of slide shoes and are supported at both end sides by means of end shoes against the respective driver. If a transmission of torque takes place from the primary element to the secondary element, the described transmission of torque is referred to as traction. If, in contrast, the transmission of torque takes place in the opposite direction from the secondary element to the primary element, this is referred to as overrun.
It has been found that, in the event of a traction/overrun shift, in particular under low load conditions, a changeover noise can be heard. This can be attributed to the fact that, during the traction/overrun shift, the drivers of the primary and secondary elements abut against the end shoes which support the spring elements, and this can cause the changeover noise mentioned.
For this reason, in DE 101 33 694 A1, additional spring elements were provided between the end shoes and the drivers in order to reduce the abutment of these against one another and the associated generation of noise.
In contrast, in DE 199 58 814 A1, such additional spring elements are dispensed with and, instead, the end shoe which bears against the end side of the respective spring element is designed so as not to completely cover the end side of the spring element. Furthermore, the drivers are provided with an arm which is designed such that, in the event of an abutment of the driver and end shoe against one another, the arm of the driver firstly abuts directly against the spring element, bypassing the end shoe. In this way, the movement of the driver is initially damped slightly before the driver abuts over a large area against the end shoe, such that the abovementioned changeover noises can be reduced at least in the event of small torques to be transmitted. A disadvantage of the device is that the initial damping effect is not great enough if the driver is acted on with a high rotational impetus or a high torque. In this case, changeover noises are still generated as the driver abuts against the stop.
Generally known from EP 0 236 159 is a torsional vibration damper in which use is made of two differently-dimensioned types of springs, with the first of the springs being connected in each case alternately in series with the second of the springs.
DE 102 40 839 A1 discloses a torsional vibration damper in which, within the windings of a first spring, a second spring with a smaller outer diameter is inserted. Here, the second spring projects at the end side slightly out of the end side of the first spring. Here, the two springs are mounted in each case entirely within a common end stop, such that undesirable noises are generated in the event of an abutment of a driver.
DE 199 09 044 A1 describes a further arrangement of a torsional vibration damper of this type, with the second spring having, in its central section, a spring winding with an increased diameter, which spring winding engage between two adjacent spring windings of the first, outer spring and thereby fix the second spring in the first spring. In this arrangement, the second, inner spring is dimensioned so as to be harder than the outer spring. The two springs are again mounted at the end side on in each case one end stop or driver.
DE 100 19 873 A1 describes a torsional vibration damper having a multiplicity of springs which are mounted in slide shoes. Here, partially differently dimensioned first and second springs alternate in the circumferential direction.
DE 41 41 723 C2 describes a torsional vibration damper having an idling spring system. In this arrangement, too, differently dimensioned springs are inserted in the circumferential direction.
The problem on which the invention is based is that of proposing, in a simple manner, a shoe having a spring position limitation and having two springs which are arranged one inside the other, such that improved isolation and vibration damping can be realized. Furthermore, it is sought to propose a torsional vibration damper using a shoe of this type in the form of end shoes and/or slide shoes. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
An important form of communication between businesses and customers has traditionally been "paper-based" communication, such as letters and bills mailed via a postal service. For example, it is estimated that merchants spend about $10 billion per year for printing and mailing of bills to customers. It is also estimated that banks account for about 6% of all first-class U.S. mail and that insurance companies and credit card companies account for about 4.5% and 4%, respectively.
However, significant interest has been expressed recently regarding alternative, non-paper methods of communication. The term "alternative messaging" refers to the distribution of information using alternative delivery media, including, but not limited to, facsimile transmissions (fax), electronic mail (e-mail), Internet, on-line banking, and the like. For example, in 1995, there were 550,000 on-line banking users performing about 45 million transactions. It has been estimated that these figures might grow to 3.9 million users conducting about 600 million transactions by the year 2000. The World Wide Web (hereinafter the "Web") has also become a popular medium for the exchange of information and for electronic commerce. Literally millions of new Web pages have been developed in the past several years as more and more individuals, businesses and organizations have discovered the power of Internet marketing. One reason for the Web's popularity is that it facilitates interactive communications between businesses and their customers.
Alternative messaging may also be more cost effective than traditional paper-based communications, such as mail, not only because of the higher cost of paper, printing and postage, but also because of the speed of electronic communications. Electronic financial transactions can occur almost instantaneously and have historically had fewer errors than comparable paper-based transactions. Additionally, error resolution time has been historically less than that for comparable paper-based transactions.
Unfortunately, alternative messaging has to-date been met with resistance from both businesses and consumers for various reasons. Businesses have found it difficult to adapt legacy information systems to different delivery media with a consistent format. Additionally, many businesses may be reluctant to expend large amounts of money on upgrading existing communications infrastructures. Concern has also been expressed over the ability to ensure integrity of information transmitted via alternative messaging systems. "Mail-piece" integrity methods and systems are well established for traditional paper-based mail communications, but are virtually non-existent for non-paper communications. The term "mail-piece" generically refers to any single unit of communication (i.e., a piece of mail, an e-mail, fax, etc.).
Consumers have also shown a reluctance to embrace alternative messaging because of the perception that information transmitted via e-mail or over the Web is less secure than traditional paper-based mail. In addition, traditional mail-merge technologies may allow businesses to somewhat "personalize" communications with consumers via paper-based mail. Unfortunately, the extension of personalized communications to alternative messaging media may not achieve the same level of personalization as traditional paper-based mail. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to networked financial interfaces and more particularly to conducting trade finance business operations including account settlements.
In international sales of goods, the buyer and seller may not know each other, or may not be familiar with the other""s legal system. Thus, one of the major difficulties in international trade is to assure payment, particularly when the buyer or the seller is a small or medium sized business which expects difficulties in obtaining payment should a problem arise. Conventionally, a letter of credit is used in international trade to shift transaction risks to parties better able to manage these risks, specifically, to shift payment risks from unknown entities, such as a distant buyer, to known entities, such as a local bank.
A letter of credit (L/C) is usually an irrevocable undertaking by a bank to pay the beneficiary of the letter, for example, a seller of goods, specified sums of money when certain conditions are fulfilled, to be charged to the account of the person, for example, the buyer of the goods, who causes the bank to issue the letter of credit. Generally, after a buyer and seller have made an agreement for the sale of goods, the buyer instructs its bank to open an L/C in favor of the seller. The buyer""s bank advises the seller""s bank that an L/C has been opened in favor of the seller, and the seller""s bank accepts the buyer""s bank""s guarantee to pay. The seller""s bank advises the seller that an L/C has been opened in its favor, and the conditions which must be fulfilled for payment to occur. Usually, the seller""s bank makes an irrevocable promise to pay the seller upon presentation of appropriate documents. The L/C document is considered an asset of the seller, and can be sold or assigned by the seller.
Documentation which the seller usually must present to obtain payment includes a bill of lading from its shipper, an invoice identifying the purchase, an appropriate insurance certificate, a certificate of inspection from an inspection firm confirming that the required goods are being shipped, export licenses and/or health inspection certificates, and certificates of origin used by customs personnel. After the correct documents are presented, the seller""s bank pays the seller, then collects payment from the buyer""s bank and delivers the presented documents to the buyer""s bank. In turn, the buyer""s bank obtains payment from the buyer.
Meanwhile, the shipper, via a carrier, transports the goods to the buyer""s location. The carrier requires presentation of the bill of lading, which was delivered to the seller, before transferring possession of the goods to the buyer.
The buyer obtains the bill of lading from its bank after payment, and then the buyer and its broker arrange for presentation of the bill of lading to the carrier and delivery of the goods to the buyer""s location. Often, the carrier delivers the goods to the buyer""s broker at the customs entry point of the buyer""s country.
During an international trade using a conventional letter of credit, the buyer and seller are assumed to be located in countries B and S, respectively. The issuing bank is a bank in country B which has agreed with the buyer to issue a letter of credit in favor of the seller. The paying bank is a bank in country S known to the seller which has guaranteed the letter of credit to the seller. The intermediary bank, which may be in country B, country S or a third country, is a bank trusted by both the issuing bank and the paying bank.
To begin, the buyer issues a purchase order based on an agreement previously concluded between the buyer and the seller. Then, the buyer approaches its chosen issuing bank and instructs the issuing bank to open a letter of credit in favor of the seller confirmed on its chosen paying bank. The letter of credit may be confirmed, unconfirmed or standby. In a standby letter of credit, if the transaction proceeds properly, the standby L/C expires, but if the transaction does not proceed properly, the damaged party draws on the standby L/C.
The issuing bank is assumed in this example to have no direct relationship with the paying bank, so the issuing bank approaches an intermediary bank which accepts the guarantee to pay of the issuing bank. The intermediary bank then approaches the paying bank, which accepts the guarantee to pay of the intermediary bank.
The paying bank then advises the seller that an L/C has been opened in its favor and that upon presentation of appropriate confirming documentation, including the Bill of Lading from a Shipper, the paying bank will pay the seller. In this scenario, that is, assuming a confirmed L/C, the paying bank must pay without recourse upon presentation of appropriate documentation. In other cases, the paying bank has recourse, that is, the paying bank passes the documentation to the issuing bank and obtains payment therefrom before paying the seller.
The seller finishes producing the goods and arranges for shipment with a shipper. Goods are passed to the shipper. The shipper transports the goods to a port of entry in the buyer""s country.
Upon receipt of goods, the shipper provides the seller with a bill of lading. The seller presents the bill of lading and other confirming documentation to its paying bank in order to collect against the L/C. After verifying that the documentation is in order, the paying bank pays the seller.
The paying bank presents the documentation and its proof of payment to the intermediary bank, which pays the paying bank. The intermediary bank in turn presents the documentation and its proof of payment to the issuing bank, which pays the intermediary bank. The issuing bank then obtains payment from the buyer and gives the buyer the confirming documentation including the bill of lading.
The buyer gives its agent, such as a broker, the bill of lading and other necessary documentation. The buyer""s agent obtains the goods from the shipper, clears the goods through customs in country B and arranges for delivery of the goods to the buyer. The international trade is now completed.
An L/C shields the seller from the risk of non-payment by the buyer and reduces the risk to the buyer that the buyer will pay for goods not received. With the L/C, the risk of non-payment is assumed substantially by the buyer""s bank, which is assumed to be able to evaluate the risk of non-payment by the buyer. The seller""s bank assumes the risk of non-payment by the buyer""s bank, which the seller""s bank is assumed to be able to evaluate. The banks require fees to compensate them for their risks and the expenses they incur in connection with the L/C. Typically the buyer""s bank also requires that the buyer pledge collateral such as cash or marketable securities against the L/C or otherwise reduces its exposure in the event of non-payment by the buyer. These bank fees and requirements are a burden on trade, particularly on the buyer. Also, the delay involved in establishing an L/C for each transaction is a burden on trade.
Problems multiply because the L/C mechanism separates the transaction into substantially independent contracts, namely, the contract for the sale of goods from buyer to seller, the bill of lading, and the letter of credit.
One fertile source of difficulties for the seller is that its bank usually requires that all the documents called for in the L/C exactly correspond with the terms of the L/C, and withholds payment to the seller even due to typographical errors and minor misspellings. This has caused an enormous amount of frustration to sellers seeking payment.
Another problem is that the L/C holder can obtain payment with the correct documents, even if shipment has not actually occurred.
Yet another problem is that the L/C document itself has value, so there are expenses associated with its custody and in assuring that it is genuine.
A bank incurs roughly the same expenses in connection with an L/C, independent of the value of the goods to which the L/C pertains. The bank""s fee is sometimes expressed as a percentage of the amount of the L/C, such as 1%. Assuming, for example, that the bank""s expenses are $10,000, it will be appreciated that the bank is reluctant to open an L/C for transactions involving less than $1,000,000 of goods, as this business is not profitable for the bank. Thus, it is difficult for parties wishing to participate in international trade to use the L/C mechanism when the value of the goods involved in a transaction is small enough that the expense of an L/C becomes significant.
A system, method and article of manufacture are provided for account settlement utilizing a network. First, a buyer is allowed to select from a group of options in order to settle an account utilizing a network. The options include settling a minimum balance, partially settling, settling a full balance, and applying for an import loan on payment due date. The selected option is then received utilizing the network. Finance interest may then be booked against the buyer for an unpaid portion of the account if the selected option includes either settling a minimum balance or partially settling. If the selected option includes settling a full balance, the account may be reconciled. On the other hand, if the selected option includes applying for an import loan on payment due date, an import loan may be booked and a credit line may be transferred to a trade loan line.
In one embodiment of the present invention, ownership of goods may be released to the buyer by transferring title thereto if the selected option includes either settling a minimum balance or partially settling. As an option, a consolidated card statement may be sent to the buyer utilizing the network.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a third party who reconciles the account may be engaged if the selected option includes settling a full balance. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices and, more particularly, to a method to form a SOI device having improved ESD performance.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
At present, the vast majority of integrated circuit products are formed on bulk semiconductor wafers. However, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer-based products are under development as a majority technology for the future. SOI offers the advantages of improved short channel performance, improved isolation, and reduced power supply capability. However, ESD protection of SOI devices remains a significant challenge to manufacturers.
Referring now to FIG. 1, an example of a prior art SOI MOSEET is shown. The SOI substrate comprises a buried oxide layer 14, typically many microns thick, that is formed overlying a substrate 10. A silicon layer is formed overlying the buried oxide layer 14. In this case, the silicon layer has been doped to form an N+ source 26, an N+drain 22, and a P—body region 34 for a MOS transistor. A typical gate 30 is formed overlying the body region 34 between source 26 and drain 22. Shallow trench isolations (STI) 1B are formed through the silicon layer to the buried oxide layer 14 to isolate the MOS device.
The typical SOI NMOS transistor shown differs from a bulk version NMOS due to the presence of the buried oxide layer 14 underlying the MOS device. The buried oxide layer 14 provides excellent device isolation while facilitating the formation of MOS devices having improved short-channel capabilities. Note that the N+ drain 22 is coupled to an I/O pad for the integrated circuit device. Therefore, this transistor must be able to withstand ESD events due to external handling and/or external conditions. However, the presence of the buried oxide layer 14 may have detrimental effects for the ESD performance of the device.
During an ESD event, the drain 26 to body 34 junction will exhibit a reverse breakdown when the junction breakdown voltage is exceeded. Significant current will flow through the device. To prevent damage to the MOS device and to other parts of the overall integrated circuit, it is essential that the energy of the ESD pulse be dissipated. In a bulk MOS device, a part of this energy dissipation will occur in the bulk silicon material of the substrate. In the SOI, device, however, the buried oxide layer 14 blocks current flow into the bulk substrate 10. Further, the buried oxide layer 14 has a low thermal conductivity compared to silicon (about {fraction (1/10)} as large as silicon). Therefore, the buried oxide layer 14 tends to display excessive heating due to current flow. In addition, the absence of a bulk current path causes current concentration near the surface of the MOS channel where excessive energy dissipation can cause damage. Finally, the relative energy dissipation in the device is proportional to the reverse breakdown voltage of the N+ drain 22 to P—body 34 junction. It is found that the SOI MOSFET device displays a lower power-to-failure curve than a bulk-substrate MOSFET. A method of improving the ESD performance of the SOI MOS device would represent a significant step forward in the development of SOI as a majority technology.
Several prior art inventions relate to the ESD performance of SOI devices. U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,763 to Chen et al teaches a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) device for a SOI process. The SCR adds an N+/P+ zener diode to the prior SCR to reduce the trigger voltage. U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,710 to Yamaguchi discloses an ESD device in a SOI process where at least one MOS transistor is coupled to the external terminal by a forward bias. Another MOS transistor is also coupled to the terminal by reverse bias. U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,594 to Tsao et al describes a bulk silicon ESD protection scheme compatible with low voltage CMOS processing. U.S. Pat. No. 6,133,078 to Yun teaches a method to manufacture a bulk semiconductor device having an ESD protection region. Several impurity layers are implanted into the ESD region to improve ESD performance. U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,399 to Brady et al discloses an ESD device for use in a SOI system. The ESD device is formed in a bulk region to protect other devices formed in the SOI region. U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,003 to Hu et al teaches a SOI MOSFET having a low barrier body contact under the source region. An improvement in ESD performance of the device is cited. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The following relates to the imaging arts. It finds particular application in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging using radioisotopes emitting at multiple energies, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it also finds application in SPECT imaging using more than one different radiopharmaceutical, and in other types of nuclear imaging, nuclear spectroscopy, radiation therapy, and so forth.
In SPECT imaging, one or more radiopharmaceuticals are administered to a subject, a gamma camera detects radioactive emissions from the administered one or more radiopharmaceuticals, and the detections are processed to reconstruct an image of the distribution of the one or more radiopharmaceuticals in the subject. For example, the radiopharmaceutical may include a radioisotope attached to a carrier that concentrates in a target organ or other anatomical feature of a human subject, and the reconstructed image is representative of the target organ or other anatomical feature. The administered radiopharmaceutical dosage is typically relatively low, especially in the case of human imaging subjects, and the radioactive emission detections are analyzed using statistical techniques taking into account factors such as scattering, attenuation, and detector efficiency.
If the radiopharmaceutical generates a single emission peak, the scattering, attenuation, detector efficiency, and so forth are readily accounted for using parameters characteristic of the emission energy. However, where the radiopharmaceutical generates different emission peaks (for example, if the radioisotope emits at two or more energies, or if two or more radiopharmaceuticals are used), then accounting for scattering, attenuation, and so forth is difficult. Examples of multiple-peak radiopharmaceuticals include: complexes of In-111, which has main emission peaks at 171 keV and at 245 keV; complexes of Ga-67, which has main emission peaks at 93 keV, 184 keV, and 300 keV; and complexes of Tl-201, which has main emission peaks at 72 keV and 167 keV. Examples of imaging with two or more radiopharmaceuticals at the same time include dual isotope cardiac imaging allowing a stress Tc-99m image to be acquired simultaneously with a rest Tl-201 imaging, or using Tc-99m labeled blood cells to image anatomy while simultaneously using an In-111 complex to image prostate cancer.
Reconstruction of SPECT images from radiopharmaceuticals that produce different energy peaks is complicated by the fact that photons emitted at different energies will be scattered differently, attenuated differently, have different gamma camera detection efficiencies, and so forth. In addition, photons emitted from higher energies can be down-scattered and contaminate the projection data acquired in lower energy windows.
Typically, for multiple-peak isotopes, the gamma camera acquires or bins photons at different energies in a single projection image set, and the reconstruction employs average or approximate parameter values to account for scattering, attenuation, detector efficiency, and so forth. For example, iterative reconstruction methods typically utilize a single set of projections for comparison to estimated activity maps, even if the projections include photons acquired at different energies. Attenuation, scatter, and other compensations are performed by assuming an average or summed value for specific physical properties. Although the reconstructed images are clinically usable, the averaging or approximation degrades the quantitative accuracy of the image. Moreover, if two or more different radiopharmaceuticals are administered, each targeting a functional or molecular compartment and each emitting photons at different peak energies, then reconstruction of a single projection image set does not provide readily distinguishable imaging of the different functional or molecular compartments. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The thermal efficiency and hence the output power of an engine of a saddle-ridden vehicle such as a motorcycle can be increased by equipping the engine with a supercharger and supplying air that has been compressed by the supercharger to the combustion chambers of the engine. JP-A-2015-83437 discloses a saddle-ridden vehicle which is equipped with a supercharger.
The saddle-ridden vehicle disclosed in JP-A-2015-83437 is equipped with an air cleaner for cleaning external air, a supercharger for compressing air cleaned by the air cleaner, an intercooler for cooling air that has been compressed by the supercharger and thereby made high in temperature, and a surge tank for supplying air cooled by the intercooler after storing it temporarily. In this saddle-ridden vehicle, an air intake pipe connects the air cleaner and the supercharger. An air outlet pipe connects the supercharger and the intercooler. The intercooler and the surge tank are adjacent to each other and a short pipe connects them directly.
On the other hand, an electronically controlled throttling method is known in which an accelerator manipulation amount of a rider is detected by a sensor and an electric drive motor is operated on the basis of the detected accelerator manipulation amount, whereby the degree of opening of a throttle valve is controlled. JP-A-2002-256895 discloses a throttle control device that employs the electronically controlled throttling method. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In an enterprise or Internet e-commerce environment, an internal business process or business-to-business (“B2B”) transaction often involves integration of services that are provided by multiple applications. Some of the service tasks involved in a workflow may require expensive resources. As is typical in a B2B environment, such resources may not always be reliable when provided remotely via the Internet. As a result, often an entire business transaction or B2B transaction is aborted due to the failure of a single task. This results in a costly loss of time and resources.
It is known, regarding complex and expensive computer workflow products, to provide for the insertion of recoverable checkpoints in a business flow to mitigate the impact of a failed step. Thus, a workflow engine in this type of expensive workflow product would restart a failed flow from the last recoverable checkpoint instead of from the beginning of the overall process flow. This “persistent checkpoint” capability is typically built into this type of workflow product; however, this approach significantly increases the complexity of the associated workflow engines. Accordingly, it typically leads to bulky and high-priced software, as well as expensive hardware platforms to run the software. In addition to their cost, these types of products do not usually perform well in certain environments that require a small footprint and lightweight workflow engines, such as in a client-side or browser-based computing model.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a significant need in the art for workflow recovery systems and methods that are light-weight, inexpensive, adaptable to a wide range of low-end and medium-end platforms, and capable of handling sophisticated business workflows. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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A digital video recorder may be used to record television programming as recorded content and to later playback the recorded content when convenient. The digital video recorder may include functionality for recording television programming, managing recorded content, and playing recorded content to a display device. When a user records television programming, the television programming may be recorded at a resolution associated with a channel being recorded or a resolution associated with a service level agreement with a service provider. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The invention relates to a two-chamber dispenser for a gas-pressurized or non-pressurized package, said dispenser comprising a rigid or semi-rigid one-piece can body with a shoulder forming a flanged opening and inserted therein a flexible inner pouch (herein after simply pouch) of a material which forms a barrier to diffusion, said pouch being for liquid, pasty or creamy contents.
There are various two-chamber dispensers for gas-pressurized and non-pressurized packages which permit separation of a propellant from the contents.
In the case of one two-chamber package a pressure-resistant can body contains a flexible, folded or semi-rigid pouch which can be deformed radially and/or axially. The pressure of the propellant between the pouch and the can body is so great that on opening the valve the liquid, pasty or creamy contents are expelled from the container. For environmental reasons the main propellant gases used today are nitrogen, air and liquid methane, which are fed or forced into the container through a sealable hole in the base of the can body.
By using a pump facility, which for physical reasons is particularly suitable for low viscosity fluids, the contents are sucked out of the pouch. There is no excess pressure in the space between the flexible pouch and the can body. The contents removed from the pouch cause the volume of the pouch to become smaller; the resultant negative pressure is constantly equalized.
Known versions of two-chamber dispensers for gas-pressurized and non-pressurized packages exhibit the following disadvantages:
The resistance to diffusion is not sufficient, either because the material used does not provide an adequate barrier, or because the connection of the pouch to the valve or pump facility is not sufficiently airtight.
The material necessary to provide a perfect barrier to diffusion e.g. in the form of an aluminum sleeve, is too thick. Under the action of radial compression the residual volume is large, which results in a loss of material i.e. contents. Axial compression is not possible here. Furthermore, under the action of radial deformation kinking or buckling can occur producing stresses that could lead to perforation (British Patent Document 2162901.)
The pouches are secured in a complicated manner e.g. in two-part can bodies. PA0 Known two-chamber dispensers are very expensive making the final product difficult to sell.
The object of the present invention is to develop a two-chamber dispenser of the kind discussed above which is diffusion-proof also in the region of transition to the valve or pump, even with critical products and this for several years, at the same time permitting manufacture at a favorable cost. Furthermore, the residual volume which is left in the pouch after emptying should be small. Finally, and this is of particular importance, the filling operation should save the introduction and attachment of the pouch to the can body. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to game calling devices, and in particular, to an adjustable grunt tube that can produce sounds having varied pitch, intensity, tone and inflection.
Game calling devices for large mammals and predators are known. In particular, devices known as “grunt tubes” are used to simulate the grunts, snorts, bleats and other sounds produced by white-tailed deer. Hunters and wildlife enthusiasts use grunt tubes to attract deer and other animals.
Grunt tubes generally include a tubular member through which air passes and a reed supported within the tubular member. The passing air excites the reed causing it to vibrate and produce sounds. Some grunt tubes allow the user to vary the sounds produced by the calling device. In one existing device the sound is varied by adjusting the position of an o-ring along the length of the reed. One problem with this device is that the o-ring can be difficult for the user to access since the reed/o-ring assembly is positioned inside the central housing of the device. Another problem with this device is that it can be difficult for the o-ring to make contact all the way around the circumference of the reed which can hinder the reed's vibration and distort the sound. Yet another problem with this device is that the o-ring requires periodic lubrication to prevent it from drying out.
There is therefore a need for an improved grunt tube which overcomes these and other disadvantages in the prior art. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to a screen printer, and more particularly, to a screen printer equipped with a mask cleaning device which serves to remove ink dregs adhered to one surface of a mask and holes formed in the mask. Although not limitative, the screen printer of this kind is suitable to form a film on an electronic circuit board or substrate.
Repetition of the film formation on the substrate due to the screen printing process causes ink to remain on a mask surface adjacent to the substrate and in holes of the mask. If the printing is further continued, the remaining ink will bring about defective printing such as blot, blur, discontinuity of line or the like of an ink pattern printed on the substrate. For this reason, it is necessary to wipe the adhered ink dregs by cleaning the mask each time the printing has been repeated a predetermined number of times.
On the other hand, with the development of electronics, a mask is required to obtain high definition. That is, the area of hole pattern on the mask and the space between adjacent holes tend to be reduced. As a result, the ink remains in the holes of the mask as well as adhere to the lower surface of the mask. To cope with this, it is necessary to increase the frequency of mask cleaning.
Heretofore, cleaning of the mask has been performed by hand. However, the operation by hand alone cannot cope with the increase of the frequency of mask cleaning so that not only the printing efficiency is deteriorated but also defective printing is increased.
Recently, devices for automatically performing the cleaning have been proposed. These automatic cleaning devices are disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication Nos. 62-152853, 63-173643 and 63-296942 as well as in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication Nos. 60-85931 and 62-178145, for example.
However, the proposed devices including the cleaning by hand are not satisfactory in terms of the cleaning efficiency and the ability to remove the ink dregs. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for operating a drive with an internal combustion engine and an electric machine.
2. Description of the Prior art
DE 197 52 661 A1 describes an on-board power system for a motor vehicle with a combined drive including an electric machine and an internal combustion engine which act on the same drive train. On the one hand, the electric machine supports, for example, the starting process of the internal combustion engine as a motor and, on the other hand, outputs charge power to a vehicle operating battery, and possibly to an additional short-term starting capacitor, as a generator. In order to be able to operate with the highest possible efficiency and thus with the lowest possible loading of the energy stores or energy supply means in the generator operating mode, the electric losses both in the converter and in the asynchronous machine which is provided for the starter-generator are advantageously kept low. This is accomplished by virtue of the fact that, in a field-oriented control, the internal torque of the asynchronous machine of the start-generator is set according to the principle of controlling or regulating the rotor flow with optimum loss by correspondingly adapting the magnetizing current as a function of an active current which is determined in accordance with the respectively required drive torque. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The invention relates to a holder for workpieces during treatment.
In many processes, workpieces are treated, for example, by coating, spraying, etching, ion implantation, etc., in a manner which undesirably heats the workpiece. Maintaining the workpiece relatively cool, i.e., below temperatures where damage can occur to the workpieces or masking materials is a particular problem in treating semiconductor wafers in vacuum.
Typically, workpieces such as semiconductor wafers are mounted on individual cylindrical holders and transported in a treatment area in which vacuum is maintained so that each workpiece is uniformly treated. During treatment, heat is produced and must be efficiently and effectively transferred away from the workpieces.
One way in which this can be done is to mount the workpiece holder in contact with a plate and to slide the workpiece holders along the plate while a cooling fluid is circulated underneath or through the plate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,801 issued Feb. 12, 1980 describes an apparatus of this type. While this approach is effective, it necessitates a relatively complex transporting system in which the workpiece holders must be slid and maintained in contact with the plate. Another approach to maintaining the workpieces cool is to mount them on an elastomeric disc which is in turn mounted on a workpiece holder. Preferably, the disc has a number of holes in it which are communicated to a vacuum source so that the workpiece is drawn to and held tightly on the elastomeric disc. U.S. Application, Ser. No. 953,214, filed Oct. 20, 1978 describes a workpiece holder of this type, and the patent to Jones U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,051 describes a similar holder.
The present invention relates to a unique workpiece holder particularly effective for cooling semiconductor workpieces during treatment in which a casing which is preferably substantially cylindrical and resembles a "hockey puck" includes a hollow interior space filled with a composition which absorbs heat from the workpiece during treatment, thus maintaining the workpiece relatively and satisfactorily cool. The workpieces are mounted on an upper surface of the holder with a bore preferably extending between the upper and lower surfaces for applying a vacuum to that upper surface to hold a workpiece thereon. Alternatively, an overpressure can be applied on top of the wafer to insure contact between the workpiece and holder.
Any of a number of different compositions including Glauber's salt (sodium sulfate decahydrate), and calcium chloride hexahydrate provide satisfactory heat absorbing characteristics. A circular groove is preferably provided in the peripheral surface between the upper and lower surfaces so that the holder can be readily transported on rails which enter into the groove and rotated or oscillated during treatment. The upper surface is preferably thick enough to prevent bowing of that surface when vacuum is applied or with changes in ambient pressure. Other means of pressure relief such as a bellows port can alternatively be used.
In a first embodiment, a plurality of curved, generally radially extending vanes can be provided within the interior space to promote generally radial flow during rotation or oscillation and thus good heat distribution within the interior space. After treatment, the holder must be cooled and this can be accomplished by rotating or oscillating in a refrigerated environment, the radial flow promoted by the vanes cooling all of the areas of the interior space at substantially the same time.
In a second embodiment of the present invention, the "hockey puck" is formed with top and bottom portions which are threaded together with an O-ring to provide a satisfactory seal which is maintained under treatment conditions. Further, the surface on which the elastomeric disc and the semiconductive wafer are retained is preferably provided with a plurality of circumferential grooves, each of which is connected by a downwardly extending bore to a manifold which extends radially to a nipple at the side of the workpiece holder to which a vacuum source can be coupled. Thus, no bore is provided through the space in which the heat conducting material is contained. This makes the structure mechanically simpler and, in addition, the workpiece holder does not have to be moved in order to be attached to a vacuum source. A flexure plate is preferably utilized in a recess in the peripheral surface between the upper and lower surfaces for latching the top to a clamp.
Other objects and purposes of the invention will be clear from the following detailed description of the drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates generally to the field of sound devices. In particular, embodiments of the present invention relate to sound devices that prevent sound quality from decreasing when an external sound device is connected to the sound device.
A sound device that converts analog signals to digital signals and processes them has been traditionally known. U.S. Pat. No. 5,789,689 has published the technology to (1) convert electronic signals that were input to digital signals with an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter, (2) process signals with digital signal processing (the DSP), (3) add various sound effects, (4) convert processed signal data to analog signals with digital-to-analog (D/A) converter, and (5) generate sound with speaker that is connected with the D/A converter.
When the device, however, is connected with an external sound device that converts analog signals to digital signals for processing, the A/D converter and D/A converter that are mounted on the external sound device create a delay, and a time difference between sound that is generated from a speaker connected with the sound device and sound that is generated from a speaker connected with the external sound device. As a result, sound that is generated from each speaker would interfere with each other and will change sound quality and, eventually, decrease the sound quality. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and tools for data visualization and, more specifically, to a system and tools for generating a data visualization interface.
2. Description of the Related Art
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
As businesses have become increasing reliant upon information technology as their employees, customers, and vendors generate large and increasing amounts of data during business operations. The data may include items such as data entered in a database by employees regarding customer relationships or sales leads, data entered by customers regarding new orders or feedback on previous transactions, or data entered by vendors regarding orders placed by the company. The data may also include manufacturing data, such as inventory numbers, pricing, quality-control data, equipment data logs, and data tracking work in progress.
Further, some data may reflect potentially complex interrelationships between other portions of the data. For example, a serial number may be related in a database to vendor data, inventory data, customer order data, sales lead data, and customer feedback data. Similarly, for example, data identifying an employee may be related to data generated in the course of work for which that employee is responsible.
Other types of data generated in various businesses include real-estate data, intellectual-property portfolio data, data regarding portfolios of assets generally, data regarding commercial property asset management, financial data, e.g., mortgages, accounts receivable, accounts payable, etc. These are just a few examples that illustrate the volume and complexity of data stored in many companies' databases.
The data often relates to the ongoing operation of the business, and analyzing the data in a timely fashion may allow business managers to make better business decisions. Frequently, however, the amount of data and complexity of relationships between various fields of data impedes efforts by those managing a business to quickly understand the significance of the data to their business. To this end, some businesses employ specialized data analysts or consultants whose sole function is querying databases and generating reports, for example using Microsoft Excel from Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash. These reports are typically tedious to generate, offer relatively limited understanding of the data, and in the event that the reports inspire additional lines of inquiry by their audience, another round of querying and reports is often required, thereby slowing the process of investigating the data.
More sophisticated tools for analyzing business data than Excel exist, but these tools are often difficult to operate and are often implemented by employees or consultants with higher levels of training and greater labor costs than those limited to use of Excel. The more sophisticated tools often include a more detailed view of the data that can include additional dimensions of the data displayed simultaneously or accessible through user interaction with an analysis of the data, but users often experience difficulties when selecting among a potentially large number of fields in a database to represent visually, e.g., in a graph or other form of data visualization, particularly when selecting which fields should be displayed on, or mapped to, which visual aspects of a data visualization to convey information precisely and with concision.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. The drawings may not be to scale. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. | {
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Shock absorbers are used in conjunction with automotive suspension systems and other suspension systems to absorb unwanted vibrations which occur during movement of the suspension system. In order to absorb these unwanted vibrations, automotive shock absorbers are generally connected between the sprung (body) and the unsprung (suspension/chassis) masses of the vehicle.
The most common type of shock absorbers for automobiles is the dashpot type which can be either a mono-tube design or a dual-tube design. In the mono-tube design, a piston is located within a pressure tube and is connected to the spring mass of the vehicle through a piston rod. The pressure tube is connected to the unsprung mass of the vehicle. The piston divides the pressure tube into an upper working chamber and a lower working chamber. The piston includes compression valving which limits the flow of damping fluid from the lower working chamber during a compression stroke and rebound valving which limits the flow of damping fluid from the upper working chamber to the lower working chamber during a rebound or extension stroke. Because the compression valving and the rebound valving have the ability to limit the flow of damping fluid, the shock absorber is able to produce a damping force which counteracts the vibrations which would otherwise be transmitted from the unsprung mass to the sprung mass.
In a dual-tube shock absorber, a fluid reservoir is defined between the pressure tube and a reservoir tube which is positioned around the pressure tube. A base valve assembly is located between the lower working chamber and the fluid reservoir to control the flow of dampening fluid. The compression valving of the piston is moved to the base valve assembly and is replaced by a compression check valve assembly. In addition to the compression valving, the base valve assembly includes a rebound check valve assembly. The compression valving of the base valve assembly produces the damping force during a compression stroke, and the rebound valving of the piston produces the damping force during a rebound or extension stroke. Both the compression and rebound check valve assemblies permit fluid flow in one direction, but prohibit fluid flow in an opposite direction; however, they are designed such that they do not generate a damping force.
In applications where a low level of flow restriction is a priority for the check valve assemblies, the working surface for lifting the check valve disc must be maximized. In addition, this low flow restriction level also calls for a very lightweight disc. When first reviewing the design for the check valve assembly, it may seem logical to utilize a valve spring, which has a low stiffness. This design choice is overruled by the need for a fast closing check valve assembly, as well as the need to avoid “chuckle” noise when the shock absorber is mounted on the vehicle.
As the check valve disc becomes lighter and thinner, and the area of the check valve disc which is acted upon by fluid pressure becomes greater, the check valve disc becomes very sensitive to the high fluid pressure which urges the check valve assembly into its closed position.
The continued development of check valve assemblies has been directed towards reducing the level of flow restriction without compromising the sensitivity of the check valve assembly to the high pressure fluid which urges the check valve assembly into its closed position. | {
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In general, characters written with a piece of chalk onto a blackboard are wiped away by a blackboard eraser and then the blackboard eraser having the chalk powder thereon is brushed off usually outside of a room window. At this time, chalk powder brushed off from the eraser is dispersed into the air and air in the room usually becomes polluted by the chalk powder. Breathing the polluted chalk powder containing air is bad for one's health.
Further, in order to overcome such problems, there have been provided a variety of devices for brushing the chalk powder from the eraser. However, most of the devices effect a removal of the chalk powder by rubbing the erasers having the powder thereon in the devices by hand.
One prior art device effects a removal of the chalk powder from the eraser by operating a brushing off rod having sharp protrusions and through holes up and down by an electric motor (Korean Utility Model Publication No. 1989-4786 publicated on Jul. 20, 1989). However, such a device has drawbacks due to the structure being complex and large in size, thereby occupying large spaces and are high in cost. | {
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Recent technological advances have allowed for a proliferation of digital media, which may include images of crimes being committed. For example, child pornography, statutory rape, masked gunmen, and other crimes may be captured on digital media such as digital images and video. This media can be used as evidence in legal cases, but commonly the perpetrator in the images can not be identified since his face is obscured and the images don't contain any traditional biometric data like fingerprints or palm prints.
Notably, among major categories of crime, child sex abuse has the lowest percentage of suspects prosecuted among all offenses. A declination for prosecution by U.S. attorneys does not mean that the suspect did not commit a Federal offense. The major reason for these declinations is weak/inadmissible evidence. Accurate biometric identification of suspects in child sex abuse cases and other crimes evidenced in digital media would greatly enhance the ability of prosecutors to achieve convictions.
Child pornography can include images of nude children or self-pornography that includes self photography of sexual acts with children. Criminals are usually careful to not show their faces in self-pornography for fear of identification. However, it is not uncommon to be able to observe bare skin of other body parts (such as the thighs) of the abuser. Thus, it may be desirable to identify a person based on areas of skin noted in digital photographs of these and other criminal acts. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit used in a microprocessor and in particular, to an information processing device, which mounts a hardware accelerator for translating codes in a given intermediate language into instructions specific to each of microprocessor types.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, applications written in the Java™ language have been increasingly used in cell phones and mobile computers. Java developed by Sun Microsystems is an object-oriented programming language analogous to C++. Note that “Java” is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems. Java has been widely accepted for such a reason that Java programs are executed after being translated from the codes in the intermediate language into the instructions specific to each of microprocessor CPU types using a virtual machine. With the virtual machine mounted, any CPU has a high portability because Java applications can be executed whatever be the CPU type. Note that the intermediate language describes the codes, also called bytecodes, compiled for obtaining the executable Java object program.
As commonly known, since the virtual machine (hereafter, simply referred to as “VM”), which is generally provided by software (hereafter, simply referred to as “soft VM”), interprets and executes individual bytecodes using an interpreter, causing its processing speed to slow, an attempt to speed up processing is made by executing frequently used bytecodes on hardware in some cases. One of these cases is disclosed in PC 2000-507015 (WO 98/21655, PCT/U.S. 07/20980).
Prior to submission of the present application, the inventors of the present invention evaluated consistency between the result from translation of the intermediate language codes (bytecodes) by soft VM and that by hardware typically as in the Java language mentioned above. This means that if hardware is used in translating the bytecodes into instructions in the target language specific to the computer (hereafter, simply referred to as CPU instructions), it is ideal that all the bytecodes can be translated by hardware. Some bytecodes, however, have complex functions and when they are translated, a large amount of CPU codes may be generated ranging from several tens to several hundreds. For this reason, since it is difficult to execute all the bytecodes by hardware, only some of bytecodes are processed by it. This avoids scaling up of hardware involved in executing all the bytecodes by hardware only. Thus, it is required to switch between hardware processing and software processing as appropriate when bytecodes are translated.
FIGS. 9A and 9B show schematic views explaining how to switch between hardware processing and software processing according to the present invention. FIG. 9A shows application software APP1 (the bytecodes) and application software APP2 (the CPU codes), both of which are located on a memory map. Since APP2 is described by a CPU instruction NC, it can be directly executed with no need for translation.
On the contrary, before APP1 (the bytecode) can be executed, it must have been translated into its corresponding CPU instructions. The instructions used in APP1 may be grouped into the following three types from the standpoint of translation and execution. Specifically, C1 is an instruction in the first group of bytecodes and translated by soft VM. This means that C1 is the instruction not supported by a hardware translator. The next C2 is the instruction in the second group of bytecodes and translated by the hardware translator. The third C3 is the instruction in the third group of bytecodes and indicates an action to be taken when a Java run-time exception occurs during execution. The Java run-time exception occurs when the semantic constraint of the Java language is violated. For example, the exception, which occurs when an integer is divided by a divisor 0 (zero), is defined as Arithmetic Exception. When the Java run-time exception is detected, the control is transferred to soft VM and the exception is processed by an error handling routine integrated in soft VM. Since neglecting C3 may induce runaway of the microcomputer itself, any correct error handling action must always be taken.
FIG. 9B shows execution status of a group of C1 to C3 instructions. S indicates the process executed by soft VM while H indicates that by hardware. At this point, to switch from S to H, a hardware start-up process ACT_H must be added and to switch from H to S, a hardware end and soft VM start-up process END_H must be added. The inventors are aware that if switching between S and H are frequently performed using enable and disable instructions for enabling and disabling execution by hardware or if the Java exception occurs during execution by hardware, ACT_H or END_H might occur, causing the processing speed to slow. | {
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Synchronization of a decoding and presentation process for received bitstreams is a particularly important aspect of real-time digital data delivery systems. For example, the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) has promulgated several standards relating to digital data delivery systems. The first, known as MPEG-1 refers to ISO/IEC standards 11172-1 (Systems), 11172-2 (Video), 11172-3 (Audio), 11172-4 (Compliance Testing), and 11172-6 (Technical Report). The second, known as MPEG-2, refers to ISO/IEC standards 13818-1 (Systems), 13818-2 (Video), 13818-3 (Audio), 13818-4 (Compliance).
The MPEG standards address the timing and synchronization issues for decoders of MPEG data streams (e.g., video, audio, data, and the like) as follows. A sample of a 27 MHz clock is transmitted in a program clock reference (PCR) field of a transport stream packet. The PCR indicates a time when the transport decoder is expected to have completed reading the PCR field. The phase of the local clock running at the decoder is compared to the PCR value in the bit stream at the instant at which it is obtained to determine whether the decoding process is synchronized.
In general, the PCR from the transport bit stream does not directly change the phase of the system clock of the decoder, but only serves as an input to adjust the clock rate of a Voltage Controlled Crystal Oscillator (VCXO). This adjustment is accomplished by comparing the PCR sample to the output frequency of the VCXO and responsively adjusting the VCXO until the two frequencies match. The system clock of the decoder is then derived from the VCXO. Thus, the system clock of the decoder is adjusted and locked to the 27 MHz clock of the encoder or transmitter via the transmitter clock sample included in the PCR.
A disadvantage of the prior art decoder arrangement is the relatively high cost of the VCXO. Therefore, a need exists in the art for a method and apparatus which is able to perform timing functions in a data delivery system using an inexpensive oscillator, e.g., a substantially fixed frequency oscillator. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method of forming an interlayer insulating film, and more particularly to an improved method thereof wherein the film can be formed uniformly on a substrate of large size.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, a step of forming an interlayer insulating film is indispensable. FIGS. 5A-5C are cross sectional views of a semiconductor device in respective process steps of forming a conventional interlayer insulating film.
Referring to FIG. 5A, an aluminum interconnection pattern 12 is formed on a silicon substrate 11. A first plasma oxide film 13 is then deposited on the silicon substrate 11 such that it covers the surface of the aluminum interconnection pattern.
Referring to FIG. 5B, a silicon oxide film 14 (interlayer insulating film) is formed by chemical vapor deposition using mixed gas including silane gas (SiH.sub.4) and hydrogen peroxide to cover the aluminum interconnection pattern.
Referring to FIG. 5C, a second plasma oxide film 15 is formed on the semiconductor substrate 11 to cover the silicon oxide film 14, thereby a planar insulating film is obtained.
The silicon oxide film 14 formed by CVD using silane gas and hydrogen peroxide can fill the space less than 0.25 .mu.m between densely patterned interconnections. Further, the silicon oxide 14 is excellent in fluidity and therefore shows a self planarization feature, so that this method attracts attention as the next generation way for planarizing an interlayer insulating film alternative to the conventional way employing SOG (Spin on glass). (Technical Digest of IEDM 1994, Proceedings of DUMIC Conference, 1995)
A silicon oxide film has been formed as described above by CVD using silane gas and hydrogen peroxide. However, in the LSI process, as the diameter of a substrate wafer becomes larger, to deposit an uniform film over such a large wafer has become extremely difficult. Even if an interlayer insulating film is formed by CVD using silane gas and hydrogen peroxide as described, the CVD method still has the same problem. Although attempts have been made to improve the uniformity of film thickness by modifying the structure of a reaction chamber and adjusting the conditions of forming a film, an appropriate method has not been established. | {
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It is generally known to provide a handle for scanning device such as a portable scanner for logistics environments. However, such known handles are typically either molded as an integral portion of the housing of the scanning device, or are connected to the housing fasteners and corresponding tools. In either case of a fastened handle, detachment of the handle from the scanning device is at best problematic, depending upon the tools available in the field to a user of the scanning device. In the case of an integral or otherwise permanently bonded handle to the housing of the scanning device, desired removal of the handle is not possible without potentially damaging the housing. Accordingly, current scanner handles may not allow for easy removal (e.g., for replacement, repair, cleaning, alternative configuration of the scanning device, etc.). Further, attaching the handle to the housing in a releasable fashion, while providing for a control connection between a trigger of the handle and electronic components of the scanning device, is problematic.
A further disadvantage of current portable scanning devices is hidden storage of a stylus for interacting with a user interface of the scanning device. Typically the stylus of the device is attached (e.g. via a cord) and fastened to an external surface of the device housing or handle, when not in use by the user of the device. Unfortunately, these external storage techniques of stylus can result in damage to the housing of the device, misplacement (e.g. loosing) of the stylus by the user, and/or positioning of the stylus in an awkward location on the device/handle that may interfere with the user when operating the scanning device without the current need for the stylus.
Further, triggers of current handles may not be ergonomically comfortable for operation by many different users having different sized hands. As such, the known handles and triggers can provide a non-contoured/ergonomic grip configuration, which tends to make such known triggers uncomfortable to use (e.g. premature fatigue felt by the hand of the user). | {
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A known example of a wave gear unit is a wave gear unit having an input shaft and a pair of input bearings supporting the input shaft, the axial position of the input shaft being defined by the input bearings. Wave gear units with input bearings having this structure are proposed in Patent Documents 1 to 3.
A wave gear unit with input bearings has a first unit end plate for rotatably supporting one first shaft end of an input shaft via a first input bearing, and a second unit endplate for rotatably supporting another second shaft end of the input shaft via a second input bearing. A wave gear mechanism is incorporated between the first and second unit endplates. The wave gear mechanism has a wave generator which rotates integrally with the input shaft, a flexible externally toothed gear made to flex into a non-circular shape by the wave generator, and a rigid internally toothed gear partially meshed with the flexible externally toothed gear. The flexible externally toothed gear and the rigid internally toothed gear are disposed so as to be capable of rotating relatively via a unit bearing (a crossed roller bearing).
To reduce the weight of the wave gear unit with input bearings, improvements are made for reducing the weight of both the wave gear mechanism and the crossed roller bearing. In Patent Documents 1 to 3, the rigid internally toothed gear is a composite member composed of a gear main body member of a lightweight material and a teeth formation member of an iron-based material. The inner and outer rings of the crossed roller bearing are composite members in which the main body portions are formed from a lightweight material, and the trajectory surface formation portions are formed from an iron-based material. | {
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This invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device and to a process for manufacturing the same; and, in particular, the invention relates to a process which can effectively be applied to a semiconductor integrated circuit device comprising a step for flattening a surface using CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing).
In semiconductor integrated circuit devices, such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), demand has been increasing in recent years for finer detail and a higher degree of integration. Due to the demand for greater detail in semiconductor integrated circuit devices, laminated structures in multilayer interconnections are unavoidable, but if a multilayer structure is used, imperfections are formed on the surface of the upper layer reflecting the imperfections in the substrate. If photolithography is performed when imperfections are present on the surface, sufficient tolerance of focal depth cannot be obtained in the exposure step, and this leads to poor resolution. Therefore, the surface is flattened using CMP in order to improve the photolithography of components formed on the surface.
The CMP technique is used also to form isolation regions. In the LOCOS (Local Oxidation of Silicon) technique, which was frequently used in the past, it is difficult to achieve more than a certain amount of detail due to the presence of a bird's beak. Thus, a shallow groove is formed on Ia main surface of the semiconductor substrate; this groove is filled with a silicon oxide film; and the silicon oxide in the regions outside the groove are removed by CMP to form a shallow groove isolation. With a shallow groove isolation, the periphery of the isolation region is sharply defined, so the periphery can also be used effectively as an element part, so that it is easier to achieve finer detail.
However, when the CMP technique is used for polishing, it is impossible to completely remove surface imperfections. When there are imperfections on the polishing surface, a history of imperfections remains on the polishing surface to some extent. Further, if parts which are easily polished and parts which are difficult to polish are both present on the polishing surface, dishing (polishing depressions) tends to occur in the part which is easy to polish. Due to the nature of polishing in the CMP method, this history of imperfections or dishing is particularly significant when the imperfections or parts which are easy to polish have a large area. Specifically, in polishing by the CMP method, although small imperfections can be flattened relatively well, undulations (global undulations) remain over a large area when a large pattern (usually of the order of several μm or more) is repeated, for example, and so it is difficult to flatten the surface completely.
However, a method has been proposed where a dummy pattern is disposed in regions where there are large patterns or where there is a wide pattern interval. In this method, the pattern interval is decreased due to the dummy pattern, so that the aforesaid wide area (global) dishing or undulations are suppressed. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 10-335333 (1998)(Koho) (U.S. Ser. No. 09/050,416, 31 Mar. 1998), a technique is disclosed wherein a dummy pattern is disposed in a region with a wide pattern interval to improve the flatness of the surface of an insulating film which fills the pattern. | {
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This invention relates to collapsible luggage trolleys of the type which include an item of luggage, such as a suitcase, which incorporates a conventional handle for carrying the luggage, and a set of wheels by which the luggage may alternatively be towed with the aid of a collapsible handle or similar arrangement.
Luggage trolleys of this type may be either soft-sided or hard-sided i.e. typically made of a rigid plastics material designed to withstand shock and thereby prevent or inhibit damage to the contents of the item of luggage. If the luggage is of the soft-sided variety then the wheels are normally attached to a rigid tubular structure on the other end of which is a handle which may be telescoped outwards for use or may be stored inside or outside one side of the luggage so that it can be carried by the hand by means of a conventional handle or stored away, for example, in the baggage compartment of an aeroplane. With certain known kinds of hard-sided luggage the tubular frame is inserted within the inner wall of one side of the luggage so that only the handle and the wheels at respective upper and lower ends of the luggage are visible externally. If the luggage is required to be towed it is a simple matter to remove the handle from its stored position and telescope it outwardly so as to permit the user to easily tow the luggage along the ground by use of the wheels.
A disadvantage of such known kinds of collapsible luggage is that they all rely upon the ability of the handle to be telescoped outwardly for use or telescoped inwardly for storage.
Because light weight is essential the telescopable tubes attached to the handle for this purpose are usually made of aluminum or a similarly lightweight material. Especially where the luggage is of the soft-side type and the telescopable tubes are on the outside of the luggage, they are prone to damage such that the handle may be difficult to telescope outwardly into its usable position, or if the damage has occurred whilst it has been so extended, difficulty arises in restoring the handle to its stored position.
Even with hard-sided luggage this problem is not entirely alleviated because carelessness in loading or unloading items from the inside of the luggage may result in damage to the tubular members.
A further disadvantage of such known types of luggage trolleys is that the tubular members are somewhat unsightly and also take up additional space which may otherwise be used for storing items inside the luggage, or for reducing the amount of total space the luggage takes in a storage compartment, such as the baggage compartment of an aeroplane if the tubular members are on the outside.
It is an object of the present invention to obviate or eliminate the foregoing disadvantages.
According to the invention, there is provided a luggage trolley comprising an item of luggage, wheel means disposed on one side and at one end of the luggage and adapted to permit the luggage to be towed when tilted, and a collapsible handle secured to at least one telescopable member and disposed at or near the end of the luggage remote from the wheel means, characterised in that the trolley comprises or includes a generally rigid housing adapted to be secured to the luggage for containing or including the handle and the at least one telescopable member, the handle being movable between a stored position inside or adjacent to the housing, in which position the or each telescopable member is substantially protected by the housing, and an extended position in which the handle may be used for towing the item of luggage via the wheel means.
Preferably, the housing is of hard rigid plastics material and includes an openable upper lid which is spring biased into a closed position so that when the or each telescopable member and the handle are in their stored positions within the housing, they are not visible when the lid is closed. In an alternative embodiment, the handle may be permanently exposed on the outer surface of the housing which may preferably be formed with recesses which permit the handle to be stored in a contiguous manner so that it does not protrude from the housing itself. Preferably, with such an arrangement the housing also includes additional recesses to permit the user of the handle to grasp it and move it from its stored position to its working position. Conveniently, the handle may include hinge means so that it may be hinged outwards from the housing and then pulled upwards along the or each telescopable member.
Where the housing is to be used with hard-sided luggage, it may conveniently be affixed to the outside thereof, or alternatively affixed to an inner surface of the luggage adjacent an appropriately shaped aperture permitting the handle and the or each telescopable member to be moved from stored to open positions for use.
Where the item of luggage is of the soft-sided kind the housing may preferably be secured to a rigid support member secured to the inside or outside of the luggage between the housing and the to provide rigidity. It will be appreciated that because the housing separately protects the or each telescopable member that any damage caused to such a rigid support member will not affect the operability of the handle. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an active sensor, a multi-point active sensor, a method of diagnosing deterioration of a pipe, and an apparatus for diagnosing deterioration of a pipe, capable of judging existence of a malfunction such as a pipe wall-thickness reduction caused by a high-temperature steam in an atomic power plant and a heat power plant, and a pipe corrosion in a chemical factory and an incineration plant, and capable of identifying the part having a trouble.
2. Description of Related Art
A pipe wall-thickness reduction and a pipe corrosion are conventionally inspected on periodic inspections by using an ultrasonic flaw detecting method and an X-ray transmission method. In the ultrasonic flaw detecting method, a probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves is brought into contact with a surface of a pipe, for example, and ultrasonic waves of various frequencies are propagated to an inside (pipe wall part) of the pipe. Then, by receiving the ultrasonic waves that have been reflected on a flaw in the pipe wall part of the pipe or a rear surface of the pipe and returned therefrom, a state of the pipe wall part of the pipe can be grasped.
A position of the flaw can be obtained by measuring a time period between the transmittance of the ultrasonic waves and the reception thereof. A size of the flaw can be obtained by measuring a height of the received echo (intensity of the ultrasonic waves that have been reflected and returned) and a range where the echo appears.
Such an ultrasonic flaw detecting method is mainly used in an atomic power plant, for detecting a plate thickness and a lamination (side cutting appearing in a cut surface of the plate) of a material, and detecting a fusion deficiency of a fused part and a base material by welding, and a crack generated in a thermally affected part. In addition, with respect to a build up welding for reinforcing a nozzle opening, a branch, and a pipe joint, which are disposed around a pressure vessel of an atomic reactor, the ultrasonic flaw detecting method is applied to a base material directly below a build-up welded part, a fused part, and a build-up deposited part (see, Atomic Energy and Design Technique, Okawa Shuppan, (1980), pp. 226 to 250 (Giitiro Uchigasaki, et al.)).
On the other hand, the X-ray transmission method can detect a pipe wall-thickness reduction, without detaching a heat insulation material from the pipe. In the X-ray transmission method, data, which haven been provided by a serial radiographic apparatus such as an X-ray CT scanner, are subjected to a high-speed image processing by using a powerful computer, so as to make an image of the overall object with a fault image showing different X-ray transmittances.
Recently, there is known a method capable of simultaneously taking a picture of substances of different X-ray transmittances, by a simple system including only a sheet-like color scintillator (fluorescent screen) and a CCD camera. The color scintillator emits three primary colors of light, i.e., red (R), green (G), and blue (B), with a luminescent ratio changing in accordance with a transmission amount. This method is used for observing a pipe wall-thickness reduction and for inspecting foreign matters in a thermal/atomic power plant and an oil/chemical complex.
However, in the above ultrasonic flaw detecting method, it is necessary to measure the thickness of a pipe at not less than 1000 positions, and thus it is difficult to conduct the method during a periodic inspection. Further, when the thickness of the pipe is measured, it is necessary to stop the plant in consideration of a temperature constraint, which results in decrease in availability factor.
On the other hand, in the X-ray method capable of detecting a malfunction through the heat insulation member of the pipe, although the method can measure a distribution of the thickness of the pipe, the method is not widely used because an apparatus therefor is expensive. | {
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Various needle-less injection devices with different configurations for injecting a—typically drug-containing—fluid through or into the human skin are known in the art. The conventional devices have in common that the fluid is ejected through a very small outlet of an ampoule through application of high pressure, whereby the fluid attains a very high exit velocity which is required for penetrating the skin or entering the skin and hence for a needle-less subcutaneous or intradermal injection. Such injection devices include an ampoule with an ampoule body forming a chamber for receiving the fluid to be injected. An axially movable, sealingly guided ampoule piston is disposed inside the chamber. The distal end of the ampoule also has an outlet for the fluid to be injected. When used as indicated, the region of the ampoule surrounding the outlet defines the skin contact surface for the needle-less injection through or into the human skin.
DE 10 2004 007 257 A1 describes a needle-less injection device of the aforedescribed type wherein, in addition, an exterior shape of the distal surface of the ampoule forming the skin contact surface has a convex and essentially edge-free contour.
Injection devices employing needles have been used since many decades as an alternative to needle-less injection devices. Such injection devices have the following commonalities which are noteworthy for the intended use of the invention: (i) an ampoule with an ampoule body forming a chamber is provided, (ii) a movably and sealingly guided ampoule piston is disposed in the ampoule body, and (iii) the outlet is arranged at the distal end of the ampoule, from where the fluid to be injected enters a needle and—depending on the penetration depth of the needle and the employed therapy, e.g., with intradermal, subcutaneous or intramuscular injection—is released in the patient's body.
Special embodiments of injection devices with needles are syringes with a so-called Luer connection which represents a standardized connection for injection syringes (or injection cannulae). In addition, a bayonet coupling for attaching the needle can also be provided (so-called Luer-lock syringe).
Presently, the two aforedescribed injection systems are used side-by-side; the attending physician/the medical facility providing treatment is therefore required to have both injection devices on hand, if a selection needs to be made between the two injection systems. When ampoules are prefilled at the manufacturer with a liquid drug, a decision must already be made, if these are to be configured for needle-less injection systems or for injection systems using needles.
This significantly increases material and manufacturing costs as well as inventory costs and the logistic complexity for providing both injection systems on-site.
DE 103 40 613 A1 describes a device for injecting a fluid, which can be used as a one-way syringe or—by removing certain components of the device at defined rated breakpoints—as an ampoule for a needle-less injector. However, the rated breakpoints are at risk of accidentally breaking during the needle injection. Moreover, the rated breakpoints also not sufficiently smooth to satisfy all the requirements for the needle-less injection.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,138 describes an adapter with Spike-attachment for a needle-less injector. The adapter and the injector each include coupling elements for securing the adapter on the injector. Additional sealing elements are provided on the adapter to prevent air from entering the chamber of the injector. U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,159 also describes an adapter with Spike-attachment for a needle-less injector.
Accordingly, there is still a great need for technical solutions which eliminate or at least alleviate the aforementioned disadvantages. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of network security and more particularly to security enforcement point processing of encrypted data in a communications path.
2. Description of the Related Art
Internet security has increasingly become the focus of information technologists who participate in globally accessible computer networks. In particular, with the availability and affordability of broadband Internet access, even within the small enterprise, many computers and small computer networks enjoy continuous access to the Internet. Notwithstanding, continuous, high-speed access is not without its price. Specifically, those computers and computer networks which heretofore had remained disconnected from the security risks of the Internet now have become the primary target of malicious Internet malfeasors.
To address the vulnerability of computing devices exposed to the global Internet, information technologists intend to provide true, end-to-end security for data in the Internet through secure communications. Transport Layer Security (TLS) and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), are cryptographic protocols which provide secure communications on the Internet for such things as web browsing, e-mail, Internet faxing, instant messaging and other data transfers. There are slight differences between SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0, but the protocol remains substantially the same. In operation, TLS involves two processing phases. First, there is a key exchange or “handshake” phase, in which the server and client attempt to agree upon an encryption suite to be used for data transmission. Subsequently, a bulk encryption or data transmission phase is carried out in which the desired content is transmitted using the agreed-upon encryption suite.
The secured communications path defined between two TLS endpoints often incorporate one or more security enforcement points such as a virtual private network (VPN)/firewall. Security enforcement points generally are no different than any other computing device excepting that the computing device supporting a security enforcement point hosts logic including program code enabled to support security services such as IP packet filtering, intrusion detection, load balancing and quality of service (QoS) setting management. Yet, where a security enforcement point has been positioned in the midst of a TLS secure communications path, the enforcement point will have no access to cleartext data in traversing data. Consequently, the security function of a security enforcement point in a secure TLS communications path will have become inoperable as most security functions require access to unencrypted, cleartext data.
In response, customers often choose between not running encryption (or at least not for the entire communications path), or running encryption on a hop-by-hop basis so that cleartext is available at the enforcement points. In the latter circumstance, even if the entire communications path has been protected end-to-end in a hop-by-hop configuration, the authentication as a whole is not end-to-end. Rather, a given node authenticates only to the next hop node. Additionally, in the hop-by-hop configuration, the TLS server key and certificate along with the private key and certificate must be stored at each enforcement point—an undesirable outcome.
Other TLS proxy methods have been proposed to provide security gateways and SSL aware enforcement points. These proposals usually involve sharing the private key and certificate of the TLS server endpoint, where the private key is used to monitor the session, or terminating the client to server session in the enforcement point (hop-by-hop encryption). Additionally, yet other key recovery schemes have been proposed to save the keys from TLS session in central key recovery server so that the clear text of the recorded TLS session could be recovered at a later time. | {
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The present invention relates to electronic bartering systems that allow users to trade or redeem reward points, such as those already accumulated in airline frequent flyer programs, into an account for redeeming products and services offered over the Internet. This would allow users to use their frequent flyer (or frequent car rental, frequent dining, etc.) points for products or services other than those typically offered by the point sponsor. The points would be sold back to the airline (or other type of issuing entity). The system would also allow for purchase by users of points traded in by other users, such that points are redistributed without incurring a transaction directly with the airline or other issuing entity. The system also allows for manufacturers and producers of goods to put overstocked or discontinued, end of run products into a liquidation process that can be exchanged for points.
In order to attract and retain business customers, airlines, hotels, car rental companies, chain retailers, telecom providers, etc. have historically introduced frequent use programs that offer awards of “frequent flyer miles” or other such incentives schemes based on the distance traveled or use by that customer. Competition has forced airlines to modify the manner in which mileage was acquired to include travel related purchases by consumers. For example, the dollar-based cost of a ticket purchased may be awarded as mileage to a client account. Within the past several years, credit card companies or other retailers and etailers have co-branded credit cards in the name of the airlines and the credit card company where each dollar spent using the card is recorded as a mile of travel or point in the award program. These cards may additionally award bonus miles in coordination with user purchases of preferred products or flights during preferred times.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,870, FULLY INTEGRATED, ON-LINE INTERACTIVE FREQUENCY AND AWARD REDEMPTION PROGRAM, issued to Netcentives, Inc. on Jun. 30, 1998. The '870 patent provides a system whereby the user can make purchase of products over the Internet and receive award points, which are stored in an associated database. The user can subsequently view an award catalog to determine which awards he may be able to redeem based on the number of points in his account. This patent does not teach, however, the ability of a user to trade-in his points accumulated in a pre-existing frequent flyer account in order to make purchases of products from the award catalog or allow the points to be pooled with other programs in order to gain further purchasing power.
The ClickRewards program site appears to operate in the same fashion as that described in the '870 patent; i.e. it allows users to gain points (called “ClickMiles”) for making an online purchase of a product through an associated web site. For example, ClickMiles may be awarded for a purchase of Gap products at the Gap web site. The ClickMiles can ultimately be redeemed for frequent flyer miles, for example at one of several major airlines. Another web site, www.webflyer.com, is associated with ClickRewards and provides ClickMiles for purchasing frequent flyer-related goods, such as guidebooks.
The ClickMiles Reward Catalog allows the user to redeem the ClickMiles for merchandise in the alternative to frequent flyer miles. For example, a CD can be obtained from CDNow by redeeming 900 ClickMiles.
Although the ClickRewards program allows a user to redeem accumulated points for obtaining merchandise over the Internet, it does not allow for the redemption of frequent flyer miles from a pre-existing account to be traded for reward points.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,210, ATTENTION BROKERAGE, issued on Aug. 11, 1998 to CyberGold, Inc. The '210 patent describes a system that makes immediate payment to a user for paying attention to an advertisement or other “negatively priced” information distributed over the Internet. A special icon or other symbol displayed on a computer screen may represent compensation and allow users to choose whether they will view an ad or other negatively priced information and receive associated compensation. The points accumulated can then be used to purchase “positively priced information” or products.
The CyberGold web site, www.cybergold.com, describes an “earn and spend” community in which users earn “cash” online, for example by visiting a portal site. The earnings can then be used to make online purchases, such as software.
Again, although the '210 patent and the CyberGold web site describe an incentive system that allows users to purchase products or services over the Internet, neither teaches the ability of the redeeming frequent flyer miles from a pre-existing account for reward points.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,372, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ADMINISTRATION OF INCENTIVE AWARD PROGRAM THROUGH USE OF CREDIT, issued on Jun. 18, 1991 to Meridian Enterprises, Inc. The '372 patent describes an incentive award program in which credit is awarded to participants based on the participant meeting a designated level of performance under the system. This patent does not teach the ability to increase the reward points in a user's account by redeeming points from a pre-existing account such as a frequent flyer mileage program.
With regard to FIG. 1, a model of the frequent flyer systems of the prior art is presented. Two different airlines servers are shown surrounded by their related marketing partners, the first grouping labeled Airline 1 100 and the second independently operated but functionally similar grouping labeled Airline 2 200. In order to lure more business travelers, the airlines 100, 200 have established marketing agreements with travel related companies to provide the business traveler with a more robust way to generate rewards in the form or frequent flyer miles. These marketing arrangements or associations have typically involved credit card companies, phone companies, hotel chains and car rental companies. Any purchases made through these “co-branded” partners were then awarded to the user periodically. Bonus miles or points may additionally be accumulated based on the user's actions in response to offers made by the airline or in coordination with the partner company. For example, phone companies offer bonus miles to users based on the user's agreement to change phone service. These points are obtained by the partner companies by purchasing them from the issuing entity for redistribution as an incentive to utilize their particular goods and/or services. FIG. 2 shows some sample co-branded cards that are representative of marketing agreements between TWA, Sprint, and Mastercard. In order to receive these benefits, the user must sign up with each of the partner companies separately and provide the frequent flyer account number that is to receive the credited miles. A user either making phone calls or purchases in accordance with the agreements made with each of these partners will first accumulate a value on the partner's system which in turn is periodically updated on the airline server to reflect the value earned during that period. FIG. 3 is representative of a typical user account that shows various earnings in the system transferred in from any of the co-branded partners. The records of the table in FIG. 3 identify the source of the rewards, the dates they were recorded and the number of miles associated with that transaction. The user can view the accumulated miles by accessing the airline server or by tracking the individual value reported to the user through the various bills the user receives from each of the co-branded partners.
The prior art does not provide for a consumer to utilize relatively small amounts of reward points in any manner. In addition, a consumer often can only redeem points in an airline-related manner (i.e. to obtain a free ticket or upgrade from coach to first class). This prior art does not recognize the need for a consumer to exchange reward points for non-travel related goods, and in particular renders relatively small numbers of points useless. For example, a consumer that does not travel often may have 500 points in United Airlines, 700 points in USAir, and 1000 points in TWA, each of which is relatively useless in the prior art.
What is desired therefore, is a system where users may submit frequent flyer awards or credits accumulated for other types of transactions for redemption or translation into a form readily acceptable by a participating merchant. An exchange rate will be established for the relative consideration received by the companies involved in the transaction. A user should be able to pool the various earned rewards that may exist in currently separate server systems where the resulting combined value may be used by a user of the system to acquire items of equivalent value. In another embodiment, the award program looking to reduce frequent flyer liabilities may contact users and arrange for a transfer of the reward miles into a value (which may be predetermined) to be credited to the trading system reward. Alternatively, the points may be bid for in an auction environment where points may be used to bid for certain awards. A user who has earned frequent flyer miles or rewards on several sites insufficient to receive any direct value for their mileage may be able to pool the miles acquired from several different air carriers to transfer the awards accumulated to the system of this invention. The user may have the selected items delivered to the user by performing a purchase request by various means such as over the Internet, dialing a toll free number for placing an order, or any other means of placing an order that will accept payment from this system. | {
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Some applications require the use of electrical equipment in hazardous locations where exposure to chemical, flammable and/or combustible conditions is likely. Electrical equipment used in such hazardous locations requires construction to, and compliance with, exacting standards to lessen the chance of electrical equipment malfunction and failure.
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing safety standards for over a century. Underwriters Laboratories, Inc has written safety standard UL 674 “Standard for Electric Motors and Generators for Use in Division 1 Hazardous (Classified) Locations”. Electrical equipment such as motors, generators, panels, raceways and junctions used under hazardous conditions can be constructed in accordance to the UL 674 standard. Equipment used in such conditions typically must be approved under this standard. Approval under a UL standard can require testing of the system and/or system components to ensure compliance with that UL standard.
One part of the UL 674 standard requires that openings in electrical equipment be potted or sealed with an approved material that can meet specific performance criteria for resistance to chemicals. These criteria are specified in UL standard 674, section 45. UL standard 1203, “Tests On Sealing Materials”, is similar to UL 674, section 45. This standard specifies resistance to damage and degradation of a sealant material after exposure to vapors from a number of specified chemicals. Approved sealant materials must retain at least 85% of their compressive strength after 168 hours exposure to saturated vapors in air of each of the specified chemicals and must not shrink, swell, crack or lose or gain more than 1 percent of their weight.
Most epoxy compositions will degrade substantially when exposed to one or more of the test chemical vapors and therefore can not meet the chemical resistance requirements of UL 674. Retention of at least 85% compression strength after exposure to glacial acetic acid is especially difficult for most epoxy compositions.
There are very few materials alleged to be approved for use under the UL 674 standard. One material is CHICO available from Crouse Hinds Cooper. CHICO is an inorganic cementitious material that is mixed with water and poured into a fitting or aperture to form a seal. More recently, CHICO SPEEDSEAL available from Crouse Hinds Cooper has been approved. CHICO SPEEDSEAL is believed to be polyurethane that expands during curing to form a seal in a fitting or aperture. Other useful sealants are KNEADASEAL and KNEADASEAL SL available from Polymeric Systems, Inc. of Pennsylvania, USA. KNEADASEAL is a solid epoxy putty stick that is kneaded between a user's fingers to mix and subsequently forced into a fitting or aperture to form a seal that subsequently cures. Forcing the dense, solid putty into a small aperture to form a seal is difficult, especially if wires penetrate the aperture. KNEADASEAL SL is a pourable epoxy compound. Technical literature notes that KNEADASEAL SL contains bisphenol A epoxy resins. | {
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A number of renewable energy sources exist that are adapted to use forces of nature to generate power. Examples of such sources include, but are not limited to offshore wind, ocean currents, and ocean waves. These sources, however, are intermittent and/or time-variable in nature. Since their productive time intervals are not generally correlated with the time intervals of load demand, these renewables are not well accepted by the power industry.
In order to be more useful, such intermittent, but otherwise sustainable power sources must be integrated with large, readily accessible means of systemic energy storage and subsequent power production. Existing, accepted energy storage means are generally terrestrial (pumped storage), that are not readily available to offshore renewable energy sources. Those that are, such as batteries, are excessively heavy, short lived and expensive, and may be dangerous to the environment. | {
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The present disclosure relates to a light-emitting element and a display device.
In recent years, there has been increased interest in organic electroluminescence display devices (hereinafter, also referred to simply as “organic EL display device”) employing organic electroluminescence elements (also referred to simply as “organic EL element”). The organic EL display devices are of a self-luminous type, and have a property that consumption power is low. Organic EL display devices are conceived as having sufficient responsivity as to high-definition high-speed video signals, and development and commercialization thereof have been advanced toward practical use.
The organic EL display devices include multiple light-emitting elements including an emitting unit ELP and a driving circuit configured to drive the emitting unit ELP. Specifically, the multiple light-emitting elements are arrayed in a two-dimensional matrix shape of N columns in a first direction and M rows in a second direction different from the first direction. A circuit diagram of the organic EL display device is illustrated in FIG. 1, and an equivalent circuit diagram of a light-emitting element including a driving circuit configured of two transistors and one capacitor unit for example, is illustrated in FIG. 2. Here, the driving circuit is configured of a driving transistor TR1, an image signal writing transistor TR2, and a capacitor unit C0, and is connected to a current supply line CSL, a scanning signal SCL, and a signal line DTL. The transistors TR1 and TR2 making up a driving circuit positioned in an odd row in the organic EL display device, and the transistors TR1 and TR2 making up a driving circuit positioned in an even row, are disposed in symmetry as to an axial line extending in the first direction. That is to say, the driving circuits are disposed upside down alternately in odd and even rows. Employing such a layout is employed enables reduction in area of the driving circuits to be realized overall. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present inventions relate generally to methods and systems for tracking the presence, position and status of individual items, containers and the contents thereof, including locks and seals for such items and containers.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Related Information
When items are shipped over distances in sealed containers, boxes and other packaging (as most manufactured items are), a wide variety of problems can occur.
The five scenarios outlined below are illustrative of such problems. 1. The vendor ships the wrong item or no item; 2. The shipping company's employees or others having access during shipment remove some or all of the contents and reseal the package or container; 3. The return authorization and/or address to which returns must be sent is incorrectly understood or executed by the recipient; 4. The recipient claims (fraudulently) that the package delivered did not contain the item ordered; 5. The recipient (fraudulently) returns the package as though the ordered item were being returned, but the recipient keeps the ordered item and substitutes another similar but inauthentic item.
Because the package or container conceals its contents, it is often difficult to determine just who has or should have both custody and responsibility when goods do go missing. Theft and fraud are difficult to detect, and a contention that there was nothing of value in a box is very difficult to defeat. Previous (and undesirable) solutions depended upon non-technical processes including bureaucratic hurdles, negotiation, investigation, intimidation and simple loss write-offs to deal with errors, theft and fraud in both ecommerce and mail order fulfillment as well as large and high value transactions involved in, for example, shipping containers between continents on ships.
Credit card fees charged to merchants include charges specifically intended to defray costs of lost merchandise where customers dispute charges. Since often no one can be found to take responsibility, the expense of such lost merchandise is written off as a cost of using credit cards. Many credit card companies specify an appeals process for a denied charge that imposes difficult, bureaucratic, and lengthy procedures on consumers. This is intended to deter denial of charges, whether justified or not.
Improved methods and systems for tracking packages and containers would help to mitigate these disadvantages and inefficiencies. Specifically, what are needed are methods and systems for tracking both the containers and the contents thereof, from the initial vendor, through the shipping process, until receipt and acceptance thereof by the ultimate buyer. Also needed are methods, devices and systems to seal and lock containers to prevent theft and fraud during transit. | {
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Companies and consumers increasingly depend on computers to process, distribute, and play back high quality video content. Engineers use compression (also called source coding or source encoding) to reduce the bit rate of digital video. Compression decreases the cost of storing and transmitting video information by converting the information into a lower bit rate form. Decompression (also called decoding) reconstructs a version of the original information from the compressed form. A “codec” is an encoder/decoder system.
Compression can be lossless, in which the quality of the video does not suffer, but decreases in bit rate are limited by the inherent amount of variability (sometimes called source entropy) of the input video data. Or, compression can be lossy, in which the quality of the video suffers, and the lost quality cannot be completely recovered, but achievable decreases in bit rate are more dramatic. Lossy compression is often used in conjunction with lossless compression—lossy compression establishes an approximation of information, and the lossless compression is applied to represent the approximation.
A basic goal of lossy compression is to provide good rate-distortion performance. So, for a particular bit rate, an encoder attempts to provide the highest quality of video. Or, for a particular level of quality/fidelity to the original video, an encoder attempts to provide the lowest bit rate encoded video. In practice, considerations such as encoding time, encoding complexity, encoding resources, decoding time, decoding complexity, decoding resources, overall delay, and/or smoothness in quality/bit rate changes also affect decisions made in codec design as well as decisions made during actual encoding.
In general, video compression techniques include “intra-picture” compression and “inter-picture” compression. Intra-picture compression techniques compress a picture with reference to information within the picture, and inter-picture compression techniques compress a picture with reference to a preceding and/or following picture (often called a reference or anchor picture) or pictures.
For intra-picture compression, for example, an encoder splits a picture into 8×8 blocks of samples, where a sample is a number that represents the intensity of brightness or the intensity of a color component for a small, elementary region of the picture, and the samples of the picture are organized as arrays or planes. The encoder applies a frequency transform to individual blocks. The frequency transform converts an 8×8 block of samples into an 8×8 block of transform coefficients. The encoder quantizes the transform coefficients, which may result in lossy compression. For lossless compression, the encoder entropy codes the quantized transform coefficients.
Inter-picture compression techniques often use motion estimation and motion compensation to reduce bit rate by exploiting temporal redundancy in a video sequence. Motion estimation is a process for estimating motion between pictures. For example, for an 8×8 block of samples or other unit of the current picture, the encoder attempts to find a match of the same size in a search area in another picture, the reference picture. Within the search area, the encoder compares the current unit to various candidates in order to find a candidate that is a good match. When the encoder finds an exact or “close enough” match, the encoder parameterizes the change in position between the current and candidate units as motion data (such as a motion vector (“MV”)). In general, motion compensation is a process of reconstructing pictures from reference picture(s) using motion data.
The example encoder also computes the sample-by-sample difference between the original current unit and its motion-compensated prediction to determine a residual (also called a prediction residual or error signal). The encoder then applies a frequency transform to the residual, resulting in transform coefficients. The encoder quantizes the transform coefficients and entropy codes the quantized transform coefficients.
If an intra-compressed picture or motion-predicted picture is used as a reference picture for subsequent motion compensation, the encoder reconstructs the picture. A decoder also reconstructs pictures during decoding, and it uses some of the reconstructed pictures as reference pictures in motion compensation. For example, for an 8×8 block of samples of an intra-compressed picture, an example decoder reconstructs a block of quantized transform coefficients. The example decoder and encoder perform inverse quantization and an inverse frequency transform to produce a reconstructed version of the original 8×8 block of samples.
As another example, the example decoder or encoder reconstructs an 8×8 block from a prediction residual for the block. The decoder decodes entropy-coded information representing the prediction residual. The decoder/encoder inverse quantizes and inverse frequency transforms the data, resulting in a reconstructed residual. In a separate motion compensation path, the decoder/encoder computes an 8×8 predicted block using motion vector information for displacement from a reference picture. The decoder/encoder then combines the predicted block with the reconstructed residual to form the reconstructed 8×8 block.
I. Video Codec Standards.
Over the last two decades, various video coding and decoding standards have been adopted, including the H.261, H.262 (MPEG-2) and H.263 series of standards and the MPEG-1 and MPEG-4 series of standards. More recently, the H.264 standard (sometimes referred to as AVC or JVT) and VC-1 standard have been adopted. For additional details, see representative versions of the respective standards.
Such a standard typically defines options for the syntax of an encoded video bit stream according to the standard, detailing the parameters that must be in the bit stream for a video sequence, picture, block, etc. when particular features are used in encoding and decoding. The standards also define how a decoder conforming to the standard should interpret the bit stream parameters—the bit stream semantics. In many cases, the standards provide details of the decoding operations the decoder should perform to achieve correct results. Often, however, the low-level implementation details of the operations are not specified, or the decoder is able to vary certain implementation details to improve performance, so long as the correct decoding results are still achieved.
During development of a standard, engineers may concurrently generate reference software, sometimes called verification model software or JM software, to demonstrate rate-distortion performance advantages of the various features of the standard. Typical reference software provides a “proof of concept” implementation that is not algorithmically optimized or optimized for a particular hardware platform. Moreover, typical reference software does not address multithreading implementation decisions, instead assuming a single threaded implementation for the sake of simplicity.
II. Acceleration of Video Decoding and Encoding.
While some video decoding and encoding operations are relatively simple, others are computationally complex. For example, inverse frequency transforms, fractional sample interpolation operations for motion compensation, in-loop deblock filtering, post-processing filtering, color conversion, and video re-sizing can require extensive computation. This computational complexity can be problematic in various scenarios, such as decoding of high-quality, high-bit rate video (e.g., compressed high-definition video). In particular, decoding tasks according to more recent standards such as H.264 and VC-1 can be computationally intensive and consume significant memory resources.
Some decoders use video acceleration to offload selected computationally intensive operations to a graphics processor. For example, in some configurations, a computer system includes a primary central processing unit (“CPU”) as well as a graphics processing unit (“GPU”) or other hardware specially adapted for graphics processing. A decoder uses the primary CPU as a host to control overall decoding and uses the GPU to perform simple operations that collectively require extensive computation, accomplishing video acceleration.
In a typical software architecture for video acceleration during video decoding, a video decoder controls overall decoding and performs some decoding operations using a host CPU. The decoder signals control information (e.g., picture parameters, macroblock parameters) and other information to a device driver for a video accelerator (e.g., with GPU) across an acceleration interface.
The acceleration interface is exposed to the decoder as an application programming interface (“API”). The device driver associated with the video accelerator is exposed through a device driver interface (“DDI”). In an example interaction, the decoder fills a buffer with instructions and information then calls a method of an interface to alert the device driver through the operating system. The buffered instructions and information, opaque to the operating system, are passed to the device driver by reference, and video information is transferred to GPU memory if appropriate. While a particular implementation of the API and DDI may be tailored to a particular operating system or platform, in some cases, the API and/or DDI can be implemented for multiple different operating systems or platforms.
In some cases, the data structures and protocol used to parameterize acceleration information are conceptually separate from the mechanisms used to convey the information. In order to impose consistency in the format, organization and timing of the information passed between the decoder and device driver, an interface specification can define a protocol for instructions and information for decoding according to a particular video decoding standard or product. The decoder follows specified conventions when putting instructions and information in a buffer. The device driver retrieves the buffered instructions and information according to the specified conventions and performs decoding appropriate to the standard or product. An interface specification for a specific standard or product is adapted to the particular bit stream syntax and semantics of the standard/product.
Given the critical importance of video compression and decompression to digital video, it is not surprising that compression and decompression are richly developed fields. Whatever the benefits of previous techniques and tools, however, they do not have the advantages of the following techniques and tools. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slider for a concealed type slide fastener for use in a separable bottom end stop constituted of a box, a box pin and an insert pin, which is attached to an end of a fastener chain in the concealed type slide fastener, the separable bottom end stop separating the fastener chain in a closed state to right and left fastener stringers when the slider is operated in the back and forth direction and closing the fastener chain in an open state, and more particularly to a slider for a concealed type slide fastener with a separable bottom end stop intended to improve the insertability of an insert pin to a slider.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a slider for a concealed type slide fastener with a separable bottom end stop conventionally known, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a diamond 106 is erected in the longitudinal direction in the center of a lower blade 105 of a slider body and a tab attaching portion 107 having a locking mechanism is provided on the top of the diamond 106 although not shown in the drawings. This tab attaching portion 107 is stretched sideways of the diamond 106 and flanges 108 capable of pressing an inverted portion of fastener elements 123 are provided on both sides of the lower blade 105, to thereby form a Y-shaped guide portion through which the fastener elements 123 pass. An upper blade 109 is provided curvedly above the flanges 108 so as to oppose the bottom edge of the tab attaching portion 107 and a tape passage 119 through which the fastener tape can pass is provided between the tab attaching portion 107 and the upper blade 109, thereby completing the concealed type slider 101.
In a fastener chain for the concealed type slide fastener for use in this slider 101, the side edge of the fastener tape in the fastener chain is bent into a U shape in its cross section, and coupling heads of the fastener elements 123 are attached to the outside face of the bent tape such that the coupling heads are projected outward while a reinforcement tape is attached to a space portion in which no fastener elements 123 exist. The box 126 and box pin 127 of the separable bottom end stop which can separably close the fastener stringer 125 are attached on the reinforcement tape on one side so that the box 126 and box pin 127 are continuous to the fastener elements 123 while the insert pin which can be inserted into an insert pin insertion hole in the box 126 is attached on the fastener stringer 125 on the other side so that the insert pin 128 is continuous to the fastener elements 123. After this insert pin 128 is inserted into the insert pin insertion groove in the guide groove 111 of the slider 101 and the insert pin insertion hole in the box 126, the slider 101 is pulled upward and slid so as to close right and left fastener stringers 125, thereby completing the concealed type fastener chain.
Further, a slider with a separable bottom end stop shown in FIG. 13 has been known. In this concealed type slider, parallel portions are provided at a rear mouth of an upper blade 209 provided curvedly on the top of flanges 208 on both sides on a lower blade 209 of the body and then, a recess portion 220 is provided in the upper blade 209 from the vicinity of a shoulder mouth of the upper blade 209 to the parallel portion so as to reduce a contact face with a fastener tape. A tab attaching portion 207 having a locking mechanism is provided on the top of a diamond, and a guide flange is provided on the bottom edge thereof while blade pieces for assisting fastener elements to be arranged neatly are formed above the guide flanges. More specifically, the blade pieces make contact with the top face of the coupling heads of the fastener elements projecting from the fastener tape so as to prevent the fastener elements from moving upward. Further, a concealed type slider provided with an arrangement body for neatly arranging and guiding the coupling heads of the fastener elements at a front end on the rear mouth side of the diamond has been described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-25855. In the meantime, as a fastener chain for use, the same one as the above-described fastener chain can be used.
In the concealed type sliders 101 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 and 13, the inner faces of the lower blades 105, 205 on both sides of the diamond 106 on the lower blade 105, 205 of the body have not been improved in any way. When the insert pin 128 attached to the fastener stringer 125 is inserted from the shoulder mouth of the slider 101, the insert pin 128 tends to rotate around a folded point so that the insert pin 128 droops with respect to the fastener tape surface, that is, tilts substantially at right angle, because the side edge of the fastener tape is folded into the U shape and the insert pin 128 is attached to a side end with respect to the folded portion. Further, the surface on the fastener element coupling head side of the insert pin 128 itself is folded and curved slightly around the center in the longitudinal direction and a side thereof connected to the fastener element 125 is formed thickly. Thus, if the insert pin 128 is inserted from the shoulder mouth of the slider 101 in a drooping state, the front end facing downward of the insert pin 128 comes into contact with the lower blade 105, 205 of the slider 101 while a curved portion on the top of the insert pin 128 comes into contact with a guide flange formed on the top of the diamond 106 or the upper blade 109, 209, so that the coupling head of the fastener element 123 adjoining the insert pin 128 is caught by that portion and consequently, the bottom end stop cannot be attached smoothly. | {
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Complex systems are all around us, including such examples as highway and air traffic systems; telephone networks; financial and banking systems; systems for the manufacture, distribution and sale of retail goods; legal systems; computer systems of various types; information transmission networks; and many more. In large part, these systems are characterized by concurrency (i.e., a number of actions may be occurring at the same time) and by asynchronicity (i.e., there is no master clock controlling the timing of events; many events can occur independently of one another). The development, modification and management of such systems is a very expensive, time-consuming and difficult task. Because of these and other factors, considerable efforts have been devoted over recent years to developing ways to analyze, simulate and (in some cases) control such systems. For example, one would like to be able to know, analytically, whether a change proposed for the structure or control programs for the long-distance telephone network is safe, or if it will cause the system to become deadlocked under some set of circumstances; it is undesirable to simply wait to see if something disastrous is going to happen.
Computer-graphical methods are being used more and more frequently in the specification and design of complex systems. The resulting models provide a basis for validating the design concepts, because they can be understood both by the designer and by the user, and because they can be scrutinized to determine whether the user's requirements have been satisfied. The model can then be used as a guide to, or vehicle for, the implementation or control of the actual physical system. For example, a computer program implementing the model can be used to control the system operation. The system might, thus, be a telephone switching network and the program might operate the digital controller which, in turn, operates the switches. Or the system might be a subway traffic control system and the program might operate signal lights, dispatch scheduling, and so forth.
Executable models of complex systems (i.e., computer programs which model these systems) are now being introduced into practice. In general, they may be classified into two categories: (1) models based on an underlying mathematical framework and (2) models based on an ad hoc graphical representation tied to conventional programming languages. Both types of models can be executed and, in that sense, can be thought of as programs. Models of the first type, moreover, can be analyzed according to certain rules, to discover whether the system possesses certain behavioral properties. These properties include deadlock, safety, and some forms of invariance. Performance analysis is also possible in some cases.
Few, if any, techniques exist for effectively marrying the two categories of executable models. Thus, one does not readily obtain a model which is both graphically represented or constructed and which is also analyzable. One graphical approach which has been developed for modelling and simulating systems exhibiting concurrency and asynchronicity is that of Petri nets. One reason Petri net representations are used is that they are also somewhat analyzable. A good discussion of the history and general principles of Petri nets is contained in T. Murata, "Petri Nets: Properties, Analysis and Applications," Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 77, No. 4, April 1989 (New York) at 541-580, and T. Agerwala, "Putting Petri Nets to Work," Computer, Vol. 12, No. 12, Dec. 1979, at 85-94, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Though Petri nets have been very useful for modelling systems graphically and mathematically, and though theoretically they are useful for system analysis, as well, it has been found that there is a tradeoff between modeling generality and analysis capability. That is, the more general the model represented by the Petri net, the less amenable it is to analysis. Indeed, it has been said that the complexity problem is a major weakness of Petri nets; that is, Petri-net-based models become too large for analysis even for a modest size system. Moreover, Petri net models and models based on other such paradigms typically are not analyzable, though they are developed on sophisticated computer systems. Thus, they do not address details of behavior of the complex system which they model. In other words, they do not reveal properties of the modelled system, they only simulate it. Validation that the system behaves as desired occurs only by observing the actual operation of the system. Consequently, serious design flaws and performance limitations may not be discovered until the system is in use. Correction of these conditions can be very costly and time-consuming, to say the least. At least one hardware system has been proposed for implementing Petri net models. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,187, titled Programmable, Asynchronous Logic Cell and Array, issued Oct. 13, 1987 in the name of Frederick C. Furtek. Though this system permits simulation of Petri nets as, essentially, executable models, it still does not analyze system properties.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved method for modelling complex systems.
It is another object to provide a method for generating executable models of complex systems.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a method for generating executable models of large complex systems from simpler models of parts of the system, i.e., subsystems.
Yet another object of the invention is to generate models of complex systems which are analyzable, to permit detection of predetermined system behaviors or properties.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method for graphically constructing executable models of systems, which are also analyzable. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates generally to circuit wiring boards and, more particularly, to ceramic composite circuit wiring boards and/or multichip modules and methods to construct the same.
Semiconductor integrated circuits (“SIC”) or semiconductor chips are being developed to operate at increasingly higher speeds and to handle larger volumes of data. This trend has caused the density of electrical interconnections required between the semiconductor chip and the larger electronic sy stem to increase dramatically. Conversely, this ultra-large scale integration restricts the physical dimensions of the SIC. The drive to implement more sophisticated SIC's which require much larger numbers of electrical interconnections to be crammed into smaller physical dimensions creates a technical bottleneck, wherein SIC performance is increasingly limited by the circuit board/package connecting the chip to the larger electronic system.
The industry convention has been to use a lead frame that electrically interconnects the SIC to a printed circuit board (“PCB”), and to envelop the chip and lead frame in a ceramic laminate package. The packaged SIC is socketed to the PCB, which electrically connects the SIC to the larger electronic system. The modern, more sophisticated SIC's generate greater amounts of heat than their predecessors. This heat, if not dissipated from the SIC, reduces circuit performance. Robust lead frames have been able to function as both electrical connection and heat sink, however, as the density of leads per unit area has increased, the physical dimension of the individual lead must be shrunk. Smaller lead sizes sharply limit their function as a heat sink. This has forced system manufacturers to dissipate thermal loads through unmanageably large heat sinks attached to the SICs, which hampers the drive towards smaller, mobile platforms.
Furthermore, the operating speed of the more sophisticated SICs is increasingly limited by the printed circuit board. Conventional PCBs have routed electrical signals between system and SIC through an electrode network patterned on the PCB surface on which the semiconductor chip is mounted. To allow the SIC to operate at higher speed the interconnections between the semiconductor chip and the electronic system must be low-resistance. Lower resistance electrical contact is achieved by shortening electrode length and by decreasing electrode resistivity. Shorter electrode lengths are engineered by embedding an electrical interconnection network within the circuit board rather than one patterned on the surface. The prior art discloses methods to construct multilayer ceramic composite printed circuit boards with electrical interconnection networks embedded within the circuit boards. However, these methods are performance-limited because the embedded electrode network is composed of metallic films, conducting pastes, or both, which have much higher electrical resistance than the wire form of the same conducting metal. Lower-resistance at higher signal frequency is also enhanced by forming the wiring board from low dielectric constant materials. Therefore, circuit wiring board and multichip module designs that comprise electrode networks of conducting metal wire embedded within a low dielectric ceramic, such as silica or alumina, and simultaneously contain heat sinks, embedded within the ceramic to dissipate heat generated by the SIC would be highly desirable.
Relevant prior art includes the following patents. Fujita et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,034, discloses methods to construct a thin film ceramic multilayer wiring hybrid board. Bonham et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,032, discloses the construction of a multi-chip module (“MCM”) with two sets of lead frames, one set supplying input/output bond pads, and another independent set to provide electrical contact to test pins that can be used to isolate and examine the performance of one or multiple devices mounted on a substrate within a cavity of said MCM, wherein the device(s) is (are) wire bonded to said pads. The material comprising the MCM package body can be ceramic, plastic, laminate, or metal, but the substrate on which the devices are mounted does not contain internal electrical interconnects and/or heat sinks. Wiesa, U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,039, discloses the construction of a printed circuit board with internal heat dissipation means channeling heat from power units mounted on the board to heat sinks, wherein the core of the printed circuit board comprises glass cloth. Chobot et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,280, discloses methods to construct a multilayer ceramic circuit board in which some metal film layers function as electrode networks, and are separated from other metal film layers which function as heat sinks. Ohtaki et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,163, discloses a process to fabricate a multilayer ceramic circuit board comprising a ceramic substrate, multiple layers of green tape with conductive paste patterns therein, and via holes with conductive paste to electrically interconnect the assembled layers. Cherukuri et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,469, discloses a multilayered co-fired ceramic-on-metal circuit board prepared using ceramic green tapes and a system of low-temperature, high expansion glass ceramics. Capp et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,315, discloses the construction of ceramic circuit board structures in which heat dissipation extensions are embedded in the ceramic member by laser drilling holes into the ceramic member and filling the holes with conductive metal using well-known metal deposition techniques. Plonski, U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,321, discloses a method of making interconnection boards with coaxial wire interconnects on the external major surface of the board substrate that opposes the major surface upon which integrated circuits are mounted. Ushifusa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,167, discloses the construction of multilayered ceramic circuit board that comprises a plurality of integrally bonded ceramic layers, each having a patterned electrically conducting paste layer and through holes filled with electrical conductors for connecting the patterned electrically conducting layers on respective ceramic layers to form a predetermined wiring circuit. Takeuchi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,357, discloses a manufacturing process for ceramic circuit boards that comprises firing a circuit pattern formed from an organic-laden conductive paste on the surface of a green-state ceramic with an organic binder.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a composite wiring structure which enhances SIC performance.
It is another object of this invention to provide a composite circuit wiring structure which increases the allowable operating speeds of SICs.
It is a further object of this invention to reduce compressive and shear stresses within the composite structure.
It is another further object of this invention to provide a composite circuit wiring board structure wherein the structure's dielectric member is either a ceramic or an organo-ceramic composite.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a highly efficient and effective ceramic composite wiring structure for SICs and the method of manufacture thereof. | {
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Knee prostheses have been produced in numerous different types, the vast majority of which have distinct generally vertical and generally horizontal hinge axes. Such an arrangement of hinges does not provide for a realistic hinging movement between the femur and tibia and therefore does not sufficiently accurately replicate the function of a natural biological knee.
In an apparent attempt to overcome this shortcoming of most knee prostheses, the company MUTARS has made available a knee prosthesis in which a femoral component and a tibial component are attached by way of a ball and socket joint. The socket is formed in a generally cylindrical plastic element that is received in a transverse complementary passage passing generally horizontally through the shaped end of a femoral component. The axis of the generally cylindrical plastic element and that of a stem supporting the ball are therefore at right angles to each other.
The ball and socket formations do indeed provide for a more realistic hinging movement between the femur and tibia. However, the structural configuration of the plastic element and femoral component whereby the socket is provided has some serious drawbacks in the event that the prosthesis needs to be maintained or a component thereof needs to be replaced or serviced in some way. In such an event extensive surgery is required and, in fact, the surgery necessary is substantially as extensive as the original implant surgery.
An improved ball and socket formation is also presented by MUTARS, where the socket is a metallic cylindrical component inserted and locked in-between the intracondylar space of the femoral condyles and a half-spherical metal bearing which is attached to the tibila implant. However, metal-on-metal articulation is not desirable in implants of this nature. Design specifications of this configuration allows flexion, extension and rotation of the knee, but again replacement of worn parts requires complete dismantling of the prosthesis and major time-consuming surgery.
There is a need therefore for a knee prosthesis that is better configured for maintenance or repair purposes. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surface machining method and apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a surface machining method and apparatus for brittle materials such as semiconductor materials, ceramics, glass, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Loose abrasive for lapping, polishing, etc. is mainly used in mirror grinding for brittle materials such as semiconductor materials and ceramics. The loose abrasive is suitable for obtaining a flat and smooth surface; however, it is not suitable for the grinding which requires large throughput and high shaping accuracy. Since many wafers are ground at the same time in order to obtain the large throughput, the apparatus must be large-sized. Moreover, since the diameter of the wafer has been increased, there is a disadvantage in the accuracy of the lapping plate when the wafer of a large diameter is machined. Furthermore, the wafer cannot be efficiently machined by the loose abrasive.
In order to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages, a loose abrasive processing apparatus (e.g. a lapping apparatus and a polishing apparatus) which performs a single wafer processing is desired. Moreover, the transfer from the loose abrasive processing to the bonded abrasive processing has been desired.
In the conventional bonded abrasive processing, the center of the workpiece is machined only by the abrasive grains on the radius of the grinding wheel, which goes through the rotational center of the workpiece. For this reason, there are disadvantages in that the width of the grinding wheel is small, and if the machining speed is raised, the grinding resistance acting on each abrasive grain becomes larger. Furthermore, there are disadvantages in that the accuracy greatly depends on the state of the grinding wheel (the form and the dressing state); thus, the bonded abrasive processing is not suitable for the mirror grinding.
Furthermore, since the abrasive grains move on the same track, the movement of abrasive grains cannot be greatly changed even if the conditions such as the number of rotations, etc. are changed. The abrasive grains are concentrated on the rotational center of the workpiece, and the abrasive grains in the other area do not go through the rotational center of the workpiece. Thereby, there is a disadvantage in that warps are scattered on the surface. | {
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Semiconductors are widely used in integrated circuits for electronic devices such as computers and televisions. These integrated circuits typically combine many transistors on a single crystal silicon chip to perform complex functions and store data. Semiconductor and electronics manufacturers, as well as end users, desire integrated circuits which can accomplish more in less time in a smaller package while consuming less power. However, many of these desires are in opposition to each other. For instance, simply shrinking the feature size on a given circuit from 0.5 microns to 0.25 microns can increase power consumption by 30%. Likewise, doubling operational speed generally doubles power consumption. Miniaturization also generally results in increased capacitive coupling, or crosstalk, between conductors which carry signals across the chip. This effect both limits achievable speed and degrades the noise margin used to insure proper device operation.
One way to diminish power consumption and crosstalk effects is to decrease the dielectric constant of the insulator, or dielectric, which separates conductors. Probably the most common semiconductor dielectric is silicon dioxide, which has a dielectric constant of about 3.9. In contrast, air (including partial vacuum) has a dielectric constant of just over 1.0. Consequently, many capacitance-reducing schemes have been devised to at least partially replace solid dielectrics with air.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,288, issued to Sakamoto, on Apr. 7, 1992, describes a multilayered wiring structure which decreases capacitance by employing a porous dielectric with 50% to porosity (porosity is the percentage of a structure which is hollow) and pore sizes of roughly 5 nm to 50 nm. This structure is typically formed by depositing a mixture of an acidic oxide and a basic oxide, heat treating to precipitate the basic oxide, and then dissolving out the basic oxide. Dissolving all of the basic oxide out of such a structure may be problematic, because small pockets of the basic oxide may not be reached by the leaching agent. Furthermore, several of the elements described for use in the basic oxides (including sodium and lithium) are generally considered contaminants in the semiconductor industry, and as such are usually avoided in a production environment. Methods described in the '288 patent for creating multilayered wiring structures using porous dielectrics show that all wiring levels which will eventually contain porous dielectric must be formed before any porous dielectric layer is completed. Such radical departures from standard production techniques have often proven to contain many hidden barriers to practical and timely implementation, such that an otherwise good idea (i.e. porous dielectrics) may never see production unless simplifying innovations are made. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Wireless phone systems are commonly used in PBX serviced areas as well as in the public cellular phone system. Wireless voice systems are designed to allow only registered mobile phones to originate-and receive calls. This presents a problem when the user must make an emergency call while traveling in an area which is serviced by a phone system in which the user is not registered. Current protocols in some wireless voice systems (e.g., DECT systems) allow an unregistered mobile phone to make a call if the call is designated as an "emergency call". However, current protocols do not allow an unregistered mobile phone to receive a call for any reason.
When an emergency call is received by a telephone system, it is typically forwarded to an Emergency Service Answering Point (ESAP) where a specially trained operator handles the call. If the ESAP loses the connection to the caller, the ESAP may not be able to provide emergency service without re-establishing the telephone link. If the call was placed from the public switched telephone network (PSTN), the emergency operator receives the number of the telephone making the call from the telephone system, and hence, can call the party back to continue the call. Furthermore, the emergency operator can determine the location from which the call was made since the telephone number is associated with a unique geographical location.
Such call backs are not possible with current wireless systems since an unregistered telephone does not have a phone number in the system. In public cellular systems, the limited amount of information that can be transferred to the ESAP forces further compromises usefulness. In these systems, the location of the caller is deemed to be more important than a call-back number. Since the systems are set up to transfer only a single identifying number, the cellular systems transfer a number identifying the antenna on which the call was received. This provides some localization of the user; however, this location information is, typically, limited to localization within a few miles. If the call was transferred to another antenna because of congestion at the closest antenna, this localization information is even less usefil.
Broadly, it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved wireless telephone system.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a wireless telephone system in which an unregistered telephone can make an emergency call and receive a call back from an emergency operator.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a wireless telephone system in which the emergency operator can receive both location and call-back information.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fluorine-containing pyrimidine derivative suitable as a component of liquid crystal compositions used in liquid crystal display devices, and a liquid crystal composition containing the derivative.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As well known, liquid crystal materials used for liquid crystal display (hereinafter abbreviated to LCD) elements have been required to have per se not only chemical stability to air, moisture, etc., and physical stability to light, heat, electricity, etc., but LCD elements using the materials have also been required to hold well-balanced characteristics such as operation temperature range, operating voltage, response properties, etc. As electronics art advances, requirements for such liquid crystal materials have been becoming severer and severer in the aspect of these characteristics. Recently, liquid crystal materials capable of effecting LCD under lower operating voltage have been required. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fibrous activated carbon with a metal chelate compound supported thereon, a process for preparing the same, and a method of using the same. More particularly, it relates to fibrous activated carbon which is suitable for removal of toxic substances contained in gases, particularly ozone, a process for preparing the same, and a method of removing such toxic substances.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ozone gas present in the air is responsible for air pollution because it produces oxidants in combination with NO.sub.x. Furthermore, ozone is produced by air planes flying through the stratosphere, or released from equipment in which corona discharge is involved, such as electrophotographers, ozone sterilizers, etc., equipment employing strong ultraviolet rays, and equipment in which a mercury lamp is used; the thus-produced ozones cause environmental problems.
The adverse influence of these ozones indicated below:
______________________________________ Exposure Conc. Exposure (ppm) Time Remarks ______________________________________ Damages on plants 0.03 8 hrs spinach, Japanese radish, tomato Cracks in elongated 0.02 1 hr Rubbers Perception of odor 0.02 only for 90% of people 5 minutes perceive. or less Sensitivity of test 0.08 to 3 hrs mice animals on bacterium 1.30 Irritation of 0.3 continuous respiratory organs, work for oppression of chest about 8 hrs Reduction of lung 0.5 3 hrs/day, recovery after function 6 days/ 6 weeks, no week, 12 change at 0.2 ppm weeks Reduction in lung 0.6 to 2 hrs breathing capacity 0.8 Increase in Resistance 0.1 to 1 hr respiratory 1.0 Violent coughing, 2.0 2 hrs Diffusion of power of attention Acute pulmonary 9.0 not clear tumor ______________________________________
The above results and tests therefore are described in (Kasseitan Kogyo(Activated Carbon Industry), Jukagaku Kogyo Tsushin Sha (1974)).
For the adsorption removal or decomposition removal of ozone contained in exhaust gases or in the air, a number of methods have been proposed, but materials which are very effective for the removal of ozone have not been available. For example, as an ozone removal or dcomposition agent, oxides of manganese, vanadium, iron, copper, nickel, chromium, cobalt, zinc, etc., catalysts prepared by supporting salts of such metals on granular or powdery activated carbon, and decomposition catalysts comprising such metallic elements are known. These agents, however, are low in removal efficiency and are not particularly effective materials as decomposition or removal agents. Additionally, activated carbon with palladium, platinum or silver supported thereon has been proposed. These activated carbons, however, have the disadvantages that the metals are expensive and that the activated carbons are low in ozone removal ratio and limited in durability. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of This Invention
This invention relates to the field of drilling gas, oil, water and/or steam wells.
2. Prior Art
In the early days of drilling oil and gas wells, the wells were often drilled by cable tool. That technique involved a sharp weight on the end of a cable that pounded its way into the earth. Hydrocarbons often spewed from the well hole. The modern technique is to drill using a rotary drill, i.e., turning steel knuckles or teeth (on tungsten), located on the drill pipe.
Drilling mud is a fluid that cools the drilling bit (or teeth) while transporting rock cuttings to the surface. The mud also serves to keep any oil or gas underground.
In more detail, most modern drilling is done by means of rotary drilling. The drill bit rotates while bearing down on the bottom of the well, thus gouging and chipping its way downward. When conductingly rotary drilling, the well bore is kept full of liquid during drilling. A weighted fluid (called drilling mud) in the bore hole serves at least two important purposes: (a) by its hydrostatic pressure, it prevents the entry of formation fluids into the well thus preventing blowouts and gushers; and (b) the drilling mud carries the crushed rock to the surface, so that the drilling is continuous until the bit wears out. The drill bit is connected to the surface equipment through a drill pipe, a heavy-walled tubing through which the drilling mud is fed to the bottom of the bore hole. In most cases, the drill pipe also transmits the rotary motion from a turntable at the surface to the drilling bit at the bottom of the hole. The top piece of the drill pipe is a tube of square or octagonal cross section called the kelly, which passes through a square octagonal hole in the turntable (located near the bottom of the derrick). At the bottom end of the drill pipe are extra-heavy sections called drill collars that serve to concentrate the weight on the rotating bit. The drilling mud leaves the drill pipe in such a way that is washes the loose rock from the bottom and carries it to the surface. The drilling bit has a number of jets through which the drilling mud is forced by pressure into the bottom of the drill hole. Drilling mud is carefully formulated to the correct weight and viscosity characteristics for its required tasks. After screening to remove the rock chips, the returning drilling mud is held in open pits for recirculating through the well. The drilling mud is picked up by piston pumps and forced through a swivel joint into the top of the drill pipe.
The characteristic tall derrick contains the hoisting equipment that is used to raise and lower the drill pipe into the well. The drill bit wears quickly and requires frequent replacement, making it necessary to pull the entire drill string from the well and rack it at one side of the derrick. Joints of drill pipe are usually 30 feet long. Sections of two or three such joints are separated and racked vertically while the bit is being changed. Drilling mud is left in the bore hold during this time to prevent excessive flow of fluids into the well.
In drilling wells it is sometime desirable and necessary to reverse the circulation of the drilling fluid through the drill pipe and annulus. (The annulus is the region between the well casing or side and the drill pipe.) Presently, this is done through the open annulus which does not allow for rotation of the drill pipe while reverse circulating the drilling fluid. | {
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In a conventional wireless communication system including a pair of transceivers communicating with one another over a wireless communication channel, there are typically a number of different data transmission rates available at which to transmit data. Generally, the higher the data rate, the more susceptible the system is to errors. Under certain circumstances, it is necessary to adapt the system to higher or lower data transmission rates based, at least in part, on environmental conditions. For example, noise on the communication channel, transceiver impairments, etc., may necessitate operation of the system at a lower data transmission rate.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard addresses medium access control over a wireless local area network (WLAN). The IEEE 802.11 standard is set forth in the document IEEE Std. 802.11, entitled Supplement to IEEE Standard for Information Technology—Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems—Local Metropolitan Area Networks—Specific Requirements—Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications, 1999 Edition, which is incorporated herein by reference. Additional extensions relating to the 802.11 standard, including IEEE Std. 802.11a, entitled High Speed Physical Layer in the 5 GHz Band, February 2000, and IEEE Std. 802.11g, entitled Further Higher Data Rate Extension in the 2.4 GHz Band, September 2000, are also incorporated herein by reference. Rate adaptation in a wireless communication system operating in accordance with the 802.11 standard generally takes place in the transmitter at the MAC level. Known rate adaptation schemes typically rely on information acquired through acknowledgment messages received after each correctly transmitted data packet.
An acknowledgment message indicates a correctly received packet, while an absence of an acknowledgment message is generally interpreted as an error. A determination as to whether to change the data rate in the transmitter can be made in response to the number of consecutive acknowledgments that are received. After a certain number of correctly received data packets, the transmitter typically attempts to switch to a higher data transmission rate. Similarly, after a certain number of consecutive errors, the transmitter attempts to switch to a lower data transmission rate. This conventional rate-switching methodology, which is based on received acknowledgments, has the advantage of simplicity. However, it often changes the data transmission rate of the transmitter to a value that is either too high or too low, thus undesirably impacting the throughput of the system. For example, switching to a lower data rate when, in fact, a higher rate can be supported by the system results in a significant throughput degradation. The same is true when switching to a higher data rate than the system can support, thus resulting in a high packet error rate (PER), bit error rate (BER), or frame error rate (FER).
It would be desirable, therefore, to be able to obtain an accurate estimate of the signal quality of a received signal for, among other applications, controlling the data transmission rate in a wireless communication system, which addresses the above-mentioned problems exhibited in conventional wireless communication systems. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Non-volatile memories, such as flash EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory) devices have developed into a popular source of memory in a wide range of digital applications. Flash memory devices typically allow for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption. These characteristics have made flash memory very popular for low power applications, such as embedded memory circuits. Common uses of non-volatile memory include portable computers, personal digital assistant (PDA) devices, digital cameras, cellular telephones, TV boxes, routers, copy machines, and any number of other consumer products. In these devices, both program code and system data, such as configuration parameters and other code, are often stored in flash memory, because of the compact storage and relative ease of software upgradeability.
Non-volatile memories, such as flash memories are also often used in these systems to store modular and upgradeable information, such as basic input/output system (BIOS) code, so pieces of the platform may be updated without having to frequently replace components in the system. The two common types of flash memory include NOR and NAND flash memory, which refers to the types of transistors and memory array physical organization used in the device. Both types of flash memory store information in an array of transistors, which are referred to as cells. Traditionally, each cell stores 1-bit of information per cell; however, multi-bit cells are also currently used to store multiple bits per cell of a flash device.
Typically, flash devices are organized into blocks or clusters of a plurality of cells to store data. Flash memory is usually erased on a block-level. However, in some instances flash is potentially written to in smaller sizes of data, as compared to blocks, which are generally referred to as fragments. Files are typically broken into fragments and stored in different blocks, where each fragments is a logical piece of the file. The fragments are organized and accessible through a table, and are generally linked together by a table either stored in flash or in RAM. Once the data in a fragment is updated, the updated data is written to a new location in Flash and the old location is marked invalid.
When the file system is full, i.e. the file system contains both valid and invalid fragments, or when no action is being taken, reclaim or garbage collection is performed. Here, all the valid data from a block is copied into another block, such as a spare block, while the current block is deleted. Sometimes, data is kept in the file system at a block-level, which potentially creates difficulties similar to those discussed below.
As files are often broken up by fragments and stored linked though out a flash device, memory within the device is potentially inefficiently used. When data does not fill up a block of memory, the rest of the block is usually not utilized, as a fragment of data by the construct of current file systems is required to be aligned with blocks of data.
Some flash devices include file system architectures to handle (1) a read and write style architecture and (2) a read only style architecture. Most file systems fall into the first category and are setup for read/write capability. Read and write architectures potentially incur overhead when performing reads to ensure write capability to the same memory locations. For example, garbage collection, as discussed above, sets aside some amount of memory to perform memory management, which is potentially not required in a read only portion of memory. Alternatively, current read only file system architectures, which may include a read/write file system modified to be read-only, are sometimes utilized to protect data from external parties. When a read/write architecture is modified to include a read only portion, the read access limitations potentially still exist as the file system architecture is setup to also handle writes. Moreover, some current file system align data to fragments, which may be any size, such as 1024 bytes, to optimize tables used to track the location of data. Attempts to align data with different sizes to a fragment often leads to inefficient storage and access time. Furthermore, these file system architectures usually support compression at a file granularity. As a result, in certain cases a full file remains uncompressed if it is frequently accessed, even though, only a small portion of the file is being accessed. Alternatively, a whole file is sometimes uncompressed upon an access to only a portion of the file, instead of uncompressing only the portion being accessed. | {
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A controlled release profile from a drug dosage form is sometimes desirable in clinical use to reduce side effects and improve patient compliance. The technology used to formulate sustained release dosage forms is well documented. The entrapment of a drug in a polymer based matrix is a common approach to formulate sustained release tablets with a desirable release profiles.
It has been reported that depot drug formulations for controlled release of pharmaceutical drugs may be prepared using alginates alone (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,295), using combinations of alginates and polyacrylates (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,901) and using combinations of alginates and a pH independent gelling agent, such as, for example, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,452). It is also known that the use of alginates alone for this purpose often presents difficulties in tableting, film coating and storage.
It also has been reported that a sustained release dosage form useful in providing once-a-day medication consists of the admixture of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (viscosity of 80 to 120 cps in a 2% aqueous solution) and ethylcelluose with etodolac (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,768). Using a low viscosity of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose with ethylcellulose as rate controlling agents in the formulation may give a shorter T.sub.max (time to peak blood concentration) after oral administration due to a fast tablet erosion.
Adding polyacrylates to the alginate formulation overcomes these difficulties to some extent; however, tablets formed using alginates and polyacrylates often have a pH dependent dissolution profile. In a low pH environment, alginates and polyacrylates do not swell and/or dissolve properly. This leads to drug release by a diffusion mechanism through non-viscous capillaries resulting in a different dissolution rate than in a high pH environment. On the other hand, in a high pH environment, alginates swell and become soluble while polyacrylates may or may not do the same. This leads to drug release both by erosion and diffusion at a rate which is different than the low pH release rate.
In formulations which contain an alginate and a pH independent gelling polymer such as, for example, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, hydration at low pH levels forming a viscous gel layer for drug release. At high pH levels, however, tablets become smaller and smaller during drug release due to erosion of the swollen polymer layer, leading to a reduction in surface area which may affect the dissolution rate of a tablet.
The novelty of the present invention is the provision of a sustained release formulation which reduces, and perhaps eliminates the aforementioned problems completely. In particular the invention provides a controlled release drug formulation which includes novel formulations containing three different types of polymers. These three different types of polymers include: 1) a water insoluble polymer, such as ethylcellulose; 2) a pH independent gelling polymer, such as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose; and 3) a pH dependent gelling polymer, such as sodium alginate. These three different types of polymers must be used together to achieve a controlled release rate of the selected drug. Such a combination of polymers facilitates manufacturing processes and improves drug release and absorption profiles.
In accordance with the present invention, the combination of the three polymers provides an excellent matrix drug depot system with desirable controlled release characteristics. During dissolution at low pH levels, such as in the stomach, the pH independent gelling polymer e.g., hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, hydrates and swells to form a hydrogel which controls drug release from the matrix system. Drug release may be due to the gel layer erosion or drug diffusion through the gel layer or a combination of both. The water insoluble polymer e.g., ethylcellulose, and the pH dependent gelling polymer e.g., sodium alginate, are dispersed in the gel layer as insoluble parties to block the diffusion pathway or adjust the erosion rate of the gel layer. All the three polymers play important roles to control drug release at a low pH environment. As the matrix system moves to a higher pH environment e.g. in the intestinal tract, the tablet surface area becomes smaller due to the gel layer erosion, which may lead to a reduction of drug release rate. However, the pH dependent gelling polymer dispersed in the gel layer starts to hydrate and swell. Meanwhile, the insoluble particles dispersed in the gel layer will be reduced due to the hydration of pH dependent gelling polymer, resulting of the opening of additional diffusion channels. Therefore, hydration of the pH dependent polymer and concomitant reduction of the insoluble particles in the hydrogel in high pH environment, will compensate the reduction tendency of the drug release rate due to the surface area changes resulting from erosion. Thus, drug release rate is maintained regardless of the pH and tablet size changes. Thus, the formulations of the present invention provide improved drug release profiles compared with the prior art formulations described above. | {
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Window coverings come in many different configurations. Many window coverings are adjustable in various different ways, such as including adjustable height for a lower portion of the shade, such as a bottom rail. Such adjustable shades can be lifted or lowered to cause the shade to alternatively block a greater or lesser portion of the window. Lift cords are provided that can be manipulated to control the position of the bottom of the shade. Other cords are often utilized to adjust an angle at which slats or other structures within the window are oriented. Such cords may extend down from different portions of the shade, depending on the configuration of the shade.
One shade in particular which is adjustable is shown in FIG. 1 and exists within the prior art. This shade includes lift cords which extend from a top rail down through the shade or other window covering to a bottom rail. In the bottom rail they come together and pass through a cord brake which holds the cords in position and holds the bottom rail where desired, except when a button is pushed to allow height adjustment of the bottom rail. This prior art shade depicted in FIG. 1 has the cords extending down from the cord brake in the middle of the bottom rail.
Such a configuration for this particular shade, and perhaps other shades, is not always the most desirable orientation. This orientation causes the cords to block somewhat the view out through the window when the shade is partially or fully raised. In general, it would be more desirable if these cords extended down from one edge of the shade so that the window would not be blocked by the cords in any fashion. Also, having the cords angled over to some form of cord holder off to the side of the shade would decrease a length that the cord would dangle down from the bottom rail. Cords can present danger to children, pets and others, and so are best kept sufficiently high so that children cannot handle them. Also, keeping them sufficiently elevated can reduce the possibility of children being able to play with the shades and potentially damage them.
Accordingly, a need exists for some form of cord management system which can hold cords which would otherwise extend from a portion of the shade which is not desired over to a different portion of the shade where location of the exposed cords is more desirable, and with potentially less of the cords extending downwardly therefrom. | {
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The sessile nature of plant life generates a constant exposure to environmental factors that exert positive and negative effects on its growth and development. One of the major impediments facing modem agriculture is adverse environmental conditions. One important factor which causes significant crop loss is heat stress. Temperature stress greatly reduces grain yield in many cereal crops such as maize, wheat, and barley. Yield decreases due to heat stress range from 7 to 35% in the cereals of world-wide importance.
A number of studies have identified likely physiological consequences of heat stress. Early work by Hunter et al. (1977) using growth chamber conditions showed that temperature decreased the duration of grain filling in maize. Similar results in which the duration of grain filling was adversely altered by increased temperatures were identified by Tollenaar and Bruulsema (1988). Badu-Apraku et al. (1983) measured a marked reduction in the yield of maize plants grown under the day/night temperature regime of 35/15° C. compared to growth in a 25/15° C. temperature regime. Reduced yields due to increased temperatures is also supported by historical as well as climatological studies (Thompson 1986; Thompson 1975; Chang 1981; Conroy et al., 1994). That the physiological processes of the developing seed are adversely affected by heat stress is evident from studies using an in vitro kernel culture system (Jones et al., 1981; Jones et al., 1984; Cheikh et al., 1995). Maize kernels cultured at the above-optimum temperature of 35° C. exhibited a dramatic reduction in weight.
Work with wheat identified the loss of soluble starch synthase (SSS) activity as a hallmark of the wheat endosperm's response to heat stress (Hawker et al., 1993; Denyer et al., 1994; Jenner 1994). Additional studies with SSS of wheat endosperm show that it is heat labile (Rijven 1986; Keeling et al., 1993; Jenner et al., 1995).
ADP glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP) is another important starch biosynthesis enzyme in plants. AGP catalyzes the conversion of ATP and α-glucose-1-phosphate to ADP-glucose and pyrophosphate. ADP-glucose is used as a glycosyl donor in starch biosynthesis by plants and in glycogen biosynthesis by bacteria. The importance of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase as a key enzyme in the regulation of starch biosynthesis was noted in the study of starch deficient mutants of maize (Zea mays) endosperm (Tsai et al., 1966; Dickinson et al., 1969). Biochemical and genetic evidence has identified AGP as a key enzyme in starch biosynthesis in higher plants and glycogen biosynthesis in E. coli (Preiss et al., 1994; Preiss et al., 1996). AGP catalyzes what is viewed as the initial step in the starch biosynthetic pathway with the product of the reaction being the activated glucosyl donor, ADP glucose. This is utilized by starch synthase for extension of the polysaccharide polymer (reviewed in Hannah 1996).
Initial studies with potato AGP showed that expression in E. coli yielded an enzyme with allosteric and kinetic properties very similar to the native tuber enzyme (Iglesias et al., 1993; Ballicora et al., 1995). Greene et al. (1996a, 1996b) showed the usefulness of the bacterial expression system in their structure-function studies with the potato AGP. Multiple mutations important in mapping allosteric and substrate binding sites have been identified (Okita et al., 1996).
AGP enzymes have been isolated from both bacteria and plants. Bacterial AGP consists of a homotetramer, whereas plant AGP from photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic tissues is a heterotetramer composed of two different subunits. The plant enzyme is encoded by two different genes, with one subunit being larger than the other. This feature has been noted in a number of plants. The AGP subunits in spinach leaf have molecular weights of 54 kDa and 51 kDa, as estimated by SDS-PAGE. Both subunits are immunoreactive with antibody raised against purified AGP from spinach leaves (Copeland et al., 1981; Morell et al., 1988). Immunological analysis using antiserum prepared against the small and large subunits of spinach leaf showed that potato tuber AGP is also encoded by two genes (Okita et al., 1990, supra). The cDNA clones of the two subunits of potato tuber (50 and 51 kDa) have also been isolated and sequenced (Muller-Rober et al., 1990; Nakata et al., 1991). The large subunit of potato tuber AGP is heat stable (Nakata et al., 1991, supra).
As Hannah and Nelson (1975, 1976) postulated, both Shrunken-2 (Sh2) (Bhave et al., 1990) and Brittle-2 (Bt2) (Bae et al., 1990) are structural genes of maize endosperm ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase. Sh2 and Bt2 encode the large subunit and small subunit Of the enzyme, respectively. Based on cDNA sequencing, Sh2 and Bt2 proteins have predicted molecular weight of 57,179 Da (Shaw et al., 1992) and 52,224 Da, respectively. The endosperm is the site of most starch deposition during kernel development in maize. Sh2 and Bt2 maize endosperm mutants have greatly reduced starch levels corresponding to deficient levels of AGP activity. Mutations of either gene have been shown to reduce AGP activity by about 95% (Tsai and Nelson, 1966, supra; Dickinson and Preiss, 1969, supra). Furthermore, it has been observed that enzymatic activities increase with the dosage of functional wild type (wt) Sh2 and Bt2 alleles, whereas mutant enzymes have altered kinetic properties. AGP is the rate limiting step in starch biosynthesis in plants. Stark et al. (1992) placed a mutant form of E. coli AGP in potato tuber and obtained a 35% increase in starch content.
The cloning and characterization of the genes encoding the AGP enzyme subunits have been reported for various plants. These include Sh2 cDNA (Bhave et al., 1990, supra), Sh2 genomic DNA (Shaw et al., 1992, supra), and Bt2 cDNA (Bae et al., 1990, supra) from maize; small subunit cDNA (Anderson et al., 1989) and genomic DNA (Anderson et al., 1991) from rice; and small and large subunit cDNAs from spinach leaf (Morell et al., 1988, supra) and potato tuber (Muller-Rober et al., 1990, supra; Nakata et al., 1991, supra). In addition, cDNA clones have been isolated from wheat endosperm and leaf tissue (Olive et al., 1989) and Arabidopsis thaliana leaf (Lin et al., 1988). AGP sequences from barley have also been described in Ainsworth et al. (1995).
AGP has been found to function as an allosteric enzyme in all tissues and organisms investigated to date. The allosteric properties of AGP were first shown to be important in E. coli. A glycogen-overproducing E. coli mutant was isolated and the mutation mapped to the structural gene for AGP, designated as glyC. The mutant E. coli, known as glyC-16, was shown to be more sensitive to the activator, fructose 1,6 bisphosphate, and less sensitive to the inhibitor, cAMP (Preiss 1984). Although plant AGP's are also allosteric, they respond to different effector molecules than bacterial AGP's. In plants, 3-phosphoglyceric acid (3-PGA) functions as an activator while phosphate (PO4) serves as an inhibitor (Dickinson and Preiss, 1969, supra).
Using an in vivo mutagenesis system created by the Ac-mediated excision of a Ds transposable element fortuitously located close to a known activator binding site, Giroux et al. (1996) were able to generate site-specific mutants in a functionally important region of maize endosperm AGP. One mutant, Rev6, contained a tyrosine-serine insert in the large subunit of AGP and conditioned a 11-18% increase in seed weight. Published international patent applications WO 99/58698 and WO 98/22601 and issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,300 disclose mutations in the large subunit of maize AGP enzyme that, when expressed, confer increased heat stability to the enzyme in comparison to that observed for wild type AGP enzyme. In addition, published international application WO 01/64928 teaches that various characteristics, such as seed number, plant biomass, Harvest Index etc., can be increased in plants transformed with a polynucleotide encoding a large subunit of maize AGP containing the Rev6 mutation.
Ou-Lee and Setter (1985) examined the effects of temperature on the apical or tip regions of maize ears. With elevated temperatures, AGP activity was lower in apical kernels when compared to basal kernels during the time of intense starch deposition. In contrast, in kernels developed at normal temperatures, AGP activity was similar in apical and basal kernels during this period. However, starch synthase activity during this period was not differentially affected in apical and basal kernels. Further, heat-treated apical kernels exhibited an increase in starch synthase activity over control. This was not observed with AGP activity. Singletary et al. (1993, 1994) using an in vitro culture system quantified the effect of various temperatures during the grain fill period. Seed weight decreased steadily as temperature increased from 22-36° C. A role for AGP in yield loss is also supported by work from Duke and Doehlert (1996). These researchers showed that transcript levels decreased to a varying degree, but only one enzyme, AGP, showed a marked decrease in activity with the lower transcript levels. They postulated that AGP may have a faster turnover rate than the other enzymes, and hence is more sensitive to changes in transcript levels. More recent work by Wilhelm et al. (1999) also makes a strong argument for AGP's role in yield loss during heat stress. The Wilhelm et al. authors studied seven inbreds over three replications, and through Q10 analysis, showed that AGP was the only enzyme that exhibited lower activity than the control.
Work by Keeling et al. (1993, supra) quantified SSS activity in maize and wheat using Q10 analysis, and showed that SSS is an important control point in the flux of carbon into starch. In vitro biochemical studies with AGP and SSS clearly show that both enzymes of maize are heat labile. Maize endosperm AGP loses 96% of its activity when heated at 57° C. for five minutes (Hannah et al., 1980). This is in contrast to potato AGP which is fully stable at 70° C. (Sowokinos et al., 1982; Okita et al., 1990). Although the small subunits of AGP are highly conserved among a variety of plant species (Hannah et al., 2001), the N-termini of potato tuber and maize endosperm small subunits exhibit sequence differences. Heat inactivation studies with SSS showed that it is also labile at higher temperatures, and kinetic studies determined that the Km value for amylopectin rose exponentially when temperature increased from 25-45° C. (Jenner et al., 1995, supra). | {
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(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to compounds that are useful in the treatment and prevention of ulcers. More particularly, this invention relates to 2-(1H-benzimidazol-2-ylsulfinyl)methyl!benzenamines that inhibit gastric acid secretion and which are, therefore, useful in the treatment of peptic ulcers. The compounds of this invention directly inhibit acid secretion by parietal cells of the stomach through inhibition of (H.sup.+ +K.sup.+)-ATPase. For review, see, e.g., J. G. Spenney, "Biochemical Mechanisms of Acid Secretion by Gastric Parietal Cells," J. Clin. Gastro., 5 (Suppl. 1), 7-15 (1983). In addition, some of the compounds of this invention also exert cytoprotective activity. For review of cytoprotection, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,465.
(b) Prior Art
Heterocyclylalkylsulfinylbenzimidazoles have been disclosed as gastric acid secretion inhibitors. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,472,409, 4,394,509, 4,337,257, 4,327,102, 4,255,431, 4,045,564, and 4,045,563; British Patent No. 2,134,523; and German Offenlegungeschrift No. 3,415,971. Some heterocyclylalkylsulfinylbenzimidazoles have also been disclosed as cytoprotective agents. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,465. The following structure is illustrative of compounds disclosed in these patents: ##STR1## wherein R' and R" represent hydrogen, alkyl, halogen, trifluoromethyl, cyano, carboxy, hydroxy, acyl, and the like; R'" represents hydrogen, alkyl, acyl, alkoxysulfonyl, and the like; and Het represents heterocyclic groups containing at least one endocyclic (ring) nitrogen. No compound disclosed in these patents includes an unsubstituted or substituted phenyl group instead of the Het group nor exocyclic amino or acylamino functions attached to the Het group. In contrast, the compounds of the present invention are distinguished from the prior art by having (optionally substituted amino)phenyl groups instead of a Het group. Thus, the compounds of the present invention are clearly distinguished from the prior art compounds cited.
Heterocyclylalkylsulfinylnaphth2,3-d!imidazoles have also been disclosed as gastric acid secretion inhibitors. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,248,880 and 4,182,766. The compounds disclosed in these patents are related to those illustrated in the above structure, except for having a substituted naphth 2,3-d!imidazole group instead of the benzimidazole group. Similarly, other heterocyclylalkylsulfinylbenzimidazoles having a ring fused to the benzimidazole group have been disclosed as gastric acid secretion inhibitors and cytoprotective agents. See European Patent Application Nos. 130,729 and 127,763. Because of the additional ring fusions of these compounds, as well as for the same reasons stated in the preceding paragraph, the compounds of the present invention are structurally distinguished from prior art compounds cited. | {
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This invention relates to refrigerating devices in general and, in particular, to a new and useful cooling device particularly for heat protective suits which includes a solid refrigerant disposed in heat exchange relationship with a heat exchange surface with a flexible intermediate layer between the solid refrigerant and the surface which is saturated with an intermediate liquid.
Heat protection systems such as used in personal heat protection suits, comprise a solid refrigerant, such as CO.sub.2 ice and a liquid, intermediate cooling agent. The latter is conducted through tubular flow channels incorporated in the suit near the body. It is by means of this intermediate cooling agent that a thermal equilibrium is maintained in which the body temperature cannot change beyond the physiologic limits.
The heat transfer between the solid refrigerant and the fluid intermediate cooling agent is very decisive for the safe functioning of such a system. This transfer can take place in a heat exchanger only at a separating point. The heat exchanger must also adapt to the basic requirement of low weight and volume since the suit is worn by the equipment carrier.
One known cooling vest, used as equipment to be worn individually, contains a circulating liquid cooling agent, such as a silicon oil, in cavities on its inside facing the body. The circulation is formed by cooling vest cavities in conjunction with external system components including a booster pump and a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger contains as the refrigerant, a CO.sub.2 dry ice filling in granulated form which, under sublimation, removes heat absorbed by the cooling vest from the circulating intermediate cooling agent. The CO.sub.2 gas formed thereby is utilized to operate the booster pump.
A contact pressure element ensures good heat transfer at the heat exchanger surfaces, and also in operation independent of position. The contact pressure element, which is moved by a compression spring, pushes the CO.sub.2 dry ice against the heat exchanger surfaces for reliable heat transfer and, at the same time, prevents the formation of a CO.sub.2 gas cushion which impedes the heat transfer. However, it is disadvantageous that, in the granule layer in contact with the heat exchanger surfaces, the interstices between the grains diminish the heat transfer due to the layer's grainy structure. This necessitates larger heat exchanger surfaces which thus become heavier and bulkier than would be necessary if the heat transfer were optimal (Dragerhaft 310, Jan./Apr. 1978, pages 17-24). | {
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Computers are pervasive in today's society. Large computer systems are often referred to as “mainframe” computers and have the capability of executing numerous tasks, often referred to as jobs, at the same time. Often customers of such a computer system desire certain jobs to be executed at certain times while other jobs may occur at times that are not predetermined. Thus, many computer systems use job schedulers to control when jobs are executed.
One example of such a scheduler is the Computer Associates Unicenter CA-7 Job Manager. In that system, a job manager accesses queue files regarding the status of certain jobs. In one example, the queue files include a request queue, a ready queue, an active queue, a prior run queue, and other miscellaneous queues. The request queue is a “look ahead” queue that includes prerequisites that must occur before a particular job may be executed. An example of a prerequisite is that another job must complete running before the next job is executed, or that a particular data set must be created before a job may be executed. The ready queue stores jobs that are ready for execution but that might have to wait to be executed due to some system requirement, such as waiting for the availability of a tape drive. The active queue stores jobs that are active, and the prior run queue stores jobs that have executed properly.
One problem with the above-described system is the time that is required to access the queue files. It is often time consuming to locate the files stored on disk, read the disks, and to transmit the read information back to the job manager. | {
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The invention relates to a method for operating a transmission device for a vehicle, wherein the transmission device is provided with an automatic clutch and with a manual shift transmission. The invention further relates also to a transmission device.
The transmission device preferably serves as a torque transmission within a powertrain of a vehicle. In this respect, the transmission device is arranged for example between a drive device of the vehicle and at least one drives axle of the vehicle. The drive device is provided with at least one drive unit, for example an internal combustion engine, or an electric machine. However, the drive device, can also be configured as a hybrid drive device as long as it has at least two drive units, which are preferably different from one another. For example, an internal combustion engine can be provided, as well as an electric machine, as drive units in a hybrid device.
The transmission device is equipped with an automatic clutch and with the manual transmission. The clutch is in this case in particular arranged in an operative connection between the drive device and the shift transmission, and it is in particular attached to at least one input shaft of the manual transmission or connected to it with an operative connection, in particular in a rigid and/or permanent manner. An output shaft of the shift transmission is preferably in an operative connection with at least one driven axle of the vehicle, in particular also in a rigid and/or permanent manner. This means that the rotational speed of the output shaft is directly dependent on the driving speed of the vehicle and vice versa.
The clutch serves in particular to select, create or interrupt the operative connection between the drive device and the shift transmission. As long as the clutch is closed, at least partially, or in particular fully, a torque created by the drive device is transmitted to the manual transmission. If the clutch is opened, in particular when it is fully opened, the operative connection is interrupted.
Accordingly, no torque is transmitted from the drive device to the transmission device, or vice versa. The clutch is designed as an automatic clutch and it is therefore actuated by means of an automatic positioning device. This means that the clutch is assigned an actuator, in particular an electric actuator that actuates the clutch.
Triggering of the actuator and thus also of the clutch occurs, for example, depending on the position of the clutch pedal and/or on a value preset in a control device. The clutch can be controlled in this respect both by a driver of the vehicle—by means of the clutch pedal—as well as by a control device of the vehicle, or the drive device can be controlled in this manner. The clutch is coupled only electrically, but not mechanically, with the clutch pedal. It goes without saying that any clutch operating element can be provided instead of the clutch pedal. The manual transmission is designed as a manual transmission, and an operating element, for example a shift lever, is assigned to it by means of which the driver of the vehicle can actuate the manual transmission, for example to set a desired driving gear.
From prior art is known for example document DE 102 21 701 A1. This document relates to a control method for motor vehicles provided with an automatic clutch device having a motor that can be controlled with a motor controlling device, preferably a controllable automatic transmission, and at least one electronic controlling device for controlling the transmission and the clutch device. In this case, the clutch is closed when the brakes are actuated and/or during an actuation of the fuel metering element, wherein prior to the closing of the clutch in order to end the coasting mode, the rotational speed of the drive shaft of the transmission or a corresponding variable representing this rotational speed is detected and the number of rotations is controlled in such a way that both rotational speeds coincide or are matched.
Furthermore, document DE 10 2012 208 996 A1 indicates a method and a device for controlling how the clutch of a motor vehicle is controlled in such a way so that when for example a gear ratio of a manual transmission is selected to be engaged that is currently not suitable, the engagement of the clutch is blocked. | {
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This invention relates to drawer organizer systems in general, and in particular to an improved drawer organizer management system using R.F. drawer identification.
Drawer organizer systems are known and are used generally to store small items in drawers which are slidably mounted in a cabinet designed for this purpose. The cabinet is usually fixed to a wall or a support surface, such as a work bench. Each drawer typically has a drawer pull mounted on a front panel so that a user can slide the drawer outwardly from the cabinet and gain access to the contents of the drawer. Cabinets and drawers have been fabricated from both metal and plastic, with some drawer organizers using metal for both the cabinet and the drawers, others using plastic for both the cabinet and the drawers, and others using a metal cabinet and plastic drawers. The plastic materials used in the past have been either opaque or translucent.
Many types of items can be stored in a drawer organizer. Some examples are fasteners of several kinds, such as nuts, bolts, washers, sheet metal screws, and wood screws; grommets of various sizes; O-rings; electrical connectors; and small electronic components, such as diodes, resistors, and capacitors. Drawer organizers are found in homes, work shops and manufacturing facilities and have proven to be useful in a wide variety of situations requiring the organized storage of small items for future access.
A principal difficulty encountered with the use of drawer organizers lies in the manner of retrieving desired items from the collection of items stored in the several drawers in a given cabinet. In particular, retrieving the correct item requires identifying the contents of individual drawers until the correct drawer is found. In some applications, visual inspection through a transparent front drawer panel is the technique relied upon to identify the types of articles contained in that drawer. In other applications, small labels are adhered to the front panel of the drawers, with each label containing a brief description of the articles contained in that drawer. Both techniques are less than optimal. The visual inspection technique divulges only a minimum of subjective information about the contained articles. Similarly, the label technique is limited by the amount of space available on the label to describe the contained articles. Depending on the nature of the contained articles, the label technique cannot adequately distinguish the articles in one drawer from the articles in other drawers. For example, if the contained articles are resistors of different resistance values and power ratings, it is at best difficult to adequately distinguish among the several choices. The label technique also suffers from the disadvantage that the labels must be changed whenever the kinds of articles contained in a given drawer are changed. Both techniques are relatively inefficient in enabling quick identification of the correct drawer in applications having large collections of different types of articles. In general, the larger the number of drawers, the slower the access time to the contents of the desired drawer.
The invention comprises a drawer organizer management system which is devoid of the above-noted limitations and disadvantages, which can be implemented using any articles suitable for containment in an organizer drawer, and which greatly facilitates ready access to specific items contained in organizer drawers.
In a broadest aspect the invention comprises a drawer organizer management using r.f. identification of individual drawers in a cabinet. The system includes a cabinet having a structure including a rear wall for providing a plurality of drawer locations, the cabinet having a plurality of pairs of external terminals adapted to be coupled to an r.f signal generator for receiving r.f. signals from the generator, with each of the external terminal pairs being arranged preferably on the rear wall in a position corresponding to a different one of the drawer locations.
A plurality of drawers are each slidably mounted in a different one of the drawer locations between a closed position and an opened position. Each of the plurality of file drawers has a pair of electrically conductive drawer terminals adjacent the rear thereof and are adapted to engage a corresponding pair of the external terminals, a pair of electrical r.f. signal conductors coupled to the drawer terminals, and an r.f. circuit coupled to the pair of r.f. signal conductors. Each of the r.f. circuits has a crystal resonant at a specific frequency and a visible indicator activated whenever the associated crystal detects an r.f. signal at the specific frequency of that crystal. The resonant frequency of each of the crystals is different from the remaining ones of the crystals so that an r.f. signal of a specific frequency applied to the external input terminals of the cabinet causes only one of the plurality of crystals to resonate and only the visible indicator associated to that crystal to be activated.
Each of the drawers has a front panel, and the indicators are located on the front panel so as to provide a visible indication of a resonant crystal in the drawer when the drawers are closed. Each of the visible indicators preferably comprises an LED. Each of the drawers also has a rear panel, and the pair of electrically conductive drawer terminals is preferably mounted on the rear panel. Each of the drawers is further provided with a positive detent mechanism for promoting contact between the electrically conductive drawer terminals and the external terminals. Each of the drawers is also provided with a pair of positive contact elements, such as a pair of springs, for promoting contact between the electrically conductive drawer terminals and the external terminals
The system is used to locate the drawer containing a desired type of item in the following manner. A user enters the identity of a desired item in the system computer, either via a keyboard or by using a mouse to select an item from a list displayed on the computer monitor. In response, the computer performs a table-lookup from a set of frequencies which are uniquely associated to the items stored in the drawers. Once the corresponding frequency has been found, the computer instructs the r.f. signal generator to generate r.f. signals of the correct frequency. These r.f. signals are coupled to the individual cabinet drawers, and the r.f. circuit having the crystal of the correct frequency resonates, thereby illuminating the corresponding visible indicator on the drawer front panel. The user now knows which drawer contains the desired item.
The invention provides a low cost, effective and convenient technique for facilitating the location of specific items contained in a drawer organizer system. In addition, the invention eliminates, or substantially reduces the need for reliance on, the labelling practice currently followed in setting up drawer organizer systems. Moreover, the invention affords a flexibility in arranging drawer organizers hitherto unavailable. In particular, the identity of the items in any given drawer can be easily changed by modifying the description in the system computer. Also, additional drawers can be added to expand the inventory held in the system, and existing drawers can be deleted from the system by changing the information stored in the computer.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the ensuing detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to handheld electronic devices and, more particularly, to a keyboard for a handheld electronic device having a first set of keys structured to engage two contacts and a second set of keys structured to engage a single contact and wherein each key in said first set of keys and said second set of keys is related to two indicia.
2. Background Information
Numerous types of handheld electronic devices are known. Examples of such handheld electronic devices include, for instance, personal data assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, and the like. Such handheld electronic devices are generally intended to be portable and thus must be relatively small. Since handheld electronic devices typically are portable, it is also desired that the form factor of the devices be sufficiently small and ergonomic that they can conveniently be transported with a belt clip, in a user's pocket, manually, or in a briefcase. Advancements in technology have permitted the form factor of such handheld electronic devices to be reduced while increasing their versatility and functionality, such as by increasing the number of functions provided by the device as well as increasing the number of software applications and the variety of their features. However, as the form factor of a handheld electronic device decreases and the number of functions provided by the device increases, the device potentially can become awkward and difficult to use. Thus, it is also desirable to improve the usability of a handheld electronic device as its form factor is reduced and its versatility is increased. Previous attempts to increase such usability have had limitations.
One such type of solution has involved the use of large numbers of keys which, when pressed in various combinations, would produce various functions. For instance, adjacent keys were depressed simultaneously to provide additional functions. In mobile electronics, keys oftentimes are operatively connected with metal domes that act as switches for the keys and that are collapsible and provide tactile feedback to a user when the domes are collapsed from a relaxed position to a deflected position. Due to the closeness of the keys, accidental simultaneous pressing of multiple keys oftentimes results in the collapsing of multiple domes, which can result in a confusing and/or undesirable tactile feedback to a user. Other attempts at improving usability have involved decreasing the quantity of keys on a handheld device while increasing the number of functions each key is to serve. Such systems potentially can become cumbersome because the various functions of a given key may additionally require the pressing of an additional key, such as, but not limited to, the SHIFT key or ALT key. In such a circumstance, the required multiple key pushing requires multiple hand movements which interfere with user friendliness.
It is also desirable to provide users with keys disposed in a common pattern. For example, an English language keyboard typically has the QWERTY layout. Thus, handheld electronic devices having a QWERTY keyboard with a reduced number of keys have been created. Such devices typically have more that one letter associated with most keys. For example, a single key on the QWERTY keyboard with a reduced number of keys would represent both the letter “A” and the letter “S”. Thus, the handheld electronic device needed to provide a means for selecting which letter the user intended to select when the key was depressed. An early differentiating means simply had the user depressing the key once for one letter and twice for the other letter. Alternatively, as described above, a combination of keys could be associated with one letter and not the other. That is, for example, the key by itself was associated with the letter “A” and the key plus the ALT key was associated with the letter “S.” The disadvantage to these means is that users of a QWERTY keyboard prefer to type in a traditional manner, i.e., without having to depress an extra key.
One means of addressing this disadvantage was provided by software. Disambiguation routines were created that suggested one of the letters based on, for example, a subsequent keystroke. That is, if the user had selected the letters “QU” and the next key depressed was the “A/S” key, the software would suggest the use of the letter “A” because the letter combination “QU” is almost always followed by a vowel. Such software solution would typically provide the user with a list of the less preferred letter combinations which the user could select if desired. This means was further improved by providing three conductors, a primary, secondary and tertiary conductor, under each key and which were operable with the software. The primary conductor was engaged when the key was depressed. The secondary and tertiary conductors were disposed adjacent to opposing lateral sides of the keys and were alternately closed when the user depressed one side of the key or the other. Thus, where the letter “A” was located on the left side of a single key, and the secondary conductor was located under the left lateral side of the key, when a user depressed the “A/S” key and pressed on the left side of the key, the primary conductor was engaged indicating the key had been depressed and, if the secondary conductor was depressed, the software would weigh, that is favor, the letter “A” over the letter “S”.
This solution, however, has disadvantages as well. For example, some keys may only be associated with a single letter thereby making the secondary and tertiary conductors redundant. Also, some keys, such as a “Z/X” key have letters that are so relatively uncommon in use that the software could reliably choose the proper letter the user intended to use. Again, the secondary and tertiary conductors were essentially wasted. Additionally, where each key was structured to overlay three conductors, all keys were elongated resulting in a wider keypad. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
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