text stringlengths 61 141k | meta dict |
|---|---|
Liquid crystal display elements are widely used as display elements for watches, electronic desk-top computers, personal word processors, pocket-size TV sets, etc. This stems from the fact that they have such beneficial characteristics as no eyestrain because of their passive device, low electric power consumption, a thin structure etc. However, they are restricted in their practical applications because of different problems such as slow response and lack of memory effect.
In an attempt to expand their areas of application there has been found, for example, the super twisted nematic (STN) display system, which is an improvement of the twisted nematic (TN) display system. These systems, however, are not sufficient for large screen or graphic display use. Various studies have therefore been made of liquid crystal display elements which can supersede them.
One such display system [N. A. Clark et al., Applied Phys. lett., 36, 899 (1980)] utilizes ferroelectric liquid crystals [R. B. Meyer et al., J. de. Phys., 36 L-69 (1975)]. Because of its advantageous characteristics such as fast response, which is 100 times as fast as that of conventional systems, and memory effect, it is expected to expand areas of application of liquid crystal display elements. The term "ferroelectric liquid crystal" is used to mean a series of smectic liquid crystals whose molecular longitudinal axis is at a certain angle to the normal of the layer, but in practice the chiral smectic C (SmC*) phase is utilized.
Ferroelectric liquid crystals for preparing display elements are used in the form of (1) a liquid crystalline composition Obtained by blending together different compounds with the SmC* phase or (2) a liquid crystalline composition obtained by blending different compounds having the SmC phase with optically active compounds. Early research and development of ferroelectric liquid crystal display elements used liquid crystalline compositions of the formulation in accordance with (1) above. Since, with the advent of further research and development, addition of optically active compounds was found to result in the formation of ferroelectric crystals, however, the tendency is for compositions of the formulation in accordance with (2) above to be used more. This is because the formulation in accordance with (2) above is considered to be more advantageous in practical applications, for example in that it renders easier the adjustment of different properties demanded in the market (e.g. operating temperature range, response time, spontaneous polarization, helical pitch, chemical stability etc.) and the synthesis of SmC compounds is less expensive than that of SmC* compounds.
Even the formulation in accordance with (2) above, have yet to reach a stage of providing compositions having sufficient properties for putting into practical use, there thus now being a need for a variety of compounds useful as components with which to prepare ferroelectric liquid crystalline compositions being developed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
A swash plate-type compressor that is frequently used as a compressor for an automotive air conditioning system comprises a swash plate secured to a rotary shaft at an inclined angle, and a plurality of shoes disposed at the front and rear sides of the swash plate and operably coupled to a piston. When the rotary shaft rotates, the disc-shaped swash plate secured to the rotary shaft rotates, and the rotary motion of the swash plate mediated by the shoes is converted to the reciprocating motion of the piston to compress, expand, and discharge a refrigerant. In the case of this swash plate-type compressor, if the metal swash plate slides relative to the shoes in an initial operating state before lubricating oil reaches the inside of a housing including a refrigerant, the sliding portion will be free of lubricating oil, thus causing a seizure phenomenon.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-209727 and Korean Patent No. 10-1086847 disclose a mixture of a solid lubricant such as PTFE, MoS2, WS2 or crystalline graphite, a metal oxide or silane coupling agent for increasing abrasion resistance or adhesion to a substrate, and a binder such as polyamide imide resin, is dispersed in various solvents to prepare slurry-state lubricating compositions, and the lubricating compositions are applied to the front and sides of a swash plate made of an iron- or aluminum-based material to form lubricating layers. The lubricating properties of such lubricating compositions comprising a binder resin, a solid lubricant, additives and a solvent significantly differ depending on the surface state of a swash plate, the physical properties of the lubricating composition, and conditions in which the lubricating composition is coated on the surfaces of the swash plate. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-209727 discloses that both surfaces of a disc-shaped steel plate are polished, and a low-friction resin coating layer comprising 40-50 wt % of fluorine resin (PTFE, etc.), 1-10 wt % of graphite and 45-55 wt % of matrix resin is formed on a sliding surface of the polished steel plate, which slides against shoes. Korean Patent No. 10-1086847 discloses a lubricating member comprising 30-70 wt % of a binder, 25-60 wt % of a solid lubricant and 5-10 wt % of other additives. However, the patent document discloses only the ratio of components in the lubricating member, does not mention a liquid slurry composition for the lubricating member composition, and thus does not disclose the contents of solids (binder, solid lubricant, other additives, etc.) in a lubricating member slurry for coating on a sliding member, the kind of solvent, and the viscosity of a liquid lubricating coating composition. However, in an actual operation of coating the lubricating member on the surface of a swash plate, the ratio of the solid lubricant in the composition, the kind of solvent, and the changes in solid content and viscosity by the addition of the solvent, will influence the various physical and chemical properties of the lubricating member, including abrasion resistance, adhesion to a substrate, heat resistance, durability, seizure resistance and lubricating properties. In fact, if the amount of a solvent in a lubricating composition is too large, it will be difficult to form a uniform and thin coating layer even by any coating process, and if the viscosity of a lubricating composition is too low, it will be difficult to form a coating layer having a desired thickness, because the adhesion of the composition to a substrate is low. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a pixel electrode panel, a liquid crystal display panel assembly, and methods for manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, a liquid crystal display device, which is one of the most widely used flat display devices, includes two transparent panels provided with electric field generating electrodes such as pixel electrodes and a common electrode, and a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween. If voltages are supplied to the electric field generating electrodes, an electric field is formed in the liquid crystal layer. This electric field changes an arrangement of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer. Incident lights, which have passed through the liquid crystal layer with the liquid crystal molecules having different arrangements, have various phase differences. Lights having various phase differences penetrate a polarizer at different transmittances. Therefore, if the strength of the electric field in the liquid crystal layer is adjusted, the amount of light passing through the polarizer varies, enabling image display.
In a Vertical Alignment (VA) mode liquid crystal display device, when no electric field is applied to a liquid crystal layer, the major axis of liquid crystal molecules is arranged to be perpendicular to upper and lower display panels. A VA mode liquid crystal display device may achieve excellent display quality because of its high contrast ratio. To achieve a wider viewing angle VA mode liquid crystal display device, a Patterned Vertically Aligned (PVA) mode liquid crystal display device has been developed, in which slits are formed in electric field generating electrodes.
The slits in the electric field generating electrodes reduce an aperture ratio, however. To reduce the number of slits, a micro-slit mode or Super Vertical Alignment (SVA) mode liquid crystal display device has been developed. In the SVA mode liquid crystal display device, alignment and directionality of liquid crystal molecules are adjusted by micro slits formed only in either one of electric field generating electrodes facing each other.
However, in the VA mode liquid crystal display device such as the SVA and PVA mode liquid crystal display devices, the contrast ratio is reduced according to an increase in the side viewing angle, and luminance ratios of the primary colors, e.g., red, blue and green, cross each other at a certain gray scale within a particular range, thus degrading visibility of the liquid crystal display device. Therefore, there is a need for the quality of an image visually perceived at the side of a liquid crystal display device to be as equal as possible to the quality of an image visually perceived at the front of the liquid crystal display device.
In addition, when fluorescent light is incident on a liquid crystal display device, rainbow stains may appear on the liquid crystal display device. Therefore, there is a need to reduce the rainbow stains to improve the image quality of the liquid crystal display device. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system and method for aggregating information descriptive of a users projects in a multi-server environment.
2. Background Art
One of the most perplexing issues for users of applications such as the IBM Lotus QuickPlace® application has been that the user must remember the exact place name and the name of the server it resides on, or else create and thereafter select a project bookmark for it from a favorites drop down list, to access the place. For example, to access a place named “haikuteam” residing on server qp.iris.com, the user has had to enter the following URL in the browser:
http:qp.iris.com/haikuteam
When the number of places a user has to remember or select from a favorites list gets into the tens or hundreds, this access become quite difficult. This also requires that the user know that he has been granted access to a place, in order to know to create the bookmark. In the past this has generally been done by an administrator or manager of the place sending a note to the user, who must then recognize that he has been granted access to a place for which he can create the bookmark.
Further, entering such places often requires that the user “sign-on”, including password authentication.
Consequently, there is a need in the art for an improved and simple procedure for enabling a user to enter a place selected from many places and to do so without repeated sign on challenges. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods of forming a via hole within a trench in a layer of low dielectric constant dielectric which prevents via hole poisoning caused by removal of the resist mask used in etching the trench.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Resist scum can form under certain conditions and remain after a resist mask is stripped. This resist scum can form a barrier between conducting materials, such as conducting material in a via hole and a conducting electrode, causing via poisoning.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,487 to Lou et al. describes a method of forming a planar intermetal dielectric over conductive metal structures. A liner oxide layer is used over the conductive metal structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,407 to Chang describes the use of a nitrogen plasma treatment of a layer of spin-on-glass after via hole etching to avoid via poisoning.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,384 to Chen et al. describes the use of spin on HSQ, hydrogen silsesquioxane, to gap fill metal layers in high density multi-layer devices. The degradation of the HSQ layer due to photoresist stripping is overcome by treating the degraded layer with a hydrogen containing plasma.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,100,179 to Tran describes the use of a conformal dielectric liner encapsulating metal features before depositing a HSQ, hydrogen silsesquioxane, gap fill layer to form an electromigration resistant structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,635 to Tran et al. describes heat treating a HSQ, hydrogen silsesquioxane, gap fill layer in an inert atmosphere before filling via holes to thoroughly outgas water absorbed during solvent cleaning of the via hole.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,941 to Hsieh et al. describes a plasma treatment of a spin-on-glass layer after forming unlanded vias. The plasma comprises hydrogen and another gas.
In the fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuit devices it is often desirable to use dielectric materials having a low dielectric constant, hereinafter referred to as low k dielectric materials. Frequently trenches and via holes are formed in the low k dielectric wherein the via hole lies within the trench. The via holes are etched through the layer of low k dielectric material to expose metal contacts under the layer of low k dielectric material, using an appropriate etching method and a first resist pattern. After the via hole has been formed the first resist pattern is stripped and a trench for conducting material is formed in the layer of low k dielectric material using a second resist pattern. The trench passes directly over the via hole. An amine radical, NHx, released from the low k dielectric material, especially after damage during the via etching, can interact with the second resist, used. to form the trench in the layer of low k dielectric material, and form resist scum on the top of the via. This problem is known as resist poisoning of the via.
It is a principle objective of at least one embodiment of this invention to provide a method of forming a trench and via hole in a layer of low k dielectric formed on a substrate which avoids the problem of resist poisoning of the via.
It is another principle objective of at least one embodiment of this invention to provide a method of forming a trench and a via hole in a layer of low k dielectric formed on a substrate, having a layer of dielectric etch stop or metal diffusion barrier formed thereon, which avoids the problem of resist poisoning of the via.
These objectives are achieved by first forming a layer of low k dielectric, such as porous silicon dioxide, black diamond (methyl doped porous silicon dioxide), or the like on a semiconductor substrate having a conducting electrode or contact formed therein. A layer of dielectric etch stop or metal diffusion barrier can be formed on the substrate. A via hole is then formed in the layer of low k dielectric using a first resist pattern, thereby exposing part of the conducting electrode or contact. A layer of amorphous silicon is then deposited on the layer of low k dielectric using physical vapor deposition or sputtering thereby forming a layer of amorphous silicon on the top of the layer of low k dielectric, the sidewalls of the via hole, and the exposed conducting electrode or contact at the bottom of the via hole.
A layer of second resist is then formed on the substrate, filling the via hole with second resist. The layer of second resist is then patterned to form a trench pattern, thereby removing the second resist in that part of the via above a first plane and leaving the second resist in that part of the via below the first plane. The first plane is a first distance below the top surface of the layer of low k dielectric. A trench is then etched in the layer of low k dielectric. The trench extends to the level of the first plane. The resist is then stripped and a layer of barrier metal can be deposited.
A layer of conducting material, such as copper, is then deposited on the layer of barrier metal filling the trench and the via hole. That part of the layer of conducting material, that part of the layer of barrier metal, and that part of the layer of amorphous silicon above the top surface of the layer of dielectric are then removed, using a method such as chemical mechanical polishing. The thermal cycling seen by the substrate converts the amorphous silicon and the barrier metal below the first plane to metallic silicon nitride. The amorphous silicon prevents via poisoning during the developing and removal of the second resist. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Polyphenol oxidase and laccase are known as enzymes that oxidize polyphenols. Various studies have been made on the use of polyphenol-oxidizing enzymes. For example, WO 94-29510 reports the delignination in the field of paper and pulp; and WO 91-05839, EP 91619032, DE 4008894 and JP-A 64-60693 report the use of the enzymes for bleaching in laundry washing.
However, the only known microbial sources for polyphenol oxidase and laccabe are mold fungi such as Basidiomycetes and Deuteromycetes., and it is generally difficult to cultivate large amounts of such fungi and, in addition, the rate of growth of the cells during cultivation is not high. Improving the enzyme yield by mutation or by use of genetic engineering technology is more difficult with these fungi than with bacteria, since the fungi have complicated life cycles and have complicated gene structures comprising introns, etc. For these reasons, it is difficult to stably and inexpensively obtain large amounts of polyphenol oxidases from such fungi, and bacteria-derived polyphenol oxidases are desired in order to apply them to practical use.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a polyphenol oxidase to be produced by bacteria, the bacteria that produce the enzyme and the use of the enzyme, thus providing a novel enzyme source of polyphenol oxidase for use in the oxidation of colored substances and oxidation of polyphenol-containing substances and also for use in cleaning. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates generally to meter registers and, more particularly, to registers in which flat indicia wheels are used to present numerals or other appropriate indicia at openings in a faceplate by incrementally moving the indicia wheels.
Many types of meter registers have been developed to indicate the usage of some measurable quantity. The measured value may be electrical power consumption, peak electrical demand or the consumption of another measurable substance such as water or natural gas. Meter registers in general can be classified into two basic categories: analog and digital. A typical example of an analog meter register is the electrical watt-hour meter used to measure electrical consumption in most households. An analog meter register is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,398,367 which issued to Benbow on Aug. 20, 1968. This type of meter register typically utilizes a stationary faceplate on which numerals are arranged in a circular pattern around a central point. Generally, an indicator is attached to a rotatable shaft which extends through the main plate at a point coincident with the center of the numeral arrangement. The indicator, such as a needle, rotates in direct response to electrical consumption. At any particular time, the needle may point at a particular numeral or at any location between numerals as it rotates about the central axis of its associated shaft. Usually, a plurality of shafts and associated indicators are used with each indicator being associated with a circular arrangement of numerals. Movement of the shafts of an analog meter register is controlled by a series of gears. The relative sizes of the gears are generally chosen to cause the indicators of the register to rotate in decade relationship with each other. Drive mechanisms of this type are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,398,367 and also in U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,194 which issued to Halstead et al. on Dec. 21, 1982.
One disadvantage of analog meter registers is that, at any particular point in time, the register's indicators will most probably be pointing to locations which are between the numerals of its associated faceplate. The analog nature of this type of register therefore requires some interpretation of the exact numeric value represented by the plurality of dial indicators.
Digital meter registers are generally easier to interpret than analog meter registers. In a digital register, the indicia wheels are locked into place in such a way so as to result in none of the individual indicators representing a value which lies between integers except for the first wheel which represents the least significant digit. In other words, when a particular indicator of a digital meter register changes value, it does so rapidly and then dwells for a sustained period of time at an exact integer value. In order to accomplish this intermittent movement, various mechanisms have been employed. One mechanism that results in the intermittent angular movement of the shafts of a register is the so-called Geneva drive. One type of Geneva mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,385 which issued to Harvey et al. on Mar. 2, 1982. That particular Geneva mechanism has a slotted Geneva wheel and a driving cam wheel which is engageable with the Geneva wheel to impart stepwise rotation thereto. When a wheel is rotated by a Geneva mechanism, it exhibits an intermittent motion which results in a stepwise rotation that dwells at a particular angular position for a period of time and then, in a relatively rapid manner, rotates to another dwell position.
The beneficial result of a register driven by a Geneva mechanism is that, at any particular instant in time, most or all of the decades of the register are stationary and easily readable. Furthermore, each of the decade positions of the register are stationary at particular integer digits which can be read through openings of a faceplate.
Meter registers which utilize Geneva mechanisms also typically utilize indicia wheels which have numerals imposed on the outer circular surface of the wheel. An example of this type of usage is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,870 which issued to Malavazos et al. on Apr. 8, 1975. That patent relates to a postage meter and employs an indicia wheel which has the numbers, 0 through 9, disposed on the outer circumference of the wheel. Another example of indicia wheels, or drums, can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,252 which issued to Haydon on Nov. 11, 1975. That invention is a digital clock which utilizes a plurality of indicia wheels, or drums, that are used to represent hours, minutes and seconds.
Examples of a plurality of indicia drums being associated with a faceplate having a plurality of openings located therein for viewing of the numerals on the wheels are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,875 which issued to Wolfenden et al. on Jan. 7, 1964 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,152,758 which issued to Wolfenden on Oct. 13, 1964. An example of a cyclometer meter register which utilizes indicia-bearing counterwheels, or drums, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,110 which issued to Knecht et al. on Apr. 13, 1965. A particular design of indicia wheels, which is intended for use in cyclometer registers, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,691 which issued to Daley et al. on Oct. 18, 1966.
When Geneva mechanisms are used in conjunction with cyclometer registers, drum-type indicia wheels are generally used. These indicia drums, which are disclosed in the patents discussed above, represent one disadvantage toward which the present invention is directed. When the numerals are disposed on the circumference of an indicia drum, the indicated numeral is not presented to an opening in a faceplate in a manner which results in the numeral appearing as a flat indicia. The use of a curved numeral, which results from the numeral being imposed on the curved outer circumference of a drum, can be disadvantageous when used in conjunction with a meter register. For example, depending on the direction of sunlight and the height of the register in relation to a person viewing the register, glare may present a problem in the accurate reading of the value represented by a plurality of such indicia wheels. More importantly, when automated reading techniques are employed by a meter reader, the curved indicia surface may introduce problems of registration between the automated reading device, such as a light pen, and the indicia wheel's surface. This problem can be especially severe when a bar code is used to represent a digital value which is presented through an opening of a meter register faceplate for the purpose of being read automatically.
The present invention provides a meter register which utilizes a type of driving mechanism which moves its indicia wheels in an intermittent fashion with rapid angular movements between preselected positions followed by dwell periods during which the indicia wheels present one of their numeric digits through an opening in an associated faceplate. Furthermore, the present invention utilizes indicia wheels which are flat discs that have the numerals imposed on one of the disc's flat surfaces. The indicia wheels of the present invention rotate about an axis which is perpendicular to the faceplate. Therefore, a numeral is presented, to an opening in the associated faceplate, which is flat when viewed through the opening. As discussed above, the presentation of a flat indicium through the opening of the faceplate is advantageous when viewed by a human observer and especially helpful when the indicium is automatically read by a device such as the type which utilizes a light pen. The numerals of the flat indicia wheels can be combined with or replaced by a bar code representation. The use of such a bar code, in conjunction with the flat indicia wheel, facilitates the automatic reading of the wheel's representation. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
A virtual machine is an abstract computational environment that allows platform-independent compilation of software applications. Software may be compiled and optimized to produce bytecodes for execution in the abstract computational environment. The virtual machine, often implemented as a software application, executes the compiled bytecodes to provide an interface between the abstract computational environment and a computer system. Instead of requiring recompilation for each supported platform, the bytecodes may be executed on any platform that implements the virtual machine.
By inserting a layer of abstraction, a virtual machine architecture increases software portability without overly impairing execution efficiency. In its simplest form, a virtual machine can be implemented by creating a software emulation of the abstract computational environment. Each supported platform provides a virtual machine that implements the abstract computational environment. Because the bytecodes are compiled, they may be executed on each supported platform without further compilation or processing other than that required by the virtual machine in emulating the abstract computational environment.
Several companies have developed virtual machine environments to provide multi-platform support in a Web services architecture, such as SUN MICROSYSTEMS' JAVA Virtual Machine (JVM) of MICROSOFT's Common Language Runtime (CLR). MICROSOFT's .Net Web services architecture uses the MICROSOFT CLR virtual machine to support a wide variety of programming languages. Software written in any supported programming language may be compiled for execution on the abstract computation environment implemented by the CLR virtual machine. As the use of virtual machines increases, it becomes more important to increase their performance. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Field
Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to detecting power failure, and more particularly, to detecting imminent power failure on a chip.
Background
A chip may include multiple power domains, in which each power domain may be powered by a separate supply rail. The power domains allow circuits in different power domains to be powered at different supply voltages. The power domains may be independently power collapsed such that one power domain may be powered while another power domain is power collapsed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Injection molding is a technology commonly used for high-volume manufacturing of parts made of synthetic resin, most commonly made of thermoplastic polymers. During a repetitive injection molding process, a plastic resin, most often in the form of small beads or pellets, is introduced to an injection molding machine that melts the resin beads under heat, pressure, and shear. The now molten resin is forcefully injected into a mold cavity having a particular cavity shape. The injected plastic is held under pressure in the mold cavity, cooled, and then removed as a solidified part having a shape that essentially duplicates the cavity shape of the mold.
A typical injection molding procedure comprises four basic operations: (1) heating the plastic in the injection molding machine to allow it to flow under pressure; (2) injecting the melted plastic into a mold cavity or cavities defined between two mold halves that have been closed; (3) allowing the plastic to cool and harden in the cavity or cavities while under pressure; and (4) opening the mold halves to cause the part to be ejected from the mold. In the conventional injection molding of synthetic resin by an injection molding machine, the weight of the injected synthetic resin varies with the molten resin pressure, the molten resin specific volume or the molten resin temperature etc. Therefore, it is difficult to form products of a constant quality.
In general, the setting of molding conditions of the injection molding machine requires a large number of trial molding operations and a long setting time because the setting work greatly depends on the know-how and experience of an operator of the injection molding machine, and various physical values affect one another as well.
Therefore, a virtual molding, i.e., computer-implemented simulation, by use of CAE (Computer-Assisted Engineering) is performed for the injection molding, and the molding conditions are then set based on the virtual molding. In virtual molding by use of CAE, phenomena will occur in a mold cavity within a short period of time, i.e., the result of simulation on resin temperature, pressure, shear rate, etc. can be reflected in molded products. Therefore, if the molding phenomena occurring within a mold cavity can be grasped accurately, using CAE may enable optimization of molding conditions and a stable molding of non-defective products.
This “Discussion of the Background” section is provided for background information only. The statements in this “Discussion of the Background” are not an admission that the subject matter disclosed in this “Discussion of the Background” section constitutes prior art to the present disclosure, and no part of this “Discussion of the Background” section may be used as an admission that any part of this application, including this “Discussion of the Background” section, constitutes prior art to the present disclosure. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Various techniques can be used to determine the position of a wireless device. In some examples, wireless devices can include Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers that can be used to perform satellite-based positioning of the wireless devices. However, GPS-based positioning techniques may not be effective in an indoor environment or in a dense urban environment, where satellite signals may be attenuated. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
It relates in particular to a radiation-emitting semiconductor device comprising a nitride-based active multilayer structure arranged on an SiC-based epitaxial growth substrate and to a radiation-emitting optical device equipped with such a radiation-emitting semiconductor device.
The invention is further directed to a method for fabricating the radiation-emitting semiconductor device and to an optical device comprising a semiconductor body of this kind.
Typically, present-day radiation-emitting optical devices, especially light-emitting-diode devices, are equipped substantially exclusively with right-parallelepipedal radiation-emitting semiconductor devices, usually embedded in transparent casting material. A major difficulty with such devices is the large difference between the refractive indices of the semiconductor materials normally used in optical semiconductor devices (n>2.5) and those of the conventionally available casting materials (epoxy resin, for example; nepoxy >>1.5). Thus, the critical angle of total reflection at the boundary between the semiconductor body and the casting material is very small. It is for this reason that a substantial portion of the light generated in the active region fails to be coupled out of the semiconductor body, due to total reflection on the chip surfaces, and goes to waste inside it. Given a defined electrical current flowing through the semiconductor device to generate the light, the brightness of the device is therefore limited.
In the case of GaN-based light-emitting diode chips, where the epitaxial layer sequence is arranged on a substrate (for example, a silicon carbide substrate) that has a higher refractive index than the epitaxial layer sequence, the special problem also arises that with the conventional right-parallelepipedal chip geometry, the portion of the radiation coupled out by the lateral sides of the substrate is output in the direction of the back of the chip at a very acute angle with the lateral side of the substrate. This radiation is therefore incident on a housing mounting surface to which the chip is attached, striking it at a very steep angle and very close to the chip. This entails the disadvantages that, first, because of the acute angle of incidence, a large portion of the radiation is absorbed in the chip mounting surface, and second, there is considerable risk that some of the radiation will strike and be absorbed by the conductive adhesive normally used to secure the chip.
DE 198 07 758 A1 proposes a radiation-emitting semiconductor body which, to increase the light yield of the active region in the intended direction of radiation of the semiconductor body, comprises a subsequently added so-called primary window layer whose continuous lateral face forms an obtuse angle with the plane of extension of the multilayered heterostructure. The continuous lateral face forms an obtuse angle of between 110° and 140° with the plane of the active region. The primary window layer is formed by the epitaxial growth substrate or by an epitaxial layer grown separately thereon.
In addition, the semiconductor body in accordance with DE 198 07 758 A1 can comprise a further, so-called secondary window layer that is arranged by epitaxy or wafer bonding on the side of the active region facing away from the primary window layer, i.e., on the underside of the semiconductor body, and whose continuous lateral face forms an angle of between 40° and 70° with the plane of the active region. The semiconductor body therefore has obliquely disposed chip sides that are continuous from the top side to the underside.
This chip geometry serves primarily to make the face of the chip extending parallel to the active region larger than the active region and to cause all of the light striking the oblique side walls of the primary window to be reflected internally in the intended direction of radiation.
In addition, the secondary window layer performs the task of coupling out of the semiconductor body, via the oblique lateral faces of the secondary window layer, light that is emitted by the active region toward the back, i.e., in the direction of the mounting surface of the semiconductor body.
To reduce the outputting of light in the backward direction and to deflect this light to the front side, preferably within the very semiconductor body, a reflective coating is provided on all of the oblique sides of the chip.
This known chip geometry, which is intended primarily to improve the coupling-out of light via the front side, raises the following problems in particular: (i) In the fabrication of the oblique lateral faces, a substantial portion of the area of the active epitaxial layer sequence present on the wafer is wasted, since the oblique lateral faces are produced by making a V-shaped trough from the active-region side. (ii) The thickness of the secondary window layer is severely limited in order to preserve a sufficiently large chip mounting surface, thereby ensuring that no tilting of the chip occurs as it being mounted in a light-emitting-diode housing, there is current spreading to the entire active region, insofar as possible, there is adequate heat dissipation from the active region, the chip has sufficient mechanical stability. Thus, its width is preferably only about 10 to 40% of the lateral width of the active region. (iii) The oblique sides meet the chip mounting surface of a light-emitting-diode housing to form a wedge-shaped gap, which in the case of conventional plastic LED housings is usually filled with transparent casting material. When the temperature of the device increases during operation and/or due to an increase in ambient temperature, as occurs, for example, in motor-vehicle applications, because of the high thermal expansion of ordinary casting compounds the chip is subjected to considerable mechanical stresses, due to which the risk of delamination of the chip from the chip mounting surface of the housing is substantially increased over that of right parallelepipedal chips. (iv) The fabrication of the secondary window layer is technically very onerous, since this layer must be added by epitaxial growth or wafer bonding. (v) The underside of the chip, which is the mounting surface, is the smallest surface of the semiconductor body, over which the widely projecting upper window region is disposed. There is accordingly a high risk that with an automatic chip mounting technique conventionally employed in chip mounting, usually a pick-and-place method, tilting of the chip and hence tilting of the beam axis of the light-emitting-diode device may occur. This risk is reduced if only one primary window layer and no secondary window layer is present. (vi) The thickness of the lower window layer, if any, must be kept as small as possible for the reasons stated above under (ii) and (v). However, this means that a substantial portion of this window will be covered with an adhesive normally used to mount LED chips and thus will not be able to contribute fully—if at all—to the coupling-out of the light.
Points (ii) and (v) take on greater significance as the chip edge length decreases, i.e., as the cross section of the active region becomes smaller, an effect that is constantly being striven for in order to obtain the greatest possible chip yield from a single wafer, because the smaller the edge length the smaller the resulting chip mounting surface, in view of the proposed chip geometry. For these reasons, the bottom window layer is made as thin as possible or is omitted.
In terms of practical feasibility, the chip geometry known from DE 198 07 758 A1 is suited, if at all, only to GaP-based material systems, involving the epitaxial growth of thick layers of both types of semiconductors that are sufficiently electrically conductive to make it possible, in particular, to create the proposed lower window layer and simultaneously to achieve current spreading to nearly the entire active region.
In the nitride-based III-V semiconductor material system, which includes in particular GaN, InN and AlN and all ternary and quaternary mixed crystals based on GaN, InN and AlN, such as, for example, AlGaN, InGaN, AlInN and AlGaInN, p-doped layers in particular have a sufficiently low electrical resistance only if they are comparatively thin. Thus, the only way to fabricate a thick bottom window corresponding to the arrangement described above—especially in the case of conventional GaN-based active layer sequences, in which the bottom window layer would have to be on the p-type side—is by wafer bonding, which is technically very onerous and means putting up with the above difficulties.
Known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,204 is a geometry for a light-emitting semiconductor body based on InGaAlP, in which a thick, transparent epitaxial layer of GaP, GaAsP or AlGaAs is arranged between an absorbing substrate and an active layer structure. The lateral faces of the thick transparent epitaxial layer are arranged obliquely to the active layer structure in such manner as to produce funnel-shaped layer. As a result, more of the radiation emitted by the active layer structure in the direction of the substrate strikes the lateral face of the transparent layer at an angle that is smaller than the total reflection angle.
However, substantial losses of light occur with the chip geometry proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,204. One cause of these losses is total reflection at the boundary from the active layer structure to the thick transparent epitaxial layer (refractive indexactive layer> refractive indexwindow) and subsequent absorption in the active layer sequence. Another cause is absorption in the radiation-absorbing epitaxial substrate. In addition, considerable additional technical outlay is involved in fabricating the window layer as a thick transparent epitaxial layer.
To improve the coupling-out of light, it has been proposed elsewhere to fabricate semiconductor devices having, for example, a triangular or parallelogramoid lateral cross section; in this regard, see the publication Song Jae Lee, Seog Won Song, “Efficiency Improvement in Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Geometrically Deformed Chips,” SPIE Conference on Light-Emitting Diodes, San Jose, Calif., January 1999, pages 237 to 248. In these arrangements, reflection in the chip is increased because the angles of reflection change frequently. At the same time, however, the radiation-generating layer, the contacts, or other layers of the semiconductor device must be improved so that they absorb as little light as possible. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to radiation-curable water-soluble combinations of polyester resins with high mass fraction of solids.
2. Description of the Related Art
From EP-A 0 574 775 self-emulsifying polymerizable binders are known which can be made by reacting pre-polymers containing (meth)acryloyl groups (A) and unsaturated polyesters (B) which are emulsifiable in water with multifunctional isocyanates. The preferred pre-polymers (A) containing (meth)acryloyl groups are polyester (meth)acrylates which are condensation products of aromatic and/or aliphatic dicarboxylic acids (A1), especially those of malonic, succinic, glutaric, adipic, sebacic, hexahydrophthalic, terephtalic, maleic, fumaric, citraconic and itaconic acids or their anhydrides, of polyols (A2), especially glycol, 1,2- and 1,3-propanediol, diglycol, dipropylene glycol, butanediol, etc., and .alpha., .beta.-unsaturated monocarboxylic acid derivatives (A3). The polyesters which are emulsifiable in water are the condensation products of the dicarboxylic acids referred to under (A1) and the polyols referred to under (A2) as well as of a polyether alcohol such polyethylene and polypropylene glycol and alcohols having, an allyl ether functionality. Using these polyesters, dispersions with a mass fraction of solids of approx. 50% can be produced.
From EP-A 0 425 974, water-soluble binders with at least one polymerizable double bond are known which may be produced by condensation of at least one polyoxy-alkylene glycol with a molar mass of from 300 to 800 g/mol, or optionally from one polyoxy-alkylene glycol with a molar mass of less than 300 g/mol, at least one alkoxylated trivalent alcohol, or optionally at least one alkoxylated tetra to hexavalent alcohol, at least one polycarboxylic acid or a derivative of a polycarboxylic acid and at least one monocarboxylic acid of a derivative thereof.
From DE-A 33 40 589, radiation-curable water-soluble polyesters containing acryloyl groups are known which contain co-condensed units of a dicarboxylic anhydride, a polyether alcohol, a bivalent alcohol and a trivalent alkoxylated alcohol and acrylic acid. Dispersions with a mass fraction of solids of approx. 50% can be produced using these polyesters. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ceramic sinter having a high thermal expansion coefficient combinable with a general use metal such as stainless steel so as to constitute a composite body applicable under a high temperature circumstance
2. Description of Prior Art
Ceramics are being increasingly used in many field because of their excellent thermal and chemical properties such as heat resistance and corrosion resistance and replaced for metal material in some fields so that performance limits of machines are improved. However workability, toughness and thermal shock resistance of the ceramics are lower than those of metal material. To overcome these disadvantages, a composite body of ceramic and metal is proposed, in that, for the portion which requires a high heat resistance and a high corrosion resistance ceramics are employed and for the portion which requires a high toughness and a complex configuration metal materials are employed.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-29668, for example, discloses a composite body of a ferrite core and a ceramic supporting the same for a magnetic head, the ceramic essentially consists of TiO.sub.2, BaO, SiO.sub.2, Nb.sub.2 O.sub.5 and ZnO and has a thermal expansion coefficient of 6-12.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C. which agrees with that of the ferrite core.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-18621, for example, discloses a composite body of a cast iron and a ceramic bonded thereto for an internal combustion engine part, the ceramic essentially consists of partly stabilized zirconia and has a thermal expansion coefficient of 10.3.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C. which is substantially equivalent to that of cast iron.
However, until now no such ceramics having a thermal expansion coefficientof more than 13.times.10.sup.-6 .degree.C. and a high flexural strength required for structural components are disclosed that are used in combination with general use metals such as carbon steel, of which the thermal expansion coefficient is 13-14.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C., alloy steel, of which the thermal expansion coefficient is 8-20.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C., and stainless steel, of which the thermal expansion coefficient is 15-20.times.10.sup.-6 /.degree.C. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In the present contest by the term packet destination address it is meant the destination IP address or other known related protocol fields that may be used for routing. In the case of an IP address the packet destination address comprises, starting from bit 0, i.e. the more left bit, referred in this description also as most significant bit (MSB): a first portion comprising a fixed number of bit which identifies the class of the supernet or subnet address, a second portion comprising the supernet or subnet address.
The above mentioned fixed number of bit is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 bit for, respectively, classes A, B, C, D, E. Therefore, to each IP address it may be associated a fixed value indicating the smallest bit index of the portion of the packets destination address containing the IP address.
In the present contest by the term “routing” it is meant the operation by which, starting from a packets destination address, i.e. an IP address, a search in a data base, i.e. a routing table, is made for an entry that matches an address portion contained in said packets destination address. In particular the search may be a search for the longest entry that matches an address portion contained in said packets destination address, this kind of routing will be referred in the present contest as best prefix matching routing.
The routing table search process is the most important operation in the IP routing method. When an IP address, identified in the current IP version 4 implementations by a unique 32-bit field, is received by a router, the network prefix contained in this address must be considered in order to search in a forwarding table using the network prefix as its key and in order to determine which entry in the table represents the best route for the address to take in its journey across its destination. For optimising the searching procedure, known procedures provide compressing the network prefix in order to perform the search in a table having a limited size. Many compression methods are known. In particular, we will refer to a method based on predictable duration algorithms, and among this class of algorithms to the algorithms suitable of a pipelined implementation. In particular, we will refer to the pipelined algorithm based on the CSSA method (clustered sequential search algorithm) described in EP0.978.966 A1.
In the present contest by the term pipelined method it is meant a routing or compression method which allows a plurality of address which has to be routed or compressed to be present at the same time in the hardware implementation of said method, i.e. a method which allows to issue a routing or compression request if a previously issued one has not been served yet.
On the other hand, in order to overcome the known problem of running out of address space (ROADS problem) there have been introduced subnet and supernet IP addresses, which will be referred to further in the application as classless address.
Not all the routing and compression methods can handle classless address. In particular, the above-mentioned CSSA method cannot handle these addresses. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to solar heating systems forming an integral portion of a building, and more particularly to an unusually advantageous solar heating system in which heat is collected and supplied to an integral storage reservoir including a fluid storage medium, the heat being collected by absorption of solar energy utilizing a greenhouse effect, and selectively withdrawn from the storage reservoir and/or from the absorber, by means of internal channels through which air may be selectively conducted.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The ever expanding awareness of the need for greater utilization of solar energy has given rise to a great many systems towards this end. The difficulties and drawbacks of the systems employed to utilize solar energy are not always apparent. For instance, in the so-called active systems, cost is currently an almost overwhelming deterrent. Typical of such multicomponent systems are those utilizing flat plate collectors, usually roof mounted, with fluid (either water or air) circulating systems to mechanically transfer heat from the flat plate collectors to a remote heat storage system, typically a large pile of rocks in the basement. Alternatively, a large tank of water or utectic salts may be employed. Such active systems employ heat storage means which are operated contrary to certain natural tendencies in that heat is collected on the roof and the heated fluid must be moved downward to storage. This necessitates substantial additional equipment and energy to mechanically transmit the heat against this natural thermo siphon flow. Also, the flat plate collectors generally must be supported by the roof or other structural members in the building. Extensive plumbing between the remote heat storage and the collector is required. Once heat is in the storage area, of course, further ducting is required to transmit the heat to the volumes where it is employed.
Other solar energy systems are of the so-called passive designs which are most typically represented by the Trombe Wall. The Trombe system utilizes a wall of thick masonary construction which is faced with glass or other radiant energy transmitting material spaced from the wall to accomplish a greenhouse effect. During the day, solar energy is absorbed and transmitted into the wall by conduction into the masonary. Heat is withdrawn from the wall primarily by convection with air flowing from within the building to the space between the outer surface of the wall and the transparent facing and then again into the structure from the top of the wall. A secondary heating mechanism involves radiant energy from the inner surface of the heated wall. While the Trombe system is most economical in that the masonary wall is usually a structural member of the building it serves, the drawbacks involve rather rapid loss of heat from the outer surface of the wall through cooling of the transparent panels by radiation at night. Heated air flows in contact with the cooled inner surface of the transparent panel. Also, when the interior of the building is warm, the Trombe Wall tends to overheat the building by radiating heat from the inner surface of the wall. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the reed used in a wind musical instrument and, more particularly, to the shaping of the reed either prior to initial use of the reed or after some deterioration at the end of the reed has occurred as a result of use.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known in the related art to provide a cutting instrument that includes a base or die member and a punching member for shaping the end of a (cane) reed. The reed is placed between the surface of the base (die) member and the punching member and force is applied to bring the punching member into the plane of the base member, thereby trimming or cutting the portion of the reed disposed between the two members of the cutting instrument. A device for accomplishing this reed cutting or trimming operation can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,723,674 by Beard. A similar cutting instrument is found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,635,004 by Majeski. However, this latter patent is embellished by having an additional structure attached to the punching member that has the function of both applying pressure to the cutting operation as well as the function of defining the position of the reed in the cutting instrument. Yet another similar apparatus is found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,574,420 by Finder, wherein a lever is coupled to the base member of the cutting instrument to provide additional force for trimming the end of the reed. Because the reed used with each type of wind musical instruments can have a different size, a cutting instrument with a plurality of punching members is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,467,806 by Naujoks et al. and in U.S. Pat. No. 2,110,052 by Miller. In each patent, the particular punching member determines the size of the reed that can be shaped thereby, each size of reed used by an associated wind musical instrument. Another variation of a reed trimming device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,669,778 by Cordier. In this patent, the cutting instrument has a general structure similar to other cutting instruments of the related art except that the cutting instrument can be coupled by means of screws to a frame structure. Also coupled to the frame structure is a level mechanism and has the additional feature of an adjustable mechanism at one end of the frame structure to engage the reed and to position the reed in a controllable manner.
In the foregoing patents, a plurality of reed sizes can be accommodated only by having individual reed trimming structures for the reeds associated with different types of reed instruments. Those references that described cutting instruments that can accommodate a plurality of reed sizes, such as the patent by Naujoks and the patent by Miller, are generally more bulky than the normal reed cutting device. In addition, if one of the cutting edges is compromised, then the entire reed cutting device must be replaced. The reference by Cordier can permit a plurality of sizes. However, the reed trimmer is heavy and additional time and effort must be expanded to first unscrew and remove one cutting member from the frame structure and then attach a second cutting member into the frame structure.
A need has therefore been felt for a reed trimming device that can accommodate a plurality of cutting instruments without unnecessary bulk and without unnecessary delay in changing from one cutting instrument to a different cutting instrument. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Casting may involve adding a fluid material to a mold cavity and then allowing the fluid material to solidify into a part having the shape of the mold cavity. Depending upon the materials used and the parts being formed, casting may pose various challenges. For example, some materials, such as plastics, may shrink while solidifying due to chemical and thermal changes. As the magnitude of such shrinkage is dependent upon a thickness of the material, various portions of a non-uniform part may shrink different amounts and/or at different rates, thereby compounding the difficulties in casting precision parts. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical circuits, and more particularly but not exclusively to flyback converters.
2. Description of the Background Art
A flyback converter is a buck-boost converter where the output inductor is split to form a transformer. In a flyback converter, a primary-side switch is closed to connect the primary winding of the transformer to an input voltage source. Closing the primary-side switch increases the primary current and magnetic flux, stores energy in the transformer, and induces current on the secondary winding of the transformer. The induced current on the secondary winding has a polarity that places a diode rectifier in reverse bias to block charging of an output capacitor. When the primary-side switch is opened, the primary current and magnetic flux drop, and the resulting induced current on the secondary winding changes polarity to thereby forward bias the diode rectifier and allow charging of the output capacitor to generate a DC output voltage.
Many flyback converters employ diode rectifiers to generate the DC output voltage. The conduction loss of a diode rectifier contributes significantly to overall power loss, especially in low-voltage, high-current converter applications. The conduction loss of a diode rectifier is given by the product of its forward voltage drop and forward conduction current. By replacing the diode rectifier with a metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) operated as a synchronous rectifier, the equivalent forward voltage drop can be lowered and, consequently, the conduction loss can be reduced. Unlike a diode rectifier, however, the conduction of the synchronous rectifier has to be actively controlled by another circuit, such as a synchronous rectifier driver. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to communication with diverse, electronically controlled devices (xe2x80x9ctargetsxe2x80x9d), using a pointing device that can communicate with dissimilar types of targets from a position remote from those targets.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion within this section.
Remote control communications systems are often employed to allow control of certain electronic targets from a distance. Such targets may include electronically controlled appliances. Exemplary forms of such appliances include any type of home-based appliance, as well as appliances that are found outside the home such as, for example, automotive controls, industrial controls, or security locks.
Although conventional remote control systems provide convenience over non-remote operation, these systems do have some limitations. One such limitation is that multiple handheld remote control units may be required to control multiple targets (or appliances). Although xe2x80x9cuniversalxe2x80x9d remote control units are available which can control multiple appliances, such units typically work for a limited number of appliances, and the remote control unit must be programmed with information about each appliance. The particular appliance to be controlled is selected, typically by pushing a button or key dedicated to that appliance. This may result in a handheld unit having a large number of buttons, which may make the unit more complex or cumbersome to operate so that mistakes are more likely.
Another limitation of conventional remote control communications systems is that remote control is routinely available for only a relatively small variety of appliances. Consumer electronic appliances, for example, are routinely provided with remote control units, but remote control may not be readily available for other types of appliances, such as, e.g., kitchen appliances, lighting, and climate control. Furthermore, conventional remote control communications systems generally rely on optical transmission, so that a clear line of sight between the remote control unit and the appliance is required. It may be desirable, however, to control appliances situated such that a clear line of sight does not exist. For example, control of a stereo or a thermostat from another room may be convenient without having to optically target the appliance to be controlled.
One approach to providing such non-line-of-sight control is to use radio-frequency (RF) transmission in addition to or instead of optical transmission. The RF range is quite broad, extending from approximately 10 kHz (104 Hz) to about 300 GHz (3xc3x971011 Hz), and is used for various types of communications. For example, wireless voice and data communications typically use frequencies in a range from about 800 MHz to a few GHz. The lower frequencies associated with RF communications, as compared to communication at infrared and visible optical frequencies (from about 1013 to 1015 Hz), allow transmission over larger distances, and diffraction around or transmission through certain obstacles. Remote control communications systems have been developed which employ RF transmission. Some systems may use solely RF transmission, while others, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,780 to Tigwell, allow RF transmission from a remote control unit to a transponder located in the vicinity of the appliance to be controlled. The transponder then transmits an infrared control signal to the appropriate appliance. Other systems, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,993 to Sato, allow either RF or optical transmission to be chosen, based on the nature of the path between the remote control unit and the appliance to be controlled, and some, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,883 to Walker et al., transmit RF and optical signals simultaneously, allowing the appliance receiver to extract the highest-quality signal.
A disadvantage of using RF transmission is that the ensuing increased transmission range may inadvertently cause communication with multiple appliances simultaneously, when communication with only one appliance may be desired. For this reason, currently available remote control communications systems which use RF transmission must typically be configured so that only a specific receiving appliance will respond to a signal from a remote control unit. Identification of the specific receiving appliance is generally accomplished by transmission of an identifying code from the remote control unit to the receiver associated with the appliance, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,691 to Martin et al. The requirement for such an identifying code unfortunately may limit the number of appliances which can be conveniently controlled by a single remote control unit. For example, if codes corresponding to various appliances are stored in the remote control unit, and the particular appliance to be controlled is chosen by pressing a corresponding button on the control unit, space constraints on the remote control unit may allow for only a limited number of appliances to be addressed.
It would therefore be desirable to develop a remote control communications system and method in which a single handheld remote control unit may be used to communicate with a wide variety of appliances. It would further be desirable to develop a system and method allowing communication with an appliance without the requirement of maintaining a line-of-sight path between the handheld unit and the appliance. The desired system and method should be simple to use and require minimal programming by the user.
The problems outlined above are in large part addressed by a system and method for communicating with diverse electronically controlled targets, henceforth known as appliances, which may perform dissimilar functions and may be produced by different manufacturers. Diversity stems from a myriad of possible electronically controlled appliances found either within the home or outside the home, possibly in an industrial setting. Appliance is thusly used to refer to any device for which remote communication or control may be desired in order to perform any electronically controlled function. For example, electronic devices such as television sets, stereos, and personal computers, household and kitchen appliances such as washing machines and microwave ovens, and other devices such as thermostats, lights, and fans may all be considered xe2x80x9cappliancesxe2x80x9d. Each appliance communicated with, or target appliance, has a built-in or retrofitted appliance interface adapted to receive commands transmitted by the pointing device and forward these commands to appropriate appliance circuitry such that the commands are carried out by the appliance.
The system described herein, in which a single pointing device, or pointer, may be used to communicate with and control multiple appliances, is believed to be analogous to user interaction via a graphical user interface (GUI). A simple form of GUI is that by which a user interacts, via the display screen, with executable programs or stored files held within a storage media, such as semiconductor memory or a hard disk drive. GUI is therefore a representation of computer-based entities including programs, files, and commands in a graphical form on a display screen. The user may interact with a program or operating system by selecting and/or moving objects on the screen using a pointing device such as a mouse. Use of a GUI can make interaction with a program or operating system more intuitive than use of a command interface in which specific commands are typed in by the user. This may be true particularly in the case of relatively inexperienced users, because they are freed from having to learn specific commands. According to one embodiment, the pointing device recited herein may include an electronic display on which a GUI is present. The GUI allows a user to select among possibly numerous appliances to be controlled, or to select among multiple commands and/or programs which operate upon the selected appliance. Use of this GUI beneficially makes the generalized pointing device user friendly to select among multiple appliances, of diverse function and/or manufacturer type. For example, the user avoids having to depress a specific appliance button in order to control that appliance, and also avoids needing to learn complex program commands associated with selecting and/or controlling various appliance-type application programs.
In addition to the inclusion of a GUI in an embodiment as described above, the overall system recited herein is believed to be analogous to a GUI in some features of its operation. For example, an important feature of a GUI is that a single set of commands from a pointing device (e.g., xe2x80x9cclickxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cdragxe2x80x9d, etc.) is used to interact with multiple application programs which may run on a computer. In a similar manner, a single set of commands transmitted by the portable pointing device recited herein may be used to interact with multiple appliances. These commands, or pointer events, may correspond to different functions for different appliances. For example, a downward rolling of a trackball or scroll wheel on the pointing device may correspond to a lowering of light intensity if the target appliance is a light fixture, or to a lowering of volume if the target appliance is a television set or compact disc player. In an analogy with a GUI described above, the portable pointing device may correspond to a pointing device such as a mouse used with a computer, and the target appliance may correspond to an application program running on the computer.
When a GUI is used to interact with an application program or operating system, a xe2x80x9cdriverxe2x80x9d is typically employed to translate between the pointing device commands received and the commands specific to the application program or operating system. Drivers, which are used for various computer peripheral devices, such as disk drives, printers, and keyboards, generally comprise program instructions which are stored in memory associated with the computer during start-up configuration. These program instructions contain information regarding the commands associated with the peripheral device, the commands associated with the application program or operating system, and a correspondence between these two sets of commands. In analogy to the use of drivers in a GUI, the target appliances recited herein may have associated drivers to translate the pointer events (i.e., signals derived by the pointer) transmitted by the portable pointing device into events specific to the target appliance (i.e., signals recognized by the target appliance). This driver may be part of an appliance interface associated with each target appliance. Just as a GUI may make interaction with computer application programs easier and more intuitive, use of the system described herein may simplify remote interaction with and control of appliances, by allowing multiple appliances to be accessed with a single, relatively simple pointing device.
In an embodiment of the system, the portable pointing device comprises one or more actuators, a pointer-side input/output (I/O) interface, and a transmitter. An actuator as used herein is an object on the pointing device (e.g., a button, key, knob, trackball, or scroll wheel) actuated by the user in order to communicate with a target appliance. The actuators generate pointer-derived commands or events (hereinafter xe2x80x9cpointer eventsxe2x80x9d) which could be described in such terms as xe2x80x9cleft arrowxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cright arrowxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9croll upxe2x80x9d, or xe2x80x9croll downxe2x80x9d. A unique signal to represent each of these pointer events is created by the I/O interface and forwarded to the transmitter. In an embodiment, the pointing device may also be configured to accept voice commands. The appliance interface associated with the target appliance may include a receiver, an appliance-side I/O interface, and a driver. A pointer event signal transmitted by the pointing device may be detected (i.e., decoded) by the appliance-side I/O interface. The pointer event signal may be translated to a corresponding appliance function by the driver. The appliance interface may also include a visible indicator such as a light-emitting diode to provide feedback to the user that, for example, a signal has been received from the pointing device. In an analogy with a GUI, such a visual indication may be comparable to a visual indication on a computer screen that an icon has been selected using a pointing device (e.g., a changing of the icon color when it is xe2x80x9cclicked uponxe2x80x9d).
The pointing device may be configured to transmit an optical signal, an RF signal, or both. In one embodiment, the system uses only optical signals. This avoids transmittal to other than the intended appliance, but requires a relatively short line-of sight path between the pointing device and the appliance. In an alternative embodiment, the system is configured to use both optical and RF signals. In this embodiment, an optical signal is used to select a particular appliance for communication. The appliance interface is configured such that once the appliance has been selected, it will respond to subsequent RF signals. The selected appliance may then be communicated with using RF signals, so that the pointing device may be farther away from the appliance, and a line-of-sight path may not be needed. Because only the selected appliance responds to the RF signals, unwanted communication with other appliances does not occur. It is therefore not necessary to have dedicated remote control units for each appliance, or to use appliance identification codes. In applications requiring security (e.g., door openers and locks), however, the system may be configured to use pointing device identification codes. For example, an appliance interface may be configured to respond to only those selection signals received from particular pointing devices.
The system of the embodiments described above may be configured for essentially one-way communication from the pointing device to the appliance. In other embodiments, however, the system may be configured for two-way (bi-directional) communication between the pointing device and the appliance. In such embodiments, the pointing device and appliance interface each include both a transmitter and a receiver. The pointing device includes a visible indicator so that information may be transmitted from the appliance to the user. In one embodiment, the visible indicator is a display screen, and information may be transmitted from the appliance in the form of a menu which appears on the pointer display screen. In this way, appliance-specific options may be communicated to the user through a GUI associated with the pointer display screen.
A method for using the remote control communications system described above is also contemplated. The pointing device is oriented such that a signal transmitted by the pointing device may be received by the appliance interface of the target appliance. An actuator on the pointing device is then used to transmit a signal from the pointing device to the appliance interface. A first signal sent may be a selection signal to select the desired target appliance, and subsequent signals may be command signals to elicit a desired response from the selected appliance. In this case, a visible indication that the appliance has been selected may be observed before the command signals are transmitted. Such a visible indication may be made using an indicator on the appliance interface, or with an indicator on the pointing device. For embodiments in which a pointer configured to transmit both optical and RF signals is used, an optical signal is preferably used to select the target appliance. Subsequent commands may be sent using either optical or RF signals.
For embodiments in which the system is configured for two-way communication between the pointer and the appliance interface, the method further includes observing a response from the appliance interface after selection of an appliance. For example, the response could take the form of a menu containing appliance-specific options available for interaction with the appliance. Subsequent commands sent from the pointer to the appliance interface may be prompted by options or directions communicated from the appliance interface to the pointer.
In several embodiments described above, the system is used for communication with one of any number of pointer-compatible appliances using a generalized pointer. In other embodiments, the system recited herein may be used to direct communication between more than one appliance. For example, the pointer might be used to direct an interaction between a television set and a stereo system, such that the sound from the television is transmitted through the stereo system speakers. As another example, a file from a workplace computer might be transferred to a home computer using the pointer. Use of the pointer to transfer data between appliances or to otherwise direct communication between appliances may be analogous to the xe2x80x9cdrag-and-dropxe2x80x9d function in a GUI, in which, for example, a icon representing a file is copied from one application into another by dragging an icon representing the file on a computer screen to an icon representing an application. This drag-and-drop method is preferably implemented using an embodiment of the system allowing two-way communication between the pointing device and each appliance. The method is typically implemented using appliances which can communicate with each other in some fashion, such as through a wired or wireless network. Use of the pointer-directed method may greatly simplify cooperation between appliances and combination of their functions, in that users may select the desired appliances for the interaction without knowing details such as their network addresses. In some embodiments, the sole communication pathway between the appliances may be provided by the pointer, if the pointer is configured for two-way communication.
A computer-usable carrier medium having program instructions executable to implement one of the above-described methods is also contemplated herein. The carrier medium may be a storage medium, such as a magnetic or optical disk, a magnetic tape, or a memory. In addition, the carrier medium may be a wire, cable, or wireless medium along which the program instructions are transmitted, or a signal carrying the program instructions along such a wire, cable or wireless medium. In one embodiment, the carrier medium may contain pointer command data, appliance function data, a correspondence between the pointer command and appliance function data, and appliance-specific instructions based on the appliance function data. In another embodiment, the carrier medium may contain program instructions executable to implement detection of a signal transmitted from the pointing device to an appliance interface, extraction of a pointer command from the signal, identification of an appliance function corresponding to the pointer command, and forwarding of an instruction for implementing the appliance command to appropriate appliance circuitry. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In the construction industry, buildings typically have floors made of concrete. Concrete floors are manufactured from liquid cement mixtures that are poured into molds or forms that frame floors. The cement mixtures cure and harden forming concrete floors. The cured concrete floors must be substantially straight and level prior to applying finish flooring such as tile or carpeting.
The cement mixtures usually comprise cement, sand, and water. The cement mixtures are viscous such that laborers must use trowelling tools to smooth the surfaces of the mixtures once they have been poured. Trowelling tools create rippled surfaces which require additional manual labor for smoothing. The cured concrete floor is typically uneven.
In an effort to reduce the cost of labor and difficulty of leveling poured cement, cementitious materials having a self-leveling or self-smoothing agent are typically applied over uneven concrete floor substrates in a thin coating. Since these thin coatings are self-leveling, they must nevertheless be applied sufficiently thick to fill the depressions in the surface of the uneven concrete floors so that the final, level surface is composed solely of the coatings for uniformity of appearance and texture. These coatings are typically made from cement mixtures which contain casein as the self-leveling agent. Casein is a natural product formed by the precipitation of milk by an acid. On the average it is composed of 95% proteins, 1% fats, 12% water and 3% ash. Casein is a powdered material that is typically added to the cement mixtures while dry. Upon the addition of water and sodium carbonate the cement mixtures becomes self-leveling.
Casein, however, as a self-leveling additive has many drawbacks. It is difficult to use since it does not dissolve easily in water. Sodium carbonate, which facilitates the mixing of casein with water, must be added to the mixtures at the construction site. The aqueous cement mixtures must then set for 10 to 15 minutes prior to application. The presence of the sodium carbonate itself creates problems in that it often causes small holes and craters to appear on top of the level surfaces. Since the concrete floor surfaces must be level and smooth prior to applying any floor coverings, the holes and craters must be sanded away. More labor costs result.
The quality of casein is also inconsistent. As a by-product of milk, its composition varies making quality control difficult to manage. Composition can be affected by the quality of grass consumed by cows, the location in which the cows are raised, and the season of production.
Thus, there exists a need for a self-leveling coating material for floors that alleviates problems associated with those coatings containing casein and yet produces a smooth, level floor surface to facilitate the effective application of floor coverings. Accordingly, it is to the provision of such an improved self-leveling material that the present invention is primarily directed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a light detecting apparatus for detecting light carrying information in an image read-out apparatus or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When certain kinds of phosphor are exposed to a radiation such as X-rays, .alpha.-rays, .beta.-rays, .gamma.-rays, cathode rays or ultra-violet rays, they store a part of the energy of the radiation. Then, when the phosphor which has been exposed to the radiation is exposed to stimulating rays such as visible light, light is emitted by the phosphor in proportion to the stored energy of the radiation. A phosphor exhibiting such properties is referred to as a stimulable phosphor.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,258,264, 4,276,473, 4,315,318 and 4,387,428 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56(1981)-11395, it has been proposed to use a stimulable phosphor in a radiation image recording and reproducing system. Specifically, a sheet provided with a layer of the stimulable phosphor (hereinafter referred to as a stimulable phosphor sheet or simply as a sheet) is first exposed to a radiation passing through an object to have a radiation image stored therein, and is then scanned with stimulating rays such as a laser beam which cause it to emit light in the pattern of the stored image. The light emitted by the stimulable phosphor sheet upon stimulation thereof is photoelectrically detected and coverted to an electric image signal, which is processed as desired to reproduce a visible image having an improved quality, particularly a high diagnostic efficiency and accuracy.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a radiation image read-out apparatus employed in the aforesaid radiation image recording and reproducing system.
In the apparatus of FIG. 1, a laser beam 1a of a predetermined intensity is emitted as stimulating rays from a laser beam source 1 to a galvanometer mirror 2. The laser beam 1a is deflected by the galvanometer mirror 2 to form a laser beam 1b impinging upon a stimulable phosphor sheet 3 positioned below the galvanometer mirror 2 so that the sheet 3 is scanned by the laser beam 1b in the main scanning direction, i.e. in the width direction of the sheet 3 as indicated by the arrow A. While the laser beam 1b impinges upon the stimulable phosphor sheet 3, the sheet 3 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction as indicated by the arrow B, for example, by an endless belt device 9. Therefore, scanning in the main scanning direction is repeated at an angle approximately normal to the sub-scanning direction, and the whole surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet 3 is two-dimensionally scanned by the laser beam 1b. As the stimulable phosphor sheet 3 is scanned by the laser beam 1b, the portion of the sheet 3 exposed to the laser beam 1b emits light having an intensity proportional to the radiation energy stored. The light emitted by the stimulable phosphor sheet 3 enters a transparent light guide member 4 from its light input face 4a positioned close to the sheet 3 in parallel to the main scanning line.
The light guide member 4 is made of a material exhibiting a high light transmittance, such as an acrylic resin, and has a flat-shaped front end portion 4b positioned close to the stimulable phosphor sheet 3 and is shaped gradually into a cylindrical shape towards the rear end side to form an approximately cylindrical rear end portion 4c which is closely contacted with a photomultiplier 5. The light emitted by the stimulable phosphor sheet 3 upon stimulation thereof and entering the light guide member 4 from its light input face 4a is guided inside of the light guide member 4 up to the rear end portion 4c, and received by the photomultiplier 5. Thus the light emitted by the stimulable phosphor sheet 3 in proportion to the radiation energy stored therein is detected and converted into an electric image signal by the photomultiplier 5. The electric image signal thus obtained is sent to an image processing circuit 6 and processed therein. The electric image signal thus processed is then reproduced into a visible image and displayed, for example, on a CRT 7, or stored in a magnetic tape 8, or directly reproduced as a hard copy on a photographic material or the like.
However, when light detection is conducted by use of the light guide member 4 and the photomultiplier 5 as described above, since the light guide member 4 is partially rounded cylindrically, the length from the light input face 4a to the rear end portion 4c of the light guide member 4 becomes long, and therefore the read-out apparatus becomes large. Further, since the distance between the light input face 4a and the photomultiplier 5 is different among various portions of the light guide member 4, the degree of light loss becomes different among various portions of the light guide member 4, and nonuniformity of sensitivity arises. Also, the light guide member 4 having the complicated shape described above is difficult to fabricate. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to high temperature superconductors (HTS), and more specifically to a multi-filament, AC tolerant superconductor and method of forming the same.
2. Background of the Disclosure
The potential for high temperature superconductors (HTS) to efficiently transmit, generate, transform, use, and store electrical energy is recognized. In particular, more efficient electric power systems depend on more efficient wire technology. Past advancements permit brittle HTS materials to be formed into kilometer-length wires capable of transmitting about two hundred times the current than conventional copper and aluminum conductors of the same physical dimensions. Recent research in HTS materials provides potential for the economically feasible use of such materials in the power industry, including applications for power generation, transmission, distribution, and storage. The use of HTS devices in the power industry would result in significant reduction in the size (i.e., footprint) of electric power equipment, reduced environmental impact, greater safety, and increased capacity over conventional technology.
Two generations of HTS wire materials have been explored previously. The first generation (hereinafter “1G”) of HTS wires included the use of BSCCO high-Tc superconductor, typically embedded in a matrix of noble metal (e.g. Ag). Without limitation, 1G wires are fabricated by a thermo-mechanical process wherein the superconducting powder is packed into silver billets that are drawn, rolled, and heat-treated to form the wire. The drawbacks of 1G wires are the high materials costs (e.g. Ag), elaborate processing operations, and generally poor critical current performance in high magnetic fields at high temperatures, which limit the lengths of the wires.
The second generation (hereinafter “2G) HTS wire processing involves thin film deposition of a multilayer stack on nickel alloy tapes. In order to achieve high critical currents, the maximal current of a superconductor, the superconducting film is grown epitaxially in a single-crystalline-like form on oxide buffer layers that provide a single crystalline-like template even when deposited on polycrystalline metal substrate. In certain instances, 2G HTS tape utilizes YBCO coated conductors.
Recently, the focus of the HTS industry has been to increase current carrying capacity, throughput of wire production, and decrease manufacturing cost. The objective is to fabricate commercially viable, high performance HTS wire that is available to the power industry to build devices, such as transmission cables and transformers, for the power grid. Recent prototypes have confirmed the great potential of HTS wire in electric power applications but have also shed light on deficiencies that pose risk to their widespread implementation.
Although superconductors have zero resistance to DC current, the architecture of the coated conductor has yet to be optimized for AC applications, such as motors, generators, and transformers. Hysteretic losses in the superconductor are the major component of AC losses and scale inversely as the width of the filament. In particular, the width to thickness ratio of HTS wire is high, which results in HTS coated conductors exhibiting very high hysteretic losses. The magnitude of the losses also varies with AC field amplitude and frequency and thus varies in different applications. AC losses in a typical 2G HTS wire with a copper stabilizer can be as high as 100 kW over 10 km in a perpendicular field of 100 mT at 60 Hz.
A significant reduction of hysteretic losses in HTS wires is a prerequisite for their use in AC power applications, such as transformers, generators, and motors. In practice, AC losses result in increased cryogenic burden and impose risks on electric power systems. To mitigate these risks, higher cooling capacities or redundant cooling equipment must be used, which greatly increases the overall system cost and is a significant deterrent to the adoption of this immature technology. For these reasons, the development of a commercially viable, high performance, AC tolerant HTS wire would be a transformational solution that would open up the application of superconducting products into electric power systems.
It known that hysteretic losses can be reduced if the superconducting layer is divided into many filament-like superconducting structures, segregated by non-superconducting resistive barriers. Therefore, to minimize AC hysteretic losses, it is desirable to subdivide the current-carrying HTS layer of a tape into long thin linear stripes, or filaments, thereby forming a multifilament conductor. Although these multifilament conductors have been shown to greatly reduce hysteretic losses, numerous engineering and manufacturing challenges remain prior to full commercialization of these HTS wires because the scale up of multifilamentary 2G HTS wire to industrial manufacturing is fraught with numerous barriers.
The method of fabricating low AC loss 2G HTS wire is to subdivide the superconducting and insulating material into multiple filaments by first depositing the superconducting layer and then etching the superconductor layer (by physical or chemical techniques) to create striations or continuous filaments. The use of an etchant inevitably results in damage to the superconducting material, such as edge rippling, undercutting, and broken filaments. The filament damage becomes more prominent when the gap between filaments is narrowed. More specifically, the filament damage greatly reduces the current carrying capacity of the HTS wire. Furthermore, if the etching process is modified to avoid filament damage, bridges or other incomplete separations between the filaments may be left behind which results in the coupling of filaments and negates the AC loss reduction. In fact any superconductor residue that remains in the gaps after etching can result in filamentary coupling. If the gap is widened to circumvent these problems, more superconducting material is removed which greatly reduces the current carrying capacity of the wire. Even at short lengths, such as meter lengths, these multi-filamentary 2G HTS wire contain the flaws described herein. As such, producing kilometer-long 2G HTS wires with fine filaments of continuous superconducting parallel lines, running end to end poses a technological barrier to scaling up the use of HTS wire in electric power systems.
As such, a commercially feasible method does not exist for fabricating an AC tolerant HTS wire by an etch-free process to produce a multi-filament HTS layers. Some etch-free techniques had been proposed, such as creating scratches on substrate prior to superconductor growth (U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2007/0191202, to Foltyn et al), or inkjet printing of superconducting filaments (R. C. Duckworth, M. P. Paranthaman, M. S. Bhuiyan, F. A. List, and M. J. Gouge, IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 17, 3159 (2007)), or the dropwise deposition of superconducting material (U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2006/0040829, to Rupich et al). However, these techniques result in unintentional coupling of filaments that leads to poor and inconsistent AC loss reduction and tapes that cannot be utilized even in meter lengths, yet alone kilometer lengths. This highlights that in addition to providing a high degree of precision and control for producing a multi-filamentary HTS wire, any etch-free technique must be compatible with the current techniques of manufacturing HTS conductors, and it is also essential to control the flux and current distributions in the HTS tape. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Fuel cell technology is a relatively recent development in the automotive industry. It has been found that fuel cell power plants are capable of achieving efficiencies over 55%. Furthermore, fuel cell power plants emit only heat and water as by-products.
Fuel cells include three components: a cathode, an anode and an electrolyte which is sandwiched between the cathode and the anode and permits the transmission of protons from the anode to the cathode. Each electrode contains a catalyst. In operation, the catalyst on the anode splits hydrogen into electrons and protons. The electrons are distributed as electric current from the anode, transmitted externally through some work-related device, such as a drive motor, and then to the cathode. The protons migrate from the anode, through the electrolyte to the cathode. The catalyst on the cathode combines the protons with electrons returning from the work-related device and oxygen from the air to form water. A fuel cell stack is a collection of individual fuel cells stacked together in series.
During operation of the fuel cell stack, a steady flow of hydrogen gas is introduced into the anode side of the fuel cell stack, and a steady flow of air is introduced into the cathode side of the fuel cell stack. Upon shutdown of the fuel cell stack, flow of hydrogen into the anode side of the fuel cell stack is terminated. If hydrogen remains in the fuel cell stack after shutdown, air leaking into the anode could cause the formation of a localized corrosion cell. The cathode potential with respect to a standard hydrogen electrode can reach 1.2-1.5 V. Over time, the high voltage will result in the loss of the carbon substrate supporting the catalyst in the cathode. A loss of substrate and catalyst area will reduce operating voltage, and ultimately limit stack life. This problem is described in patent US 2004/0081866A1 (Bekkedahl et al.) | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fibre channel systems, and more particularly, multi-speed cut through routing in fibre channel switches.
2. Background of the Invention
Fibre channel is a set of American National Standard Institute (ANSI) standards, which provide a serial transmission protocol for storage and network protocols such as HIPPI, SCSI, IP, ATM and others. Fibre channel provides an input/output interface to meet the requirements of both channel and network users.
Fibre channel supports three different topologies: point-to-point, arbitrated loop and fibre channel fabric. The point-to-point topology attaches two devices directly. The arbitrated loop topology attaches devices in a loop. The fibre channel fabric topology attaches host systems directly to a fabric, which are then connected to multiple devices. The fibre channel fabric topology allows several media types to be interconnected.
Fibre channel is a closed system that relies on multiple ports to exchange information on attributes and characteristics to determine if the ports can operate together. If the ports can work together, they define the criteria under which they communicate.
In fibre channel, a path is established between two nodes where the path's primary task is to transport data from one point to another at high speed with low latency, performing only simple error detection in hardware.
Fibre channel fabric devices include a node port or “N_Port” that manages fabric connections. The N_port establishes a connection to a fabric element (e.g., a switch) having a fabric port or F_port. Fabric elements include the intelligence to handle routing, error detection, recovery, and similar management functions.
A fibre channel switch is a multi-port device where each port manages a simple point-to-point connection between itself and its attached system. Each port can be attached to a server, peripheral, I/O subsystem, bridge, hub, router, or even another switch. A switch receives messages from one port and automatically routes it to another port. Multiple calls or data transfers happen concurrently through the multi-port fibre channel switch.
Fibre channel switches use memory buffers to hold frames received and sent across a network. Associated with these buffers are credits, which are the number of frames that a buffer can hold per fabric port.
Often a fibre channel switch is coupled between devices that use varying data rates to transfer data. The mismatch in the data transfer rates can result in inefficient use of the overall bandwidth. An illustration of this problem is shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows switches 207 and 209 coupled by a 10 gigabits (“G”) link 208. Host systems 203 and 202 are coupled to switch 207 by 2G links 204 and 205, respectively. Host system 201 is coupled by a 1G link 206. A target 213 is coupled to switch 209 by a 1G link 210, while targets 214 and 215 are coupled by 2G links 211 and 212, respectively.
As is shown in FIG. 2, host 203 can send data at 2G to target 213 that can receive data at 1G. Since target 213 receives data at a lower rate that can fill the receive buffers in switch 209 resulting in bandwidth degradation.
Conventional fibre channel switches are inefficient and have latency issues, especially in a situation described above with respect to FIG. 2. Conventional switches use cut through routing to solve some of the latency issues. Cut through routing is the practice of transferring frames through a buffer before the end of the frame is received. This allows simultaneous write and read and is intended to reduce latency.
The problem with conventional cut through routing arises when they are written at a lower rate and read at a higher rate. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, data is written at 2G and 1G and read out at 10G. This will exhaust all current frame data because of the fast read. A receive buffer read control system is designed to stop reading when the read address catches up with the write address. Hence, data through a switch crossbar will have gaps between valid Words. This will reduce the effective transfer rate for the incoming port. If the transmit buffer were set to a faster rate and incoming data to a transmit buffer slows down due to incoming port transfer rate, the transmit buffer will run out of data to transfer. This will corrupt frame data that is being transmitted from the port.
Therefore, what is required is an efficient cut through routing technique that can accommodate varying port transfer rates. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
A wide variety of the physical properties of materials, such as ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism, piezoelectricity, conductivity, and dielectric permittivity depend upon material anisotropy and are therefore strongly affected by crystallographic texture, as reported in M.D. Vaudin, et al., “Accuracy and Reproducibility of X-ray Texture Measurements on Thin Films,” Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., Vol. 721, entitled “Magnetic and Electronic Films-Microstructure, Texture and Application to Data Storage,” edited by P. W. DeHaven et al. (Mat. Res. Soc., Warrendale Pa., 2002) pp. 17-22. With the appropriate choice of thin film texture, device operating efficiency and reliability can be strongly affected. Therefore texture is one critical factor for thin film process control and is fundamental to device reproducibility
Lead zirconate titanate (Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 or PZT) exhibits piezoelectric properties in thin films and is the most widely used piezoelectric bulk ceramic with ferroelectric properties. Examples of the use of thin films of PZT (used to create large force, large displacement actuators) include actuators for RF switches, relays and inkjet print heads.
To date, at least two approaches have been taken to produce lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin film devices with the spontaneous polarization normal to plane of the film and thus normal to the planar capacitor device, i.e. {001}-orientation. It is noted that directions in crystal lattices are defined in terms of directions l, m, and n, known as the Miller indices. Indices {1,0,0}, {0,1,0} and {001} represent planes orthogonal (normal) to the l, m, and n directions, respectively. The crystallographic directions are lines linking nodes (atoms, ions or molecules) of a crystal. Similarly, the crystallographic planes are planes linking nodes. Some directions and planes have a higher density of nodes; these dense planes have an influence on the behavior of the crystal. The notation {001} denotes the set of all planes that are equivalent to (001) (as shown in FIG. 2) by the symmetry of the lattice. Heteroepitaxial growth makes use of a crystal substrate to initiate growth of an overlying crystalline material that has a different crystal structure than the substrate. Either a polar or a non-polar substrate may be used to initiate growth of a polar film. Further discussion of spontaneous polarization is found in FIG. 8 of U.S. Patent Application No. 2010/0006780 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,956,369, herein incorporated by reference.
The piezoelectric coefficient of PZT is inherently linked to its crystalline quality. The highest magnitude piezoelectric coefficients are observed at the PZT morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) (See FIG. 1), where the crystal structure changes abruptly between the tetragonal and rhombohedral symmetry. The MPB is located at PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3, or PZT (52/48), and is the composition in which both the dielectric permittivity and piezoelectric coefficients reach a maximum. In thin film form, the composition and the crystalline texture must be controlled to achieve the maximum piezoelectric coefficients. For PZT (52/48), the highest coefficients are reported for a {001} textured PZT (52/48). The increased piezoelectric response and poling efficiency near to x=0.52 is due to the increased number of allowable domain states at the MPB. At this boundary, the 6 possible domain states from the tetragonal phase <100> and the 8 possible domain states from the rhombohedral phase <111> are equally favorable energetically, thereby allowing a maximum 14 possible domain states.
Most previous publications and patents do not appear to provide a complete description of the {001}-texture inasmuch as it is insufficient to just state independently just the percentage of {100}-textured grains or {001}-textured grains or angular distribution width of the textured grains. In order to fully define a texture and the crystallographic efficiency (or figure of merit) of the texture, the volume fraction of the {100}-oriented grains relative to the total volume of the PZT film should be defined. Of that volume fraction, then the volume fraction of the {001}-oriented grains should be defined. And finally, the misalignment distribution of the {001}-oriented grains relative to the substrate normal (which is also the electric field direction of the device) should be defined. When these crystallographic parameters are defined, a figure-of-merit for the material can be calculated. The present invention is directed to producing an improved PZT ferroelectric with a high efficiency or figure-of-merit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,772, to Fox, et al, entitled “High temperature deposition of Pt/TiOx for bottom electrodes,” hereby incorporated by reference, has been reported for a bottom electrode consisting of TiO2/(111)-textured Pt which resulted in improved PZT ferroelectric capacitor electrical characteristics for FRAM applications. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
a. Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to integrated circuit devices, and particularly to forming facet-less epitaxially grown regions at isolation region edges.
b. Background of Invention
Due to the nature of epitaxial growth and certain structural features of integrated circuit devices, epitaxially grown regions may exhibit undesirably formed shapes that impact device performance and reliability. For example, the formation of epitaxially grown raised source/drain regions at the edge of shallow trench isolation (STI) regions of semiconductor devices may cause the raised source/drain regions to have facetted shapes at the STI region edges. The facetted shape of these raised source/drain regions may reduce the surface area of the raised source/drain regions. This reduced surface area in turn may undesirably increase the resistance between the raised source/drain regions and any formed contacts that are operable to provide device connectivity. Thus, since within integrated circuits a vast number of connections are needed, any degradation in connection resistance may compromise device operation within the integrated circuits and, therefore, lead to a reduction in device yield.
The following illustrated and described examples highlight some of these challenges involving the formation of epitaxially grown raised source/drain regions at the edge of shallow trench isolation (STI) regions in semiconductor devices.
FIGS. 1A-1H refer to processes directed at forming shallow trench isolation (STI) regions as is known in the art. In particular, FIGS. 1A-1F illustrate STI divot formation, which occurs naturally during typical STI processes. Although FIG. 1A shows an example silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer 100, similar problems may exist when this process is carried out on bulk wafers.
Referring to FIG. 1A, semiconductor wafer 100 may include a pad nitride layer 102 that is formed on a pad oxide layer 104 having a thickness of about 2-8 nm. The pad oxide layer 104 is formed on a SOI substrate 106.
A photo-resist stack 108 is formed over the pad nitride layer 102. A photo-resist stack such as stack 108 may use multiple layers. For example, an ARC (Anti-Reflective Coating) layer may be added under a photo-resist layer. Also, another form of organic under-layer material may be added under the ARC layer for planarization purpose. RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) etching utilizes multiple steps in order to etch the ARC and the organic under-layer of the photo-resist stack 108, the pad nitride layer 102, the pad oxide layer 104, and the SOI substrate 106. As illustrated, using a photo lithographic process on photo-resist stack 108, and subsequent RIE etching, trench region 110 is formed.
Referring to FIG. 1B, the photo-resist stack 108 (FIG. 1A) is first stripped by either a wet chemical or a dry strip process and is followed by performing STI fill 114 of region 110 (FIG. 1A) with HDP (High Density Plasma) oxide.
Referring to FIG. 1C, CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) is performed on the structure shown in FIG. 1B in order to remove the excess STI oxide located on top of the upper surface 118 of the pad nitride 102 such that the remaining STI oxide 116 fills the STI region 110 up to the upper surface 118 of the pad nitride 102. It may be possible to lose some of the pad nitride during the CMP process.
Referring to FIG. 1D, an HF solution is used to remove some of the HDP oxide corresponding to STI oxide 116 (FIG. 1C). Thus, HDP oxide is removed from region 120 of the STI region 110, leaving remaining STI oxide 122. The amount of oxide removal depends on the remaining pad nitride, the amount of wet etch budget (up to gate insulator deposition), and STI step height target at the gate insulator deposition step.
Referring to FIG. 1E, the pad nitride 102 (FIG. 1D) is removed. As shown in FIG. 1F, the pad oxide 104 (FIG. 1D) is subsequently stripped. During the pad oxide 104 (FIG. 1E) removal process, there are several HF wet steps, which cause the removal of the HDP oxide corresponding to the STI oxide 122 and, therefore, result in the formation of STI divot. This is because the amount of removed HDP oxide from the STI 122 is greater than the thickness of the pad oxide 104. For example, due to the isotropic nature of wet chemistry, oxide is removed from all direction during the pad oxide 104 removal. As illustrated in FIG. 1G, small divots 124a, 124b are produced at the Si-STI interfaces 126a, 126b, respectively, as a result of additional pad oxide 104 (FIG. 1E) removal. The divot is created based on the silicon at the Si-STI interfaces 126a, 126b not being removed by the HF solution used in the etching process. The oxide etch step may be from a gate oxide pre-cleaning step, which removes native oxide located on the silicon surface. The pre-cleaning step may in addition remove native oxide on the wafer surface, further etching the STI oxide as well.
As shown in FIG. 1H, further oxide etching generates bigger divots 130a, 130b at Si-STI interfaces 126a and 126b, respectively.
FIGS. 2A-2K refer to processes associated with growing epitaxial regions at the edges of STI regions formed on an SOI substrate as is known in the art. In particular, FIGS. 2A-2K illustrate growing source/drain regions for nFET and pFET devices at the edge of an STI region that includes divots which are formed based on above processes described in relation to FIGS. 1A-1H.
As shown in FIG. 2A, STI isolation region 202 can be provided using the processes described and illustrated in relation to FIGS. 1A-1H. As illustrated, a centrally located poly Si or amorphous Si 208 gate electrode may be formed as a dummy gate 207 over the created STI region 202, which may correspond to region 122 as shown in FIG. 1H. A gate dielectric film 204 is formed by oxidation as either a dummy insulator or high K dielectric material. Gate 206 patterning is accomplished by poly Silicon (Si) or amorphous Si deposition 208 with optional electrode doping using Phosphorous (P) or Arsenic (As) ion implantation. Hard mask regions 210 are formed on top of the above-mentioned poly Si or amorphous Si 208 forming the gate electrodes. A typical hard mask material includes a single layer or a combination of oxide and nitride. A hard mask layer (not shown) is etched with resist patterning in order generate hard mask regions 210.
A photo-resist stack 212 may be used to cover some of the transistors in a process of forming spacers 216 of some other transistors. The photo-resist stack 212 may be formed to include multiple other layers including organic layers (not shown). By covering the nFET region using photo-resist stack 212 preceded by nitride deposition, spacers 216 are formed by spacer RIE of layer 209 in the pFET region. Multiple spacer technology may be used for device performance in modern technology. As such, spacer 216 is another spacer used in addition to spacer 214.
FIG. 2B illustrates the resulting structure following the removal of the photo-resist stack 212 (FIG. 2A), prior to or after, creating source/drain recesses 220 and 222 in the silicon layer 224 of the pFET region 225. The photo-resist stack 212 (blocking nFET region 221) may be stripped by a sulphuric acid/hydrogen peroxide solution. The source/drain recesses 220 and 222 within the silicon layer 224 may be produced by an etch process using HBr containing plasma. As illustrated, the controlled sloped profile of the produced recesses, as defined by 226a-226c, are intentionally provided for strain engineering to maximize device performance by increasing strain in the transistor channel for higher electron mobility.
Referring to FIG. 2C, epitaxial SiGe source/drain regions 228 and 230 are epitaxially grown in recesses 220 and 222, respectively. As illustrated, the resulting epitaxial profiles of the grown source/drain regions 228, 230 may have facets 232a-232d, whereby epitaxial faceting is a known phenomenon associated epitaxial processes. Accordingly, a facet is formed due to the crystalline growth (epitaxy) nature associated with directional growth properties at different surface atom concentrations. The reduced surface region S1′ of source/drain region 228 compared to surface region S2′ of source/drain regions 230 presents a less desirable area for contact formation.
As illustrated in FIG. 2C, at the STI-Si boundary 238 a divot 240 is created. As previously described, the divot 240 may be formed due to HF containing cleaning process steps associated with pre-gate electrode level cleaning processes. The divot 240 depth may be about 20-40 nm from the silicon surface 242. Within the STI-S1 boundary 238, since the epitaxial growth of source/drain region 228 stops at an epitaxial boundary 244 with the divot 240, the grown source/drain region 228 includes a non-symmetric shape having a relatively large facet 232a compared to source/drain region 230.
Referring to FIG. 2D, a protective layer 248 is formed within nFET region 221 in order to prevent any epitaxial growth in subsequent process steps. A typical material for the protective layer may be silicon nitride having a thickness in the range of about 5-30 nm. Photo-resist stack 250 is then provided for resist pattering in order to block pFET region 225.
Referring to FIG. 2E, spacers 254 are formed via a RIE process in the nFET region 221 only once protective layer 248 (FIG. 2D) is removed. As illustrated, the pFET region 225 is protected by photo-resist stack 250. As with FIG. 2C, in FIG. 2E, source/drain recesses 260 and 262 may be formed within silicon layer 264 of the nFET region 221. Photo-resist stack 250 may be stripped using the same or a similar process to that described in relation to FIG. 2C, either prior to or after creating the source/drain recesses 260, 262.
Referring to FIG. 2F, within nFET region 221, epitaxial Carbon doped source/drain regions 270 and 272 are epitaxially grown in recesses 260 and 262, respectively. As shown, the shape of facet 276 within nFET region 221 is the same as facet 232a (FIG. 2C) within the pFET region 225 (FIG. 2C). Facet 276, which is formed at the edge of divot 280 of STI-S1 interface 278, has a relatively larger facet that results in non-symmetrically shaped source/drain regions 270 and 272. The reduced surface region S1 of source/drain region 272 compared to surface region S2 of source/drain regions 270 presents a less desirable area for contact formation. The epitaxial source/drain regions 270, 272 may also be doped using, for example, Arsenic or phosphorus.
Referring to FIG. 2G, a MOL (Middle Of Line) liner 282 is deposited over the structure of FIG. 2F in order to protect the surfaces of epitaxially grown source/drain regions 228, 230, 270, and 272 during subsequent thermal oxidation steps.
Referring to FIG. 2H, an insulator material 284 is deposited over the structure of FIG. 2G followed by a CMP planarization step.
FIG. 2I refers to a resulting structure with typical subsequent process steps. Details of gate electrode structures are not shown in this drawing. However, any gate electrode structure may be utilized. For example, the gate electrode structure can be a RMG (Replacement Metal Gate) structure. The RMG process may include polishing insulator 284 (FIG. 2H) down to the cap nitride surface 210 (FIG. 2A), and further opening of the cap nitride by RIE or another appropriate process. An n-type device and p-type device gate is opened using a resist mask. Once the gate poly regions are exposed and removed, high K material, band gap engineered material, and metal electrode material are filled in the gate region 286. Contacts 290a-290d may be formed after RMG with insulator deposition, contact lithography, RIE, and contact metal fill process steps.
As previously described, based on the created facets 276, 232a that result from the formed divots 280, 240 associated with STI region 202, source/drain regions 230 and 270 include reduced contact surfaces S1 and S1′ for connecting to contacts 290b and 290c, respectively. The reduced surfaces may establish a poor electrical connection with the contacts 290b, 290c. Poor electrical connections cause increased contact resistance and, therefore, a potential device operation failure. As illustrated, source/drain regions 228 and 272, which are not located adjacent the STI region 202, are not effected by the STI region's 202 formed divots 280, 240 and, therefore, do not exhibit the faceting observed at source/drain regions 230 and 270.
FIG. 2J shows an extreme case with under fill due to the formation of excessively large facets 292 and 293 associated with source/drain regions 297 and 298, respectively. These excessively large facets 292 and 293 may be caused by deeper STI divots 295 and 296, respectively. Thus, little to no contact is established between source/drain regions 297 and 298, and contacts 299a and 290b, respectively.
FIG. 2K shows an example of a local level (intermediate) metal connection 294 for providing electrical connectivity between the nFET and pFET region 221, 225 devices for the structure of FIG. 2I. Thus, any contact resistance degradation between surfaces S1 and S1′ of source/drain regions 230 and 270, and contacts 290b and 290c, respectively, will impact the connectivity provided by metal connection 294. Since, for example, in the order of about a billion contacts and connections may be used in modern semiconductor chips, the above described connection issues may result in a significant product yield reduction. Thus, alternative isolation processes may be proposed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including random-access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and non-volatile (e.g., flash) memory.
In a continuing process of forming ever increasing number of memory cells on an integrated circuit wafer, memory manufacturers have relatively recently begun development of three-dimensional (3D) memory formed using semiconductor pillars. The process of forming vertical strings of memory cells along such pillars can create a thermal budget (e.g., total amount of thermal energy transferred to the wafer during an elevated temperature operation) that can damage other circuitry on the wafer. This problem can be exacerbated by the thermal budget used in forming multiple layers of these pillars on the same wafer.
There are general needs to make more compact memory devices without damaging memory support circuitry. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Coaxial cable is used to transmit radio frequency (RF) signals in various applications, such as connecting radio transmitters and receivers with their antennas, computer network connections, and distributing cable television signals. Coaxial cable typically includes an inner conductor, an insulating layer surrounding the inner conductor, an outer conductor surrounding the insulating layer, and a protective jacket surrounding the outer conductor.
Each type of coaxial cable has a characteristic impedance which is the opposition to signal flow in the coaxial cable. The impedance of a coaxial cable depends on its dimensions and the materials used in its manufacture. For example, a coaxial cable can be tuned to a specific impedance by controlling the diameters of the inner and outer conductors and the dielectric constant of the insulating layer. All of the components of a coaxial system should have the same impedance in order to reduce internal reflections at connections between components. Such reflections increase signal loss and can result in the reflected signal reaching a receiver with a slight delay from the original.
Two sections of a coaxial cable in which it can be difficult to maintain a consistent impedance are the terminal sections on either end of the cable to which connectors are attached. For example, the attachment of some field-installable compression connectors requires the removal of a section of the insulating layer at the terminal end of the coaxial cable in order to insert a support structure of the compression connector between the inner conductor and the outer conductor. The support structure of the compression connector prevents the collapse of the outer conductor when the compression connector applies pressure to the outside of the outer conductor. Unfortunately, however, the dielectric constant of the support structure often differs from the dielectric constant of the insulating layer that the support structure replaces, which changes the impedance of the terminal ends of the coaxial cable. This change in the impedance at the terminal ends of the coaxial cable causes increased internal reflections, which results in increased signal loss.
Another difficulty with field-installable connectors, such as compression connectors or screw-together connectors, is maintaining acceptable levels of passive intermodulation (PIM). PIM in the terminal sections of a coaxial cable can result from nonlinear and insecure contact between surfaces of various components of the connector. A nonlinear contact between two or more of these surfaces can cause micro arcing or corona discharge between the surfaces, which can result in the creation of interfering RF signals. For example, some screw-together connectors are designed such that the contact force between the connector and the outer conductor is dependent on a continuing axial holding force of threaded components of the connector. Over time, the threaded components of the connector can inadvertently separate, thus resulting in nonlinear and insecure contact between the connector and the outer conductor.
Where the coaxial cable is employed on a cellular communication tower, for example, unacceptably high levels of PIM in terminal sections of the coaxial cable and resulting interfering RF signals can disrupt communication between sensitive receiver and transmitter equipment on the tower and lower-powered cellular devices. Disrupted communication can result in dropped calls or severely limited data rates, for example, which can result in dissatisfied customers and customer churn.
Current attempts to solve these difficulties with field-installable connectors generally consist of employing a pre-fabricated jumper cable having a standard length and having factory-installed soldered or welded connectors on either end. These soldered or welded connectors generally exhibit stable impedance matching and PIM performance over a wider range of dynamic conditions than current field-installable connectors. These pre-fabricated jumper cables are inconvenient, however, in many applications.
For example, each particular cellular communication tower in a cellular network generally requires various custom lengths of coaxial cable, necessitating the selection of various standard-length jumper cables that is each generally longer than needed, resulting in wasted cable. Also, employing a longer length of cable than is needed results in increased insertion loss in the cable. Further, excessive cable length takes up more space on the tower. Moreover, it can be inconvenient for an installation technician to have several lengths of jumper cable on hand instead of a single roll of cable that can be cut to the needed length. Also, factory testing of factory-installed soldered or welded connectors for compliance with impedance matching and PIM standards often reveals a relatively high percentage of non-compliant connectors. This percentage of non-compliant, and therefore unusable, connectors can be as high as about ten percent of the connectors in some manufacturing situations. For all these reasons, employing factory-installed soldered or welded connectors on standard-length jumper cables to solve the above-noted difficulties with field-installable connectors is not an ideal solution. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to electrical circuit inspection and more particularly to automatic optical electrical circuit inspection apparatus and methods.
There exist in the art a variety of automatic optical electric circuit inspection systems, including inter alia, systems described in whole or in part by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,774,573; 5,774,572; 5,699,447; 5,619,588; 5,495,535; 5,369,431; 5,216,479; 5,153,668; 5,058,982; 5,008,743 and 4,758,888 of the present assignee.
There is also known a family of inspection devices, known collectively as the AIM 2000 family of Products, which are commercially available from AEI of San Diego, Calif. 92121.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved inspection system.
There is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention apparatus for post etching inspection of electrical circuits including:
an optical inspection assembly viewing an electrical circuit at various regions thereon and providing output indications of etching characteristics of the electrical circuit at the various regions; and
output circuitry receiving the output indications of etching characteristics of the electrical circuit at the various regions and providing an output indication of variations in the etching characteristics between at least some of the various regions.
Preferably, the output circuitry includes at least one and most preferably all of the following elements:
a line segment identifier receiving an output from the inspection assembly and identifying conductor portions having a uniform width over at least a minimum length;
an indication point generator, which defines at least one point location which represents at least one of the location and length of a line segment having a uniform width over at least a selected minimum length;
a line width measurer, which measures the line width of each line segment having a uniform width over at least a selected minimum length;
a report generator which indicates the line width of each line segment having a uniform width over at least a selected minimum length in a graphical manner; and
a report generator which indicates a statistical distribution of the line widths of line segments each having a uniform width over at least a selected minimum length in a graphical manner.
There is also provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a method for post etching inspection of electrical circuits including the steps of:
viewing an electrical circuit at various regions thereon and providing output indications of etching characteristics of the electrical circuit at the various regions; and
receiving the output indications of etching characteristics of the electrical circuit at the various regions and providing an output indication of variations in the etching characteristics between at least some of the various regions.
Preferably, the step of providing an output indication includes at least one and most preferably all of the following elements:
line segment identification including receiving an output from the inspection assembly and identifying conductor portions having a uniform width over at least a minimum length;
indication point generation, which defines at least one point location which represents at least one of the location and length of a line segment having a uniform width over at least a selected minimum length;
line width measurement, which measures the line width of each line segment having a uniform width over at least a selected minimum length;
report generation which indicates the line width of each line segment having a uniform width over at least a selected minimum length in a graphical manner; and
report generation which indicates a statistical distribution of the line widths of line segments each having a uniform width over at least a selected minimum length in a graphical manner.
Preferably the statistical distribution has sub-pixel accuracy. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, and in particular, relates to a memory device which is capable of storing analog or many-valued data at high speed and with a high degree of accuracy.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in concert with the development in computer technology, the progress in the field of data processing technology has been truly remarkable. However, when attempts were made to realize the flexible type of data processing conducted by human beings, it was almost impossible to obtain the results of such calculations in real time using present computers. The reasons advanced for this are that the data which human beings process in the course of their daily lives are analog data, so that there is firstly an enormous amount of such data, and moreover, these data are inexact and vague. It is thus a problem in present data processing systems that the extremely redundant analog data are all converted into digital values, and rigorous digital operations are conducted one by one.
An example of this is image data. For example, if one screen is incorporated into a 500.times.500 two dimensional array, then the total number of pixels is 250,000, and when the strength of the three colors red, green, and blue for each pixel is expressed in terms of eight bits, then the amount of data in one stationary image reaches 750,000 bits. In moving images, the amount of image data increases with time. Even if a present day supercomputer is used, it is impossible to manipulate the large amount of (1)/(0) data and conduct picture recognition and understanding in real time.
On the other hand, attempts have been made to realize data processing approximating that of human beings by accepting real world data, which are analog values, in an unchanged form and conducting calculations and processing on these analog values, in order to overcome the problems described above. As a result, a number of memory devices have been invented.
As one of these devices, the present inventors have proposed, in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 7-2944, a memory device which is capable of writing desired analog values using simple circuitry such as that shown in FIG. 9 (title of the invention: Nonvolatile semiconductor Memory, date of application: Jan. 11, 1995). First an explanation of the cell of this technology will be made.
Reference 901 indicates an NMOS transistor, while reference 902 indicates a floating gate formed from, for example, N.sup.+ polysilicon; this controls the ON and OFF state of NMOS 901. NMOS drain 903 is connected to power source line 904, while source 905 is connected to an external capacity load 906; the structure is such that the circuit operates as a source follower circuit and reads out a potential V.sub.FG of the floating gate 902 to the exterior as V.sub.OUT. Reference 907 indicates an electrode which is capacitively coupled with floating gate 902; in this example, it is grounded. The capacitive coupling coefficient thereof is represented by C.sub.1. Reference 908 indicates a charge transfer electrode; it is connected with the floating gate via a tunnel junction 909 which is an oxide film of approximately 10 nm. The capacitance of this tunnel junction 909 is represented by C.sub.2. Charge transfer electrode 908 is connected to writing high voltage application electrode 911 via a capacitance 910 (the size thereof is represented by C.sub.3). Reference 912 indicates an NMOS transistor; the ON and OFF state thereof is controlled by the output line 913 of the inverter. NMOS transistor 914 serves to connect the input 915 of a control circuit constructed using an inverter to a memory cell. The input 915 of the control circuit is capacitively coupled with input of inverter 916, and the input of inverter 916 and output 917 are connected via NMOS transistor 918. Output 917 controls the ON and OFF state of NMOS transistor 912 via a further stage inverter.
The readout principle is simple; NMOS 914 is placed in an OFF state, and the memory cell is cut off from the control circuit, and transistor 901 is then conducts a source follower operation in the state in which electrode 911 is grounded, and the contents of the floating gate are read out as an analog value.
The writing principle will next be explained. During writing, after a reference value is first inputted into input 915 of the control circuit, NMOS transistor 918 is first turned ON and is then turned OFF, and the reference value is stored in the input portion of inverter 916, which has been placed in a floating state, as a charge, and next, when the reference value is inputted into the control circuit, the control circuit outputs the power source voltage to the output line 913. This reference value represents the addition of an offset voltage to the voltage of the data which are to be written, and since the offset voltage has a value particular to each circuit, the reference value is easy to determine.
Next, NMOS 914 is placed in an ON state so that the control circuit may monitor the output of the source follower. After this, a high voltage of approximately 20 V is applied to electrode 911, a strong electric field is produced in the tunnel junction 909, and a Fowler-Nordheim current is caused to flow. The electrons are drawn from the floating gate and writing commences, and the voltage of the floating gate during this writing is inputted into the control circuit via transistor 901 during the source follower operation. When the output of the source follower has become equal to the reference value, the power source voltage is outputted to the output line of the control circuit and transistor 912, which was in an OFF state, is allowed to conduct. When this is done, electrode 908 is discharged, the strong electric field generated in tunnel junction 909 disappears, and writing is completed. At this time, the voltage of the object data is written into the floating gate.
Furthermore, a variety of circuit structures are employed as the control circuit, and only one example thereof is discussed here.
FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing a plurality of such cells arranged so as to form an actual memory. The circuit shown in FIG. 9 is employed in an unchanged manner as the control circuit. Of course, other circuits maybe employed in some cases.
The reason that a plurality of cells need to be arranged in this way is so that writing may be conducted in such a manner that only the cell into which writing is to be conducted is selected. References 1001, 1002, and 1003 are writing high voltage application electrodes of the cells, respectively, while references 1004, 1005, and 1006 are NMOS transistors used for reading selection. In writing selection, a high voltage is applied only to the writing voltage application electrode of the cell into which writing is to be conducted, while the electrodes of other cells are set to the ground potential, and only the reading selection transistor of the cell into which writing is conducted is placed in an ON state, so that the control circuit may monitor only the contents of the cell into which writing is to be conducted. By proceeding in this manner, it is possible to cause a tunnel current to flow only in the cell in which writing is to be conducted, and it is possible to read out the state of only that cell into which writing is conducted to the control circuit.
This memory realizes accurate writing with simple control circuitry; in addition, there is sufficient selectively in writing and reading, although there is a problem in that the degree of integration does not increase.
The reason for this is as given below.
C.sub.2 represents the capacitance formed in the tunnel oxide film and since an extremely thin oxide film is employed, although this capacitance becomes rather large, it is necessary to set C.sub.1 and C.sub.3 so as to be larger than C.sub.2. The reasons that the design must be accomplished in this manner are as follows:
(1) In order to apply a large voltage to C.sub.2, it is necessary that C.sub.2 be shown to be small in comparison with C.sub.3 and C.sub.1 ; PA1 (2) C.sub.1 must be made large in comparison with C.sub.2 and C.sub.3 in order to suppress the rise in voltage in the floating gate resulting from capacitive coupling when a high voltage is applied during writing; PA1 (3) It is necessary to set the value of C.sub.3 so as to be considerably larger than the sum of C.sub.1 and C.sub.2 in order to reduce the voltage drop across C.sub.2 resulting from the movement of charge during writing. As an example, appropriate examples are C.sub.1 :C.sub.2 : C.sub.3 =5:1: 25. At this time, the size of the tunnel oxide film is set to 1.5 .mu.m on a side and the thickness thereof is set to 10 nm, and if C.sub.1 is formed between the substrate and the first polysilicon layer, then the thickness of the oxide film between these is 50 nm, and the area is 7 .mu.m.sup.2, while 16 .mu.m.sup.2 is necessary for C.sub.3. In a structure in which this type of conventional cell is employed, a large capacitance load such as C.sub.3 is provided for each cell as shown in FIG. 10 and this is undesirable. It is clear that as a result of this capacitance alone, the size is not different from present DRAM or EEPROM, so that the degree of integration does not increase.
Furthermore, attempts have been made to omit output selection transistors such as 1004, 1005, and 1006 in order to further reduce the number of elements. At this time, when power sources 1007, 1008, and 1009 are all in operation, output line 1010 is set to the maximum value maintained by the floating gate at all times, and selectivity is lost with respect to reading and with respect to the cell which is monitored during writing. Furthermore, if only the power line of the cell which is to be operated is set to the power source voltage, and only one cell is read out, as a result of the voltage rise of voltage line 1010, the power source side of cells which are not to be read out becomes the source, and in this state, they enter an ON state, and this is undesirable. The source follower transistors of the cells which are to be read out also include these and charging is necessary, so that this leads to a decline in the read out speed.
Accordingly, stratagems are necessary to reduce the number of elements.
FIG. 11 shows a circuit in which the outputs of the cell group shown in FIG. 10 are connected one by one to source follower buffer circuits having a CMOS structure. During actual use as a memory, it is necessary that the memory data be conveyed as far as the operating portions, so that the source follower of the cells must drive comparatively long wiring. For this reason, it was necessary to connect buffer circuits such as those conventionally employed to the memory output portions, as shown by 1101, 1102, and 1103; however, the attachment of buffer circuits to each of the memory outputs further increases the number of elements required for a memory cell, and thus an increase in the degree of integration can be anticipated. Furthermore, as a result of variation in the buffer, or the thermal characteristics of the MOS threshold, there were cases in which an accurate readout could not be conducted.
The present invention was created in light of the above circumstances; it has as an object thereof to provide a nonvolatile semiconductor memory which is capable of a high degree of integration and can conduct the writing of analog data at high speed and with a high degree of accuracy. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a thin film on a substrate. The invention is important in the field of new functional devices, such as semiconductors, and superconductors.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technology for forming a thin film on a substrate or for coating a material surface with a film is now essential in the development of new functional devices, such as semiconductors metals, organic materials, composite materials and so forth. Various production processes and apparatuses involving physical vapor deposition such as vacuum deposition sputtering and so forth, chemical deposition such as chemical vapor deposition and so forth, flame coating, application and so forth, and apparatuses therefore have been developed.
In these production processes, there exist a variety of problems involving, for instance, the affinity between the materials to be formed into a thin film and the substrate, the physical and chemical stability of the thin film, controlling the film thickness and film quality and so forth. Such problems are becoming more and more severe as a function of the increasing variety of materials and the increasing complexity regarding the desired properties of the materials to be used. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical device applied to an optical disk drive apparatus to serve as an optical pickup device for optically recording/ reproducing information on/from an optical disk medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical pickup device for recording/reproducing information on/from an optical disk medium by irradiating the medium with a focused minute laser spot, comprises a minute-movement mechanism for automatically adjusting a position of the optical pickup device relative to the optical disk medium and a rough-movement mechanism for greatly moving the optical pickup device to a target position of the optical disk medium at high speed. Since the rough-movement mechanism requires a precise guide mechanism, a sliding bearing is widely used therefor. The sliding bearing has the advantage of relatively low cost, high productivity, and moderate dumping effect; therefore, it can be widely used as a guide for the rough-movement mechanism of the optical pickup device.
However, the sliding bearing has a drawback in which its frictional resistance is higher than that of a bearing and becomes much higher if it is used for a long period of time. The high frictional resistance of the sliding bearing is a great hindrance to improvement in access characteristics. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to sound processing, and more particularly to analog-to-digital conversion.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of a sound processing device 150 comprising a microphone array is shown. In one embodiment, the sound processing device 150 comprises a plurality of microphone sensors 151˜15n, a plurality of the analog-to-digital converters (ADC) 161˜16n, and a digital signal processor 170. The microphone sensors 151˜15n detect sound pressure at different locations to generate a plurality of analog audio signals Ka˜Kn. The analog-to-digital converters 161˜16n respectively convert the analog audio signals Ka˜Kn from analog-to-digital to obtain a plurality of digital audio signals Da˜Dn. The digital signal processor 170 then receives the digital audio signals Da˜Dn and processes the digital audio signals Da˜Dn to generate an output audio signal I.
To convert the analog audio signals Ka˜Kn to digital audio signals Da˜Dn, the sound processing device 150 requires the analog-to-digital converters 161˜16n to serve as the circuit components thereof. If the analog-to-digital converters 161˜16n have an efficient function design, the processing load of the digital signal processor 170 can be lowered. In addition, if the analog-to-digital converters 161˜16n have a good output design, it can simplify the circuit integration between the output terminals of the analog-to-digital converters 161˜16n and the input terminals of the digital signal processor 170. Thus, an analog-to-digital converter with an efficient design is required. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The game of football is played during a season of the year in which the climate is frequently cold and wet. A cold and/or wet football loses some of its resiliency and does not kick well. A wet football is slippery, easily mishandled and difficult to throw. For these reasons football officials endeavor to keep balls as warm and dry as possible, usually by simply exchanging balls between plays and drying the balls off with a towel as much as possible.
The present invention is directed towards an apparatus for drying and warming footballs and particularly in an arrangement wherein a supply of warm, dry footballs is kept constantly available. An apparatus is provided wherein cold and/or wet footballs are placed into the machine and moved progressively around within the machine in procession where they are warmed and dried. The warmest and driest football is automatically positioned to be removed from the machine.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a football drying machine.
More particularly, an object of this invention is to provide a football drying machine which is self-contained including a frame with wheels whereby the machine may be moved about, including a fuel tank, a burner, a blower, and a carousel arrangement for receiving footballs arranged in such a way that warm air from the blower is passed over the footballs to dry and warm them.
Another more particular object of the invention is to provide a football drying machine including an engine-generator for providing electrical power for operation of the blower fan so that the unit is completely self-contained.
These general objects as well as other and more specific objects of the invention will be fulfilled in the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a continuous process for obtaining optimal separation of a fluid mixture by sorption. The method also relates to a process for preparing precise fluid mixtures where the metered component is mixed by moving boundary sorption. Specifically, the method relates to the separation of fluid mixtures wherein more than one sorption apparatus is connected in a network.
In recent years, cyclic separation processes have received considerable attention. Such processes as pressure-swing adsorption, parametric pumping, and cycling zone adsorption, separate continuous or semi-continuous fluid feed streams by cycling a thermodynamic variable which affects the mass transfer of fluid components with a sorption media. The cycle is designed to alternately sorb and desorb components so the fluid components are separated and the media returns to its initial condition after the completion of a cycle. The feed and product streams can be rendered continuous by combining sorption units in parallel but each unit necessarily experiences discontinuous flow conditions so that the sorbing media can be altered by changing thermodynamic variables such as temperatures, pH, or pressure, for example, and so that the other product stream can be created thereby. The discontinuity of flow through or past the sorbing media creates inefficiency in the separations because of the mixing of fluid elements tht have been exposed to the sorbing media under different conditions.
All practical separation techniques that occur with discontinuous flow result in product reservoir mixing. Since the feed mixture flows through the vessel during the sorption cycle of the cycling process, the sorbent will fill with the sorbed fluid component and the sorptivity will decrease. Thus, fluid entering the vessel early in the cycle is stripped of the sorbable constitutents to a greater extent than fluid entering late in the cycle. As a result, the composition of the fluid emerging from the sorbent zone is continually changing. Such a system cannot be controlled as efficiently as a single condition, continuous, time invariant process because in the cyclic operation you must compromise between optimizing for the early portion of the sorption cycle and the later portion. The ideal situation where product flow streams are not mixed would require a prohibitively large number of separate reservoirs as well as a complicated flow management system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for continuous flow separation or mixing which avoids the inefficiencies inherent in reservoir mixing. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a continuous method of flow separation or mixing wherein the only seal between the sorption and desorption zones is the sorption media itself. It is a further object of the present invention to provide more than one moving boundary sorption separator so that more than one sorbent or more than one set of conditions can be used in the separation of fluid mixtures. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a large antenna system for transmitting and receiving radio waves in a plurality of frequency bands, in which the primary radiators are switched to transmit and receive such radio waves.
Conventional antenna systems employed as satellite communication antennas or large radio telescopes are as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 shows an antenna system in which a beam waveguide system is employed as a primary radiation system and a plurality of horns for many frequency bands are provided. In FIG. 1, reference characters 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d designate horns for radiating radio waves having frequency bands fa, fb, fc and fd, respectively; 2, a sub-reflector; 3, a main reflector; 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d, feeding units provided for the frequency bands, respectively; 6 and 7, radiated beams provided by reflecting the radio wave from sub-reflector 2 and main reflector 3; 8 (indicated as 8a or 8b), 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, focusing reflectors which are curved mirrors or plane mirrors as shown; and 16, the axis of the main reflector 3.
In the case of frequency band fa, the focusing reflector 8 is retracted so that the radio wave from horn 1a is directed to the focusing reflector 12. The radio wave reflected from the focusing reflector 12 is directed to the focusing reflector 13, where it is reflected. The radio wave thus reflected is further reflected by the focusing reflectors 14 and 15, the sub-reflector 2 and the main reflector 3, and is finally radiated in the form of beam 7. A received radio wave is transmitted to the horn 1a, retracing the above-described path.
In the case of frequency band fb, the focusing reflector 8 is set as indicated at 8a, so that the radio wave from the horn 1b is directed to the focusing reflector 12 after being reflected by the focusing reflector 9 and 8a. Then, similarly as in the case of the frequency fa the radio wave is reflected by the sub-reflector 2 and the main reflector 3 and is finally radiated in the form of a beam 7 from the main reflector 3.
In the case of the frequency band fc, the focusing reflector 8 is set as indicated at 8a, and the focusing reflector 9 is retracted, so that the radio wave of the frequency band fc from the horn 1c is directed to the focusing reflector 10, thus reaching the main reflector 3 through the same path as that in the case of the frequency band fb. Finally, the radio wave is radiated in the form of a beam 7 from the main reflector 3.
In the case of the frequency band fd, the focusing reflector 8 is set as indicated at 8b. The radio wave of the frequency band fd from the horn 1d is directed to the focusing reflector 11, where it is reflected towards the forcusing reflector 8b. Then, the radio wave reaches the main refelctor 3 through the same path as that in the case of the frequency band fb or fc, and is finally radiated in the form of a beam 7 from the main reflector 3.
In the above-described antenna system, while the antenna rotates around an elevation angle axis Ee, the horns 1a through 1d and the feeding units 4a through 4d are stationary. As a result inspection and maintenance are facilitated. However, the antenna system has certain disadvantages. Since a plurality of focusing reflectors are arranged in association with mechanical means for controlling azimuth and elevation angles, the antenna system is intricate and bulky.
In another type of conventional antenna system, as shown in FIG. 2, a beam waveguide system is not used. Instead, different primary radiators (or horns) are selected for different frequency bands.
In FIG. 2, reference characters 1a and 1b designate horns; 2a or 2b, a sub-reflector; 3, a main refelctor; 4a and 4b, feeding units; 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b and 7, the paths of radio waves radiated by the horns 1a and 1b; 16, the axis of the main reflector 3; and 17, the axis of the horn.
In the case of frequency band fa, the sub-reflector is turned towards horn 1a as indicated at 2a. Therefore, the radio wave from horn 1a is reflected by the sub-refelctor (2a) and the main reflector 3, i.e., it is radiated through the path 5a, 6a and 7. A received radio wave reaches the horn 1a retracing the above-described path.
In the case of frequency band fb, the sub-reflector is set as indicated at 2b so as to face the horn 1b.
In the above-described antenna system, the horn axis 17 is offset from the axis 16 of the main reflector 3. That is, the antenna system is a so-called offset type antenna system. The sub-reflector is in the form of a non-rotationally-symmetric (not axially symmetric) mirror surface (even if the main reflector is of an axially symmetric mirror surface). Therefore, a cross polarization is produced by the non-rotationally-symmetric mirror surface. Accordingly, in the use of a circularly polarized wave, the beams of the clockwise and counterclockwise polarized waves which are orthogonal with each other are tilted in the opposite directions, as a result of which so-called "beam separation" is caused. This lowers the accuracy in directivity of the antenna and the gain; that is it degrades the characteristics of the antenna. Furthermore, in the use of a linearly polarized wave, the cross polarization characteristic of the antenna is lowered. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of generating and allocating modulation codes of source codes to be recorded on a recording medium, and more particularly, to a method of generating codewords with a restricted run length and allocating the generated codewords to form a code stream so that a DC control characteristic of the code stream is maintained.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a Run Length Limited (RLL) code represented by (d, k, m, n), the performance of a code is evaluated mainly based on a recording density and a capability to suppress a DC component of the code. Here, “m” denotes the number of data bits (the number of so-called source data bits, which is also referred to as the number of information word bits), “n” denotes the number of codeword bits after modulation (the number of so-called channel bits) of the source data bits, “d” denotes the minimum number of a series of ‘0s’ that can exist between ‘1’ and ‘1’ in a codeword, and “k” denotes the maximum number of a series of ‘0s’ that can exist between ‘1’ and ‘1’ in a codeword. An interval between the codeword bits in a codeword is represented by T.
A modulation method, to improve a recording density, is used to reduce the number of the codeword bits “n” while regarding “d” and “m” as given conditions. In the RLL code, however, “d”, which is the minimum number of a series of ‘0s’ that can exist between ‘1’ and ‘1’ in a codeword, and “k”, which is the maximum number of a series of ‘0s’ that can exist between ‘1’ and ‘1’ in a codeword, should be satisfied. If, with this (d, k) condition satisfied, the number of data bits is “m”, the number of codewords satisfying RLL(d, k) should be equal to or greater than 2m. Moreover, in order to actually use this code, run length constraints, that is, RLL(d, k) conditions, should be satisfied in a part where a codeword is linked to another codeword. In addition, when the DC component of a code affects the system performance, it is desirable to use a code which has a DC suppression capability.
The main reason for suppressing the DC component in the RLL modulated code stream is to minimize an effect of a reproducing signal on a servo band. Hereinafter, methods of suppressing the DC component will be referred to as Digital Sum Value (DSV) control methods.
The DSV control methods can be broadly classified into two types. One is a method having a DSV control code itself, where the DSV control code is capable of controlling a DSV. The other one is a method of inserting a merge bit at each DSV control time. An Eight to Fourteen Modulation plus (EFM+) code performs DSV control using a separate code table while the EFM code or a (1, 7) code performs the DSV control by inserting the merge bit.
Therefore, the shape of the prior art modulation code group having the DSV control code itself capable of controlling suppression of the DC component and satisfying the conditions described above is as shown in FIG. 1, in which each of a predetermined number of main conversion code groups has a corresponding code group for controlling suppression of the DC component. Each main conversion code group and the corresponding code group form a pair so that the DC component can be suppressed and controlled. In this case, there are some characteristics in the codewords of predetermined main conversion code groups. That is, there are no identical codewords between the main conversion code groups A and B. If duplicated codes are used, there might be the main conversion code groups C and D for demodulating the duplicated codes, where there are no identical codewords between the main conversion code groups C and D, but codewords in the main conversion code group A or B may be in the main conversion code group C or D for demodulating duplicated codes. The number of codewords in the main conversion code groups A and B and the main conversion code groups C and D for demodulating duplicated codes is 2m if the number of bits in the source word before conversion is “m”.
If corresponding code groups E through H are DC suppression control code groups used for suppressing the DC components together with the main conversion code groups A through D, respectively, the characteristics of codewords in each of the corresponding code groups E through H are the same as the characteristics of codewords in the main conversion code groups A through D, respectively. That is, the same conditions for generating duplicated codewords or the same conditions for determining the number of lead zeros in a codeword are applied to each of the DC suppression control code groups E through H for controlling suppression of DC components and the main conversion code groups A through D.
For example, the characteristics of the EFM+ code, which is used in current Digital Versatile Discs (DVD), has a run length condition of RLL(2, 10) and a codeword length (n) of 16 bits, is as shown in FIG. 2. The main conversion code groups are MCG1 (“A” in FIG. 1) and MCG2 (“B” in FIG. 1) and the conversion code groups for demodulating duplicated codes are DCG1 (“C” in FIG. 1) and DCG2 (“D” in FIG. 1). There are four DSV code groups (“E˜H” in FIG. 1) which make pairs with respective conversion code groups to control suppression of DC components. There are no identical codewords between the four conversion code groups and the four DSV code groups which are code groups for controlling DC components.
Also, the conditions for generating duplicated codewords in the entire code groups are the same, and the characteristics of codewords in each code group pair that can control DC components (MCG1 and the first DSV code group, MCG2 and the second DSV code group, DCG1 and the third DSV code group, or DCG2 and the fourth DSV code group) are the same.
That is, a codeword having a continuous sequence of from 2 to 5 zeros from the Least Significant Bit (LSB) of the codeword is generated using duplicated codewords. This rule is applied to each code group in the same manner. In each of the codewords of the first DSV code group for controlling suppression of DC components, which controls suppression of DC components together with the main conversion code group MCG1, there is a continuous sequence of between 2 and 9 ‘0s’ from the Most Significant Bit (MSB). In each of the codewords of the second DSV code group for controlling suppression of DC components, which controls suppression of DC components together with the main conversion code group MCG2, there is either 0 or 1 ‘0’ continuing from the MSB.
Some bits (here, b15(MSB) or b3) in the codewords of the third DSV code group control the suppression of the DC components together with the corresponding conversion code group DCG1 for demodulating duplicated codes are ‘0b’, while some bits (here, b15(MSB) or b3) in the codewords of the fourth DSV code group for controlling suppression of DC components control the suppression of the DC components together with the corresponding code group DCG2 for demodulating duplicated codes, and some bits (here, b15(MSB) and b3) are ‘1b’. In developing 8 to 15 modulation code which has an advantage in the recording density aspect compared to the prior art modulation method EFM+ which uses the modulation code group shown in FIG. 1 or 2, the original characteristics of a code stream change when a change occurs in a codeword because of a boundary rule applied to the locations adjacent to a boundary which connects a codeword to another codeword. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Scanning probe microscopes (SPMs), such as the atomic force microscope (AFM), are instruments which typically use a sharp tip to characterize the surface of a sample down to nanoscale dimensions. The term nanoscale as used for purposes of this invention refers to dimensions smaller than one micrometer. SPMs monitor the interaction between the sample and the probe tip. By providing relative scanning movement between the tip and the sample, surface characteristic data can be acquired over a particular site on the sample, and a corresponding map of the site can be generated. Because of their resolution and versatility, SPMs are important measurement devices in many diverse fields ranging from semiconductor manufacturing to biological research. In other applications, SPM systems may be used for measuring nanomechanical properties of a sample.
The probe of a typical SPM includes a very small cantilever fixed to a support at its base and having a sharp probe tip extending from the opposite, free end. The probe tip is brought very near to or into contact with a surface of a sample to be examined, and the deflection of the cantilever in response to the probe tip's interaction with the sample is measured with an extremely sensitive deflection detector such as an optical lever system as described, for example, in Hansma et al. U.S. Pat. No. RE 34,489, or some other deflection detector such as strain gauges, capacitance sensors, etc. The probe is scanned over a surface using a high resolution three-axis scanner acting on the sample support, the probe, or a combination of both. The instrument is thus capable of measuring the topography or other surface properties or nanomechanical properties of the sample.
SPMs may be configured to operate in a variety of modes, including modes for measuring, imaging, or otherwise inspecting a surface, and modes for measuring nanomechanical properties of a sample. In a contact mode operation, the microscope typically scans the tip across the surface of the sample while maintaining a constant probe-sample interaction force. In an oscillation mode of operation, sometimes referred to as tapping mode, the tip of the SPM is oscillated while interacting with the sample at or near a resonant frequency of the cantilever of the probe. The amplitude or phase angle of this oscillation is affected by the probe-sample interaction, and changes in the oscillation are sensed.
As the probe is scanned over the surface of the sample, a probe positioning control system monitors the interaction of the probe with the sample surface such as, for example, deflection of the cantilever (in the case of contact mode), or changes in the oscillation amplitude or phase angle (in the case of oscillating mode). The control system adjusts the probe's position (or average position in the case of oscillating mode) relative to the sample to maintain a constant probe-sample interaction. The position adjustment thus tracks the topography of the sample. In this way, the data associated with the position adjustment can be stored, and processed into data that characterizes the sample. This data can be used to construct an image of the inspected sample's surface, or to make certain measurements of selected surface features (such as, for example, a height of the feature).
The probe position adjustment is effected by a cantilever positioning actuator that is driven by a driving circuit. Various technologies for cantilever actuators are known, including piezoelectric and magnetic transducers. The driving circuit generates a probe positioning signal, and amplifies the probe positioning signal to produce a driving signal that is applied to the actuator. The driving signal continuously repositions the probe's separation distance from the sample to track an arbitrary topography of the sample's surface. Accordingly, the driving signal has a bandwidth from zero hertz to a frequency associated with the maximum operating bandwidth of the SPM, which corresponds to the maximum speed at which the probe can track the topography of the surface of the sample.
To increase the speed at which the sample can be inspected, the bandwidth of the driving signal must be increased commensurately. Achieving a high driving signal bandwidth presents a number of challenges. These include generating the driving power at high frequencies and maintaining stable operation over the operating bandwidth. At the higher operating frequencies, the transfer function of the actuator driving system exhibits a roll-off in gain and greater phase shift between the probe positioning signal and the cantilever. As a practical matter, the cantilever control system must be able to drive the actuator effectively, and remain stable over the operating bandwidth of the SPM. Accordingly, the actuator driving system must not produce a phase shift of 180 degrees or more while the gain is greater than unity in order to avoid a positive feedback scenario.
Typically, designers of SPM systems are constrained by a phase budget that must be met by the combination of every subsystem and component involved in the driving and control of the SPM in order to not exceed a phase shift of 180 degrees. Contributors to phase offset include the cantilever itself, the actuator, the driving signal amplifier, and the probe positioning control system, which includes components such as a displacement sensor, an analog-to-digital converter, a demodulator, and an RMS amplifier.
Conventional amplifiers driving piezoelectric actuators typically have an internal feedback network that includes frequency compensation to ensure stability of the amplifier circuit in the form of a separate feedback loop that is nested within the actuator driving control system. This frequency compensation internal to the driving amplifier circuit substantially reduces the amplifier's gain at the high frequencies and introduces additional phase delay, thereby restricting the amplifier's ability to drive the actuator at those high frequencies, and presenting a greater contribution to the phase offset of the actuator control system.
In SPM systems, a common cause of instability in the driving signal amplifier is the actuator's reactive loading characteristics on the driving signal amplifier. For instance, piezoelectric actuators present a capacitive load that can vary widely over frequency. Under certain conditions, the reactive nature of this capacitive load can cause uncontrolled oscillations in the amplifier circuit. To ensure that the amplifier circuit remains stable, a load-isolating resistance is typically placed at the output of the amplifier. While the load-isolating resistance beneficially stabilizes the amplifier, it does so at the cost of introducing another phase offset into the cantilever control system, further limiting the overall operating bandwidth.
Conventional general-purpose amplifiers and amplifier stabilization techniques, which are not adapted specifically for SPM applications, suffer from these, and various other shortcomings when applied to high-speed SPM applications. Accordingly, an actuator-driving amplifier suitable for high-speed SPM applications is needed that provides stable, high-gain, high-bandwidth performance while consuming as little of the SPM cantilever control loop phase budget as possible. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Cancer is a term used to describe a group of malignancies that all share the common trait of developing when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of control. Most cancers form as tumors, but can also manifest in the blood and circulate through other tissues where they grow. Cancer malignancies are most commonly treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy. The type of treatment used to treat a specific cancer depends upon several factors including the type of cancer malignancy and the stage during which it was diagnosed.
5-FU is one of the more commonly used cytotoxic agents that are used for the treatment of Breast and Colorectal cancer. This chemotherapeutic agent has the formula:
This compound has been associated with debilitating side effects such as bone marrow density loss, mucositis, nausea and vomiting. By monitoring the levels of 5-FU in the body and adjusting the dose these side effects can be better controlled and limited in patients.
At the same time, there is often a highly variable relationship between the dose of 5-FU and the resulting serum drug concentration that affects therapeutic effect. The degree of intra- and inter-individual pharmacokinetic variability of 5-FU can be as high as 10-fold (Diasio et. al. J. Clin. Invest. 81: pp 47–51, 1988, Wei et. al. J. Clin. Invest. 98: pp 610–615, 1996) and is impacted by many factors, including: Organ function Genetic regulation Disease state Age Drug-drug interaction Time of drug ingestion, Mode of drug administration, and Technique-related administration.
As a result of this variability, equal doses of the same drug in different individuals can result in dramatically different clinical outcomes (Hon et. al. Clinical Chemistry 44, pp 388–400, 1998). The effectiveness of the same 5-FU dosage varies significantly based upon individual drug clearance and the ultimate serum drug concentration in the patient. Therapeutic drug management would provide the clinician with insight on patient variation in both oral and intravenous drug administrations. With therapeutic drug management, drug dosages could be individualized to the patient, and the chances of effectively treating the cancer without the unwanted side effects would be much higher (Nieto, Current Drug Metabolism 2: pp 53–66, 2001).
In addition, therapeutic drug management of 5-FU would serve as an excellent tool to ensure compliance in administering chemotherapy with the actual prescribed dosage and achievement of the effective serum concentration levels. It has been found that variability in serum concentration is not only due to physiological factors, but can also result from variation in administration technique and ability of the body to absorb 5-FU. As a chemotherapeutic agent, 5-FU can be administered in its pro-drug form as tegafur which has the structure:
Tegafur, when administered to a patient, is generally absorbed and metabolized into 5-FU by the patient at different rates. Therefore, in monitoring the level of 5-FU in patients by means of an immunoassay, it is important that the immunoassay be able to distinguish between tegafur, the inactive substance, and 5-FU, the active substance, into which tegafur metabolizes. The problem with antibodies to 5-FU is that they could be cross-reactive with tegafur making these immunoassays not useful.
Routine therapeutic drug management of 5-FU would require the availability of simple automated tests adaptable to general laboratory equipment. Tests that best fit these criteria are immunoassays. Currently there are no immunoassays for 5-FU available and monitoring levels of this drug is conducted by physical methods like high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Escoriaza et. al. J. of Chromatography B: Biomedical Sciences and applications, 736 (1+2): pp 97–102, 1999). In order to be most effective in monitoring drug levels the antibody should be most specific to 5-FU and display very low cross-reactivity to no cross-reactivity to related pyrimidine bases, particularly tegafur. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Fe based glassy alloy having a larger thickness as compared to prior art amorphous alloy ribbons, and exhibiting excellent magnetic characteristics and high resistivity.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been known that some multi-element amorphous alloys have wide supercooling temperature ranges before crystallization and form glassy alloys. Also, it has been known that such glassy alloys can be formed as bulk alloys having significantly larger thicknesses than amorphous alloy ribbons formed by prior art liquid quenching processes.
Examples of prior art glassy alloys include Ln-Al-TM alloys, Mg-Ln-Tm alloys, Zr-Al-TM alloys, Hf-Al-TM alloys and Ti-Zr-Be-TM alloys, wherein Ln indicates a rare earth element and TM indicates a transition metal element. However, these glassy alloys do not exhibit magnetic characteristics at room temperature, and thus, they cannot be used as magnetic materials in industrial fields. Accordingly, research and development on thin bulk glassy alloys exhibiting magnetic characteristics at room temperature have been carried out.
In glassy alloys of various compositions capable of a supercooled liquid state, the temperature difference between the crystallization temperature (T.sub.x) and the glass transition temperature (T.sub.g), i.e., (T.sub.x -T.sub.g) is generally too low to form a practically useful glassy alloy. Thus, an alloy having a wide supercooled temperature range and a capability of forming a glassy alloy by supercooling has attracted attention in metallurgic fields, because such an alloy can overcome the thickness restrictions of known amorphous alloys. Accordingly, development of a glassy alloy exhibiting ferromagnetic characteristics at room temperature has been eagerly awaited. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
JPH09-014328A published by the Japan Patent Office in 1977 discloses a rebound cushion for damping an impact accompanying protrusion of a piston of a strut type hydraulic shock absorber to the protruding limiting position.
The rebound cushion is formed in a cylindrical shape made of low rigidity rubber such as nitrile-butadiene rubber or synthetic rubber and fitted on the outer circumference of the piston rod. The piston rod is provided with a flange for supporting the rebound cushion in a protruding direction of the piston rod.
The piston rod is inserted into a cylinder, and a rod guide is provided at an upper end of the cylinder. The piston rod penetrates the rod guide and the rebound cushion is fitted to an inserted part of the piston rod in the cylinder. An inner space of the cylinder is filled with working oil. The rod guide guides the protrusion and retreat of the piston rod and also defines the protruding limiting position of the piston rod by preventing further displacement of the rebound cushion when in contact with the rebound cushion.
When the piston rod protrudes to the protruding limiting position, the rebound cushion collides against the rod guide and elastically deforms, thereby damping the impact caused by the collision. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates generally to a satellite receiver antenna, and in particular, to the aggregated distribution of multiple satellite transponder signals in a satellite dish antenna.
2. Description of the Related Art.
DIRECTV(copyright) can broadcast video programming signals from transponders on three satellites in three different orbital slots located at 101 West Longitude (WL), 119 WL, and 110 WL, also known as Sat A, Sat B, and Sat C, respectively. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has allocated to DIRECTV(copyright) transponders 1-32 on 101 WL, transponders 22-32 on 119 WL, and transponders 28, 30, 32 on 110 WL.
In the prior art, a four-input multi-switch (Multi-SW) was used to select among the signals received from the transponders on 101 WL and 119 WL, wherein there are two different signal polarizations (Left and Right) output by each associated low noise block down converters with feed (LNBFs) for each orbital slot and each of the different signal polarizations is a separate input to the multi-switch. However, to accommodate the additional orbital slot located at 110 WL would require a greater number of inputs on the multi-switch.
In a conventional signal acquisition and distribution method, five cables would be used to receive signals from the transponders in the three orbital slots using three associated LNBFs, wherein two of the LNBFs have dual outputs to the multi-switch (one for each of the two signal polarizations for 101 WL and 119 WL) and one of the LNBFs has a single output to the multi-switch (one for the single signal polarization for 110 WL). Further, a conventional signal acquisition and distribution method would require the use of an addressing-capable multi-switch and an integrated receiver-decoder (IRD) capable of providing a compatible addressing signal to the multi-switch to select and decode the five different inputs. This adds a level of complexity to these two devices, increases their manufacturing and installation costs, and lowers system reliability.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method wherein signals from multiple satellites can be received and distributed using fewer sets of cables. There is also a need for a method that simplifies polarization switching requirements for the LNBFs and IRD.
The present invention describes an antenna or Out Door Unit (ODU) that provides the capability to aggregate signals received from more than one satellite before providing the signals to a multi-switch for selection by an integrated decoder-receiver (IRD). The signals from a first satellite are relocated by means of a local oscillator and multiplier to frequencies of unused channels in the signals from a second satellite. The relocated signals from the first satellite are then summed with the unused channels in the signals from the second satellite. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
A type of roller skate is known from DE 10 2005 059 069 B4. This roller skate has a boot, to the sole of which a roller carrier element is attached, on which outer rollers are provided in the region of the outside of the boot and inline rollers are provided under the boot.
The asymmetrical arrangement of the rollers means that different roller carrier elements are necessary for the left and the right roller skate of a pair, which are identical only in a mirror-image manner. However, this means that different tools, in particular different injection molds, are necessary for the manufacture of the roller carrier elements for the right and the left skate.
In addition, the roller carrier elements must also be varied for roller skates of different sizes, i.e., for different boot lengths. This leads to a further multiplication of the tools and thus of the production costs. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to using a magnet to attach a vessel to another object, and, more particularly, to using a magnet to attach a vessel, such as a vehicle, to another vessel or docking point.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many water-based vessels, such as ferries, tugs, and cargo ships use thrust generated by on-board motors to keep the vessel in position when docking with land, against other vessels, or other docking points. For example, a passenger ship may maneuver through a harbor or channel using its own propulsion system or with the assistance of a tugboat or other positioning vessel. The ship may be guided toward a docking point, such as a pier, dock, or other structure, that has been equipped with protective padding, such as tires, inflatable bladders, and the like, to prevent the docking point from damaging the hull of the ship. The ship may be positioned so that at least some portion of its hull is proximate the docking point. For example, in one embodiment, one side of the ship may be positioned against a dock so that the surface area of the hull to be mated with the dock is maximized.
Once the ship is sufficiently near the docking point, on-board motors may be used to generate thrust that holds the ship against the docking point. The thrust from the on-board motors may be used to hold the ship in place, while passengers are boarded and/or cargo is loaded. Often, the ship is docked for an extended period requiring the constant use of thrust to keep the ship positioned in the desired space.
In some situations, the thrust from one or more tugboats or other positioning vessels is used to keep a larger vessel in position when docked. For example, one or more tugboats may be positioned on one side of the docked ship, while the other side of the ship is mated with a docking point. By applying thrust to the opposite side of the ship, one or more tugboats may be used to hold the ship in its docked position. Usually, the tugboat is equipped with a protective barrier (e.g., tires, inflatable bladders, etc.) around its hull to prevent damages to either ship.
These techniques for keeping a vessel secure to a docking point, while somewhat effective, are not energy efficient. A more efficient method of keeping a vessel in position while docked may be accomplished using various configurations of electromagnets. Such electromagnets may be used to keep a vessel secure to a docking point, and if properly configured, may allow for a range of movement in certain directions to accommodate the action of waves, or other motion.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to a method of obtaining and selecting monoclonal antibodies using an assay of the ADCC type, said antibodies being capable of activating Fcγ type III receptors. The invention is also directed toward monoclonal antibodies having a particular glycan structure, the cells producing said antibodies, the methods for preparing the producer cells, and also the pharmaceutical compositions or the diagnostic tests comprising said antibodies. The anti-D antibodies according to the invention can be used for preventing Rhesus isoimmunization of Rh-negative individuals, in particular a hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN), or in applications such as Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP).
Passive immunotherapy using polyclonal antibodies has been carried out since the 1970s. However, the production of polyclonal immunoglobulins poses a problem: The immunization of volunteers was discontinued in France in 1997 because of the ethical problems that such acts present. In France, as in Europe, the number of immunized donors is too low to ensure a sufficient supply of certain antibodies, to such an extent that it proves necessary to import hyperimmunized plasma from the United States for example.
Thus, this immunoglobulin shortage does not make it possible to envisage antenatal administration for preventing HDN.
Various studies have resulted in the production of human monoclonal antibodies for the purpose of replacing the polyclonal antibodies obtained from fractionating plasmas from voluntary donors.
Monoclonal antibodies have several advantages: they can be obtained in large amounts at reasonable costs, each batch of antibodies is homogeneous and the quality of the various batches is reproducible since they are produced by the same cell line, which is cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen. It is possible to ensure the safety of the product with regard to an absence of viral contamination.
Several publications describe the production of cell lines producing human anti-Rh D monoclonal antibodies of IgG class, from B cells of immunized donors. Boylston et al. 1980; Koskimies 1980; Crawford et al. 1983; Doyle et al. 1985; Goossens et al. 1987; Kumpel et al. 1989(a) and McCann-Carter et al. 1993 describe the production of B lymphocyte lines transformed with the EBV virus. Melamed et al. 1985; Thompson et al. 1986 and McCann-Carter et al. 1993 relate to heterohybridomas resulting from B lymphocyte (transformed with EBV)×murine myeloma fusion. Goossens et al., 1987 relates to heterohybrids resulting from B lymphocyte (transformed with EBV)×human myeloma fusion. Bron et al., 1984 and Foung et al., 1987 describe heterohybrids resulting from B lymphocyte (transformed with EBV)×human-mouse heteromyeloma fusion and, finally, Edelman et al., 1997 relates to insect cells transfected with the gene encoding an anti-Rh(D) using the baculovirus system.
Among the patents and patent applications relating to such monoclonal antibodies and the lines secreting them, mention may be made of: EP 576093 (AETS (FR), Biotest Pharma GmbH (Germany); Composition for prophylaxis of the haemolytic disease of the new-born comprises two human monoclonal antibodies of sub-class IgG1 and IgG3, which are active against the Rhesus D antigen), RU 2094462, WO 85/02413 (Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Jr. University, Human Monoclonal Antibody against Rh (D) antigen and its uses), GB 86-10106 (Central Blood Laboratories Authority, Production of heterohybridomas for manufacture of human monoclonal antibodies to Rhesus D antigen), EP 0 251 440 (Central Blood Laboratories Authority, Human Anti-Rhesus D Producing Heterohybridomas), WO 89/02442, WO 89/02600 and WO 89/024443 (Central Blood Laboratories Authority, Human Anti-Rh (D) Monoclonal Antibodies), WO 8607740 (Institut Pasteur, Protein Performance SA, Paris, FR, Production of a recombinant monoclonal antibody from a human anti-rhesus D monoclonal antibody, production thereof in insect cells and uses thereof), JP 88-50710 (International Reagents Corp., Japan, Reagents for Determination of Blood Group Substance Rh (D) Factor), JP 83-248865 (Mitsubishi Chemical Industries Co., Ltd., Japan, Preparation of Monoclonal Antibody to Rh (D) positive Antigen); CA 82-406033 (Queens University at Kingston, Human Monoclonal Antibodies) and GB 8226513 (University College London, Human Monoclonal Antibody against Rhesus D Antigen).
While the use of monoclonal antibodies has many advantages compared to the use of pools of polyclonal antibodies, it may, on the other hand, prove to be difficult to obtain an effective monoclonal antibody. In fact, it has been found, in the context of the invention, that the Fcγ fragment of the immunoglobulin obtained must have very particular properties in order to be able to interact with and activate the receptors of effector cells (macrophage, TH lymphocyte and NK).
The biological activity of certain G immunoglobulins is dependent on the structure of the oligosaccharides present on the molecule, and in particular on its Fc component. IgG molecules of all human and murine subclasses have an N-oligosaccharide attached to the CH2 domain of each heavy chain (at residue Asn 297 for human IgGs). The influence of this glycan-containing residue on the ability of the antibody to interact with effector molecules (Fc receptors and complement) has been demonstrated. Inhibiting glycosylation of a human IgG1, by culturing in the presence of tunicamycin, causes, for example, a 50-fold decrease in the affinity of this antibody for the FcγRI receptor present on monocytes and macrophages (Leatherbarrow et al., 1985). Binding to the FcγRIII receptor is also affected by the loss of carbohydrates on IgG, since it has been described that a nonglycosylated IgG3 is incapable of inducing lysis of the ADCC type via the FcγRIII receptor of NK cells (Lund et al., 1990).
However, beyond the necessary presence of these glycan-containing residues, it is more precisely the heterogeneity of their structure which may result in differences in the ability to initiate effector functions. Galactosylation profiles which are variable depending on individuals (human serum IgG1s) have been observed. These differences probably reflect differences in the activity of galactosyltransferases and other enzymes between the cellular clones of these individuals (Jefferis et al., 1990). Although this normal heterogeneity of post-translational processes generates various glycoforms (even in the case of monoclonal antibodies), it may lead to atypical structures associated with certain pathological conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease, for which a considerable proportion of agalactosylated residues have been demonstrated (Parekh et al., 1985).
The glycosylation profile of the purified molecule is the consequence of multiple effects, some parameters of which have already been studied. The protein backbone of IgGs, and in particular amino acids in contact with the terminal N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and galactose residues of the mannose α-1,6 arm (aa 246 and 258 of IgGs), may explain the existence of preferential structures (galactosylation), as shown in the study carried out on murine and chimeric IgGs of different isotypes (Lund et al., 1993).
The differences observed also reveal specificities related to the species and to the cell type used for producing the molecule. Thus, the conventional structure of the N-glycans of human IgGs reveals a significant proportion of bi-antennary types with a GlcNAc residue in the bisecting position, this being a structure which is absent in antibodies produced by murine cells. Similarly, the sialic acid residues synthesized by the CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary) line are exclusively of the α-2,3 type, whereas they are of the α-2,3 and α-2,6 type with murine and human cells (Yu Ip et al., 1994). Immunoglobulin production in expression systems other than those derived from mammals may introduce much more important modifications, such as the presence of xylose residues produced by insect cells or plants (Ma et al., 1995).
Other factors, such as the cell culture conditions (including the composition of the culture medium, the cell density, the pH, the oxygenation), appear to have an effect on glycosyltransferase activity in the cell and, consequently, on the glycan structure of the molecule (Monica et al., 1993; Kumpel et al., 1994 b).
Now, in the context of the present invention, it has been found that a structure of the bi-antennary type, with short chains, a low degree of sialylation, and nonintercalated terminal mannoses and/or terminal GlcNAcs, is the common denominator for glycan structures which confer strong ADCC activity on monoclonal antibodies. A method for preparing such antibodies capable of activating effector cells via FcγRIII, in particular anti-Rh(D) antibodies, has also been developed.
Blood group antigens are classified in several systems depending on the nature of the membrane-bound molecules expressed at the surface of red blood cells. The Rhesus (Rh) system comprises 5 molecules or antigens: D, C, c, E and e (ISSITT, 1988). The D antigen is the most important of these molecules because it is the most immunogenic, i.e. it can induce the production of anti-D antibodies if Rh-D-positive red blood cells are transfused into Rh-negative individuals.
The D antigen is normally expressed in 85% of Caucasian individuals, these people are termed “Rh-positive;” 25% of these individuals are therefore Rh-negative, i.e. their red blood cells do not exhibit any D antigen. D antigen expression exhibits certain variants which may be linked either to a weak antigenic density, reference is then made to weak D antigens, or to a different or partial antigenicity, reference is then made to partial D antigens. The weak D characteristic is characterized in that it is a normal antigen, but the number of sites thereof per red blood cell is decreased more or less considerably; this characteristic is transmissible according to Mendelian laws. Partial D phenotypes have been discovered in Rh-D-positive individuals who have anti-D serum antibodies; these partial D antigens can therefore be characterized as having only part of the mosaic. Studies carried out with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies have made it possible to define 7 categories of partial D antigens with at least 8 epitopes constituting the D antigen being described (LOMAS et al., 1989; TIPETT 1988).
The importance of anti-Rh D antibodies became apparent with the discovery of the mechanisms leading to hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN). This corresponds to the various pathological conditions observed in some fetuses or in some newborn babies when there is a feto-maternal blood group incompatibility which is responsible for the formation of maternal anti-Rh D antibodies capable of crossing the placental barrier. In fact, fetal Rh-positive red blood cells passing into an Rh-negative mother can lead to the formation of anti-D antibodies.
After immunization of the Rh-negative mother, the IgG class anti-D antibodies are capable of crossing the placental barrier and of binding to the fetal Rh-positive red blood cells. This binding leads to the activation of immunocompetent cells via their surface Fc receptors, thus inducing hemolysis of the sensitized fetal red blood cells. Depending on the strength of the reaction, several degrees of seriousness of HDN can be observed.
An HDN diagnosis can be carried out before and after birth. Prenatal diagnosis is based on the development of the anti-D antibody level in the mother using several immunohematological techniques. Post-partum diagnosis may be carried out using an umbilical cord blood sample, analyzing the following parameters: determining the blood groups of the fetus and of the father; searching for anti-D antibodies; assaying the hemoglobin and the bilirubin.
Prophylactic treatment for HDN is currently systematically given to all women with an Rh-negative blood group who have given birth to an Rh-positive child, with injections of human anti-D immunoglobulin. The first real immunoprophylaxis trials began in 1964. For the prevention to be effective, the immunoglobulin must be injected before the immunization, i.e. within the 72 hours following the birth, and the antibody doses must be sufficient (10 μg of anti-D antibodies per 0.5 ml of Rh+ red blood cells).
Several anti-D monoclonal antibodies have been the subject of therapeutic assessment: BROSSARD/FNTS 1990 (not published); THOMSON/IBGRL 1990; KUMPEL/IBGRL 1994; BELKINA/Institute of hematology, Moscow, 1996; BIOTEST/LFB 1997 (not published). The clinical effectiveness of the antibodies in inducing clearance of Rh(D)-positive red blood cells was assessed in Rh(D)-negative volunteers.
A single IgG1 antibody showed an effectiveness equivalent to that of anti-D polyclonal immunoglobulins, but only in some patients (KUMPEL et al., 1995).
The invention proposes to provide monoclonal antibodies which reply to the abovementioned problems, i.e. antibodies selected using an assay of the ADCC type specific for the antibody and/or the antibodies having a glycan structure required for obtaining good effectiveness. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Fountains of the type of the present invention generally are provided with pluralities of groups and formations of nozzles. A relatively wide range of different types of nozzles may be employed, however, the nozzle structure forms no part of the instant invention and will be referred to hereinafter simply as nozzles. It is customary to vary the height of the water sprays or streams rhythmically, for example, in synchronization with music to achieve some of the desired effects.
Heretofore, a single electric motor operated pump in combination with a gate valve has been utilized to vary the height of the water sprays or streams from each group of nozzles.
The present invention provides two electric motor operated pumps in each water discharge conduit to a single formation of nozzles. Both pumps are disposed in the water and each pump has a suction opening thereinto and they are connected to a common discharge conduit. A gate valve is disposed in a discharge conduit portion adjacent each pump, said gate valves being initially fixed in a set position to determine the maximum or desired full height of the water stream from the nozzles fixed in the discharge conduit. When the motor of the second of the two pumps is energized the streams of water emitted from the nozzles will attain approximately one-third of the maximum height because approximately one-half of the water being pumped out through the discharge conduit will escape through the intake opening of the first pump. The second of the two pumps has a check valve in the discharge conduit portion so that when the first pump is actuated, the spray nozzles discharge streams of water to approximately two-thirds of the maximum height as no water can escape through the check valve to the second pump. When both pumps are actuated simultaneously, the spray nozzles discharge streams of water to the maximum height.
Therefore, one of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide two electric motor operated pumps in each water discharge conduit to a single formation of nozzles in a fountain display.
Another object of the invention is to provide a gate valve in a portion of the discharge conduit adjacent each pump.
A further object of the invention is to provide a check valve in the discharge conduit portion adjacent the second of said two pumps.
Yet another object of the instant invention is to provide electric circuitry controlled by pluralities of switches to determine the height of the water streams emitted from the respective nozzles and to universally control the activation of individual, various groups and formations of nozzles to produce a wide range of different rhythmic effects. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices and methods for sizing a region of an eye or for sizing an intraocular lens placed inside an eye and, more specifically, to sizing devices and methods based, at least in part, on a test geometry of the sizing device after placement within the eye.
2. Description of the Related Art
The human eye is susceptible to numerous disorders and diseases, a number of which attack the crystalline lens. For example, cataracts mar vision through cloudy or opaque discoloration of the lens of the eye, and can result in partial or complete blindness. When this happens, the crystalline lens can be removed and replaced with an intraocular lens, or IOL. In certain other circumstances, an IOL can be placed in an eye containing the natural crystalline lens, for example, to provide for enhanced vision in the phakic eye.
A typical IOL comprises an optic body, or lens, adapted to focus light toward the retina of the eye, and one or more fixation members, or haptics, adapted to at least assist in supporting or fixating the IOL in a suitable location in the eye, such as the anterior chamber, ins, or capsular bag of the eye. The design of the fixation members is to a large part dictated by the location in the eye in which the IOL is to be implanted. In general, conditions in the anterior chamber are more exacting than in the posterior chamber, since the ocular structures in and around the anterior chamber are subject to distortion, for instance, when a patient squints, rubs, or touches his or her eyelids, engages in rigorous physical activity, or receives an unexpected jolt or impact to the body, particularly the face. As a result, it is desirable that anterior chamber IOLs be provided with relatively flexible fixation members that yield readily when ocular distortion occurs, in order to minimize irritation or trauma to the eye. At the same time, the fixation members must not yield so readily as to result in decentration of the IOL and distortion of the visual image. In addition, the fixation members preferably provide sufficient axial stability to prevent the optic from vaulting forwardly (and potentially contacting the cornea) in response to compressive forces on the outer edges of the IOL.
Sizing issue may arise when IOLs are placed inside the eye, for instance in the capsular bag, the sulcus, or the anterior chamber of the eye. For example, when an IOL is placed in the anterior chamber, the intraocular lens may be secured within the eye by fixating the distal ends of the anterior chamber IOL against the iridocorneal angle of the anterior chamber. It is important in this case to provide the proper fit between the IOL and the anterior chamber. Since the precise size of the anterior chamber is not easily determined prior to placement of an anterior chamber IOL, it may not be possible to determine how well an IOL will fit in the anterior chamber at the time it is implanted. If the anterior chamber IOL is too large (e.g., the separation between the distal ends of the unstressed haptics prior to placement in the eye are much larger than the diameter of the anterior chamber), this can lead to post-surgical complications such as endothelial cell loss, pupil ovulation, and/or pupillary block. Conversely, if the anterior chamber IOL is too small (e.g., the distal ends of the haptics do not extend far enough to engage the iridocorneal angle), the anterior chamber IOL may rotate, which can lead to endothelial cell loss, corneal decompensation, and/or other complications. Evidence of improper sizing of the anterior chamber IOLs may not occur until several weeks to as much as two years after the IOL has been implanted into the eye of a subject.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide devices and methods for sizing an IOL and/or the region of the eye into which the IOL is to be placed at the time the IOL is implanted into the eye in order to reduce or avoid the aforementioned problems. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention generally relates to image processing technologies. More particularly, the invention relates to image correcting apparatuses, methods and programs that correct images on which persons are photographed.
In preparing photo prints from digital image data, which is, for example, acquired by photo shooting with a digital camera, or obtained by photo-reading of an image printed on a photo film, correction may be performed on the images so that the images are reproduced with appropriate colors and densities. In particular, when it comes to images on which persons are photographed, it is significantly important to reproduce face colors appropriately.
There have been known image processing methods that place an importance on skin colors of persons, including, for example, a technology (refer to JP 2000-196890 A, for instance) in which a person face is automatically extracted from image data and the data is corrected so that a skin color of the face area achieves a target range of density, and a technology (refer to JP 2000-182043 A, for instance) in which a skin color of the face area achieves target chromaticity. In these technologies, a target density and/or a target chromaticity of skin colors are pre-set and the images are corrected respectively in such a manner that the density and/or color of the face regions extracted from the image data are close to the target values.
However, considering that different persons from different races have different skin colors, there may be problems if a certain color and/or density is used as a akin color target for correcting all the images of an image group, when the images include different persons from a plurality of races and are shot under identical shooting conditions (such as class book photos). For example, there may be inconsistency in background colors among the images or skin color tint may not always be appropriately reproduced. Therefore, it is desirable to perform identical correction to an image group consisting of such a plurality of images.
In JP 6-208178 A, on the other hand, a photo printing method, in which, a printing exposure amount for a plurality of frame images is determined based on an average value of measured light values, and the determined printing exposure amount is used to print the plurality of frames onto printing paper is described. In this method, since a same printing exposure amount is used to print the plurality of frames, inconsistency in background colors among the images shot under identical shooting conditions can be prevented.
However, on the contrary, in case where skin colors are varied due to different shooting conditions, there may be some frames in which skin colors are not reproduced appropriately. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Much of the world's rice harvest is converted into parboiled rice. The process involves the hydration, gelatinization and drying of the rice paddy before carrying out the actual milling process. Typically, rice, in the paddy form, is steeped in water to increase its moisture content, then the steeped rice is cooked to gelatinize substantially the starch in the rice endosperm. The fully cooked paddy is dried, then the grain is milled. The reason for parboiling rice is to achieve higher percentage of whole grains after milling, higher content of B vitamins and also to reduce the susceptibility of the parboiled grain to insect attack in storage. Much detail is involved in parboiling, and this is described in the literature. Reviews of the technology are found in "Rice: Chemistry and Technology" edited by B. O. Juliano, American Association of Cereal Chemists Inc., St. Paul MN, 1985., and in "Rice: Production and Utilisation" edited by B. S. Luh, AVI Publishing Company, Inc., Westport CN, 1980. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a golf putter head comprising an interchangeable part such as a cassette including the putter striking surface being constituted by a band shaped material being mounted on a tension bar providing a chosen tension to the band material at the striking surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
When using a putter (to put a golf ball) on a putting green, the golfer strikes the ball applying a roll-spin to the ball as soon as possible after stroke of putter in order to move the golf ball along a desired (and a more predictable) path and length. When a golf ball is to be putted into the intended hole it is important that the ball follow an expected-desired path and length. The conformity between expected and actual length and path of a put is vital. In this connection, the aim is normally to give the ball an even rolling movement over the surface, i.e. with rolling contact with the grass on the green, and preferably without causing the ball to jump unintentionally in initial phase after impact of the putter on the grass.
According to this invention, the aim is to give the golf ball an intentional roll as soon as the stroke is played. It is also important to transfer as much as possible of the kinetic energy from putter to the ball to obtain a more predictable length of ball roll.
In other words, it is desirablexe2x80x94at least with certain putting strokesxe2x80x94to transfer a large part of the kinetic energy from the golf club to the golf ball thereby causing the ball to take on a rolling movement, i.e. instead of applying a non-rolling stroke to the ball, a stroke is played which gives the ball a combined thrust and rolling movement. Using conventional golf clubs the golf ball is given an intentional roll of this kind by, for example, by holding the strike area of the putter at an appropriately oblique angle.
Alternatively, the putter can xe2x80x9ctopxe2x80x9d the golf ball by striking it at a level above its the horizontal mid-plane. The strike area of the putter normally has a vertical position when the putter is in a normal vertical position in connection with a putting stroke. But by having the strike area at an oblique angle in relation to the vertical plane one may deliberately seek to create great friction between the golf ball and the grass of the green already in the very first phase of the ball""s rolling movement as a result of the obliquely angled stroke played against the golf ball. The better less energy loss in energy transition from putter to movement of the ball, will give a more and better prediction both in length and path of the ball in relation to aim/hole.
Consequently, the aim is to apply as controlled a roll as possible to the golf ball at an early stage in the movement of the golf ball. In practice, however, in many cases the point at which the roll starts after the stroke has been played is a matter of chance, and also the degree of roll, since after being struck by the golf club the golf ball, in certain cases, may be given a rapid upward lifting movement from the underlying surface and may therefore make a subsequent soaring movement in relation to the underlying surface. Thus, the golf ball is given a limited or more or less uncontrollable roll. Until now, the position of the strike area of the putter in relation to the golf ball has been very decisive for the movement of the golf ball in relation to the underlying surface. However, local conditions (humidity/dampness, unevenness etc.) on the green affect, to a varying degree, the friction of the golf ball and thereby its speed of movement and pattern of movement, including the roll movement and the speed of the roll. When the player""s putter stroke meets the golf ball in an area above the horizontal mid-plane of the ball, the golf ball may experience an element of downward force in the direction of the grass on the green, with the result that one achieves intentionally greater friction and an intentional roll on the golf ball at an early stage of the stroke, thereby allowing the ball to roll in an intentional spinning plane and obtaining the gyro effect.
Further, when the player places the strike area of the putter at an oblique angle upwards and forward, it is possible, by applying this intentional initial friction against the grass, to ensure that a controlled pattern of movement of the golf ball is achieved in more or less continuous contact with the grass during the rolling movement.
On the other hand, if, for example, the player places the strike area of the putter at an oblique angle upwards and backward, it is possible to give the golf ball an intentional soaring or jumping movement, in cases where this is desired. Using this invention, the aim is to arrive at a solution whereby the putter can give the golf ball a relatively soft and sensitive stroke whereby the gyro effect is obtained as soon as possible after impact and more of the force from the putter is transmitted to the ball at an early stage after the stroke. This give a more predictable length of roll and direction of the the balls movement. The level of power transferred is adjustable and where the putter, in this connection, can easily give the golf ball the exactly desired movement by giving it the intended roll and the desired gyro effect. The aim is to ensure that the intended roll movement of the golf ball can be effected directly from the strike area of the putter, i.e. at an early stage in the 1. stroke of the putter against the actual golf ball and with easy and sensitive control of the stroke and to overcome the inertia force of the ball.
International patent application No. PCT/NO99/00314 describes a golf club in which this problem is solved by arranging the strike area of the putter in such a way that an interchangeable/replaceable longitudinal, lengthwise extended tension bar is attached to two fastening points at each end of the putter head through the two opposite ends of the tension bar, and with the lengthwise tension bar, attached through the two opposite ends, stretching freely over a hollow in the putter head. Using the lengthwise extended tension bar, which extends freely over a hollow in the putter head, it is possible to achieve some softening of the putter stroke against the golf ball and at the same time have the possibility of giving an initial roll to the golf ball immediately on striking the ball.
This solution is, however, complicated and is not easily adjusted to specified tensions in the band. If the band is stretched it may lose its tension, depending on the material used, and it is impossible to apply further tension later. Also, in the above mentioned application the size and shape of the striking area is fixed, as the hollow behind the band at the striking area is defined by the opposite ends of the tension bar. Also, it is not possible to have the putter accepted for use in competitions as the striking surface will be too flexible.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,109 describes a putter head having a striking surface being constituted by a band loop and being adjustable in the back using a screw mechanism. The band material is not mentioned but it is said to be flexible and is probably a fibre material or similar. The putter head also comprises a recess behind the band and the putter head.
The solution according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,109 in which the striking surface is flexible and not hard and rigid, as demanded by the golf rules according to RandA and USGA. Also, the solution does not conform with the rules of golf in being adjustable during use.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a golf putter head which may be allowable according to the rules of golf having an improved replaceable striking surface as a cassette prefixed tensile tension in the band, varies from cassette to cassette, consituted by a tension band, the tension of said band being within a wide range, depending on the whishes of the player.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide a golf putter head in which the shape and size of the flexible part of the striking surface may be chosen with a wide range of shapes and tension in the band.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an interchangeable part, or cassette, comprising a replaceable part adapted to the abovementioned golf club.
It is another object of this invention to provide an interchangeable part being inexpesive to produce.
An interchangeable part for use in golf clubs is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,290. This, however, represents a completely different solution being related to golf clubs, and not putters and being based on different types of synthetic materials being positioned in the back of the cassette to provide a softer and more flexible feel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,638 and GB 2,281,041 describe interchangeable parts in a golf putter in which the interchangeable striking surfaces are made from a rubber material. This solution results in larger friction between the ball and the striking surface and loss of energy in the strike thus providing a non-optimal solution.
The objects of this invention are obtained by providing a golf putter and an interchangeable cassette for a golf putter as described above, and being characterized in that the band-shaped material constitutes a loop and the tension bar is provided at least partially inside the band shaped material thus being adapted to apply a tension to the band, the tension bar also being including protrusions on each side of the striking surface thus defining a hollow or recess behind the band at the striking surface, and that the putter head comprises holding means for receiving the stretched band and tension bar and locking them into position in the putter head.
According to the invention, by ensuring that the said tension bar is locally pliable it is possible to achieve a relatively extensive, i.e. a relatively wide strike area between the putter head and the golf ball. By giving the said tension bar a relatively smooth and low-friction strike surface it is possible to ensure that there is low friction between the putter head and the golf ball in order to deliberately cause the golf ball to have the intended rolling movement. This can also be further controlled, for example by raising or lowering the putter head in relation to the centre of gravity of the ball. A delayed transfer of the force (kinetic energy) from the putter head to the ball will give a smoother and softer stroke. This greatly affects the ball and causes the ball to roll soon after the stroke. The roll is desirable immediately after the stroke in order to obtain the gyro effect, which in turn gives better stability both in direction and length.
Also according to the invention is an interchangeable cassette in which the parts may be produced using extruding profiles which are cut in chosen sizes, and the band may similarly be mass produced as thin tubes which also may be cut into the chosen dimension, thus providing a cost efficient production method. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates generally to the field of radio frequency tag technology. More specifically, the present invention relates to radio frequency-controlled telecommunications devices and systems.
Radio frequency (RF) tag technology has conventionally been used for identifying objects in radio frequency identification (RF ID) systems. In an RF ID system, information is carried on a tag (transponder) which is typically attached to an object of interest. When the tag comes within a RF signal field generated by a reader (transceiver) the tag responds to the incident RF signal. Typically, the tag reflects the incident RF carrier back to the reader in a form modulated by the tag according to the information with which the tag has been previously programmed.
RF tags may be passive or active. Active tags are powered by a battery which is incorporated into the tag. Passive tags do not have batteries. They derive their power inductively or capacitively from the RF signal transmitted by the reader to interrogate the tag.
FIG. 1A illustrates a conventional passive RF tag. The tag 100 has two main components: a semiconductor chip (integrated circuit (IC)) 102 having interface circuits, logic, and memory (not shown); and an antenna 104. The interface circuits of the IC 102 portion of a passive RF tag typically include an analog and a digital circuit. The analog circuit detects and decodes the RF signal and provides power to the digital circuit using the RF field strength of the reader. The digital circuit implements an information protocol which has been previously programmed into the tag. RF tags generally also include a variety of other discrete components, such as capacitors, clocks, and interconnections between components, a substrate for mounting components, and an enclosure.
FIG. 1B depicts a block diagram providing additional structural information for a typical passive RF tag. The figure is not a schematic depiction of an RF tag, but is intended as an illustration of the main function elements of a typical tag and their interconnections to provide a basis for describing the actions that take place when a tag (transponder) enters the RF field of a reader (transceiver), in order to assist in the understanding of the operation of RF tags.
An RF signal from a transceiver is received by the tag's antenna 110 when the tag enters the reader's RF field. From the antenna 110, the signal is typically split into a portion that provides the power for the tag which is smoothed by a capacitor 111, and a portion that provides the data to be read by and responded to by the tag's programmed logic. The power portion of the signal goes into a rectifier 112 (AC to DC converter) and the emerging DC signal is smoothed by a capacitor 104. The data portion of the split signal is conveyed along a conductive line 116 to a data extractor 118 which demodulates the signal and extracts the digital binary command data for the logic processor 120. The logic processor 120 receives the command and carries out the command instructions, which typically involves reading data from the tag's memory 122. The data read from the memory 122 is then output to a modulator 124 which modulates the digital data into an analog signal. The signal is then conveyed to the antenna 110 and transmitted back to the transceiver. RF tags also typically include additional elements not illustrated in FIG. 1B or discussed above, such as encoders/decoders and clock extractors.
As noted above, radio frequency (RF) tag technology, particularly passive RF tag technology, has conventionally been used for identifying objects in radio frequency identification (RF ID) systems. Thus the conventional application of RF tags has been in tracking objects of interest. When the tag comes within a RF signal field generated by a reader (transceiver) the tag responds to the transceiver's incident RF signal alerting the transceiver of its presence. A typical reader includes a computer processor which issues commands to a RF transmitter and receives commands from an RF receiver. The processor may also perform one or more functions based on the tags presence in its RF field.
For example, RF tags are used by airlines to track passenger luggage. When a passenger checks a piece of luggage it is tagged with an RF ID tag programmed with an identifier for that piece of luggage. When the luggage tag comes within the RF signal field of one of many RF ID readers located throughout the luggage system, the tag may be interrogated by the reader and the location of the luggage may be reported to a central tracking system by the reader's processor. Similarly, RF tag technology is used in “card key” systems. A card key contains a RF ID tag identifying the holder as a person authorized to pass through a door or gate. When the card comes within the RF signal field of an RF ID reader located at a door or gate, the tag may be interrogated by the reader and the authorization of the cardholder to pass may be confirmed, the door or gate my be opened, and the cardholder's passage recorded by the reader's processor.
While conventional implementations of RF tag technology have been useful in such tracking applications, RF tag technology has not so far been applied in many user interactive applications. The present inventors believe that RF tag technology offers the potential for a whole array of unexplored applications based on RF tags and readers with increased functionality.
One area of technology where the present inventors see great potential for the use of RF tag technology is telecommunications. Conventional telephones typically have a manually operated user interface whereby a user enters a multi-digit telephone number for a person, business or other entity which he or she desires to call via a number dial or pad. The convenience of this manual interface may be improved in conventional devices by the use of such features as “speed-dial” which allows a user to program frequently called numbers into a memory in the telephone and then dial one of those multi-digit numbers by pressing a single button. Presently, automatic telephone dialing interfaces, that is dialing interfaces which do not require user contact to enter a telephone number to be dialed, are not available other than perhaps in preprogrammed or random number dialing systems. Convenient systems for home or work use that allow a user to automatically dial a particular number of the users choice are unknown.
In addition, the present inventors contemplate that RF controlled telecommunications devices could have a variety of applications beyond conventional telephony. Such applications would require telecommunications devices and systems which incorporate and use RF tag technology in novel ways.
Accordingly, the development and application of RF telecommunications devices and systems which incorporate and use RF tag technology in novel ways is desirable. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
As smart phones and other portable devices increasingly become ubiquitous, and data usage increases, macrocell base station devices and existing wireless infrastructure in turn require higher bandwidth capability in order to address the increased demand. To provide additional mobile bandwidth, small cell deployment is being pursued, with microcells and picocells providing coverage for much smaller areas than traditional macrocells.
In addition, most homes and businesses have grown to rely on broadband data access for services such as voice, video and Internet browsing, etc. Broadband access networks include satellite, 4G or 5G wireless, power line communication, fiber, cable, and telephone networks. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1). Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus that is used for full-wafer testing and/or burn-in testing and/or built-in self-testing.
2). Discussion of Related Art
Microelectronic circuits are usually fabricated in and on semiconductor wafers. Such a wafer is subsequently “singulated” or “diced” into individual dies. Such a die is typically mounted to a supporting substrate for purposes of providing rigidity thereto and electronic communication with an integrated or microelectronic circuit of the die. Final packaging may include encapsulation of the die and the resulting package can then be shipped to a customer.
It is required that the die or the package be tested before being shipped to a customer. Ideally, the die should be tested at an early stage for the purposes of identifying the defects that occur during early-stage manufacturing.
The earliest stage that a die can be tested is after completion of the manufacture of microelectronic circuits at wafer level and before a wafer is singulated. Full wafer testing carries with it a number of challenges. One challenge in full wafer testing is that there is a large amount of contacts on a wafer and that a large number of power, ground, and signal connections thus have to be made. Another challenge is that burn-in testing requires a thermal management system that can maintain the wafer stable at a relatively high temperature, while providing a system that is simple to operate and relatively inexpensive. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The bread baking industry utilizes metal baking pans to put bread dough into for baking the bread in. The baking process typically consists of using automated conveyor systems to move the pans through the baking process. The bread pans are required to undergo severe handling during this process, under high heat conditions (the pans are moved through baking ovens at over 300.degree. F. in temperature). The break baking process results in dented, deformed bottoms being inflicted on the bottom and bottom edges of such baking pans (herein after referred to simply as pans). With such pans being dented and deformed on the bottom, the bread scrap rate is higher than normal, undented bottoms in pans.
The offset bottom process provides the following advantages in addition to the improved useful life expectancy of such pans:
(1) The offset bottom creates a less sharply defined bottom edge of bread, which will reduce the problem of said bread edges slicing through the plastic bags when attempting to insert the bread into the bags after the baking process.
(2) Offset bottom produces a more rounded edge of bottom portion of bread, which will require less lubricant to be supplied to the pan to allow automated equipment to more easily dump the bread after the baking process.
(3) The offset bottom is more flexible than conventional bottoms of pans, thus can absorb shock better with less further damage to bottoms of pans.
(4) The offset bottom will allow the four corners of the pans to avoid being the primary wear-points on typical pans by elevating such four corners slightly above the conveyor belt system.
(5) Nesting and stacking of pans will be made easier as the four edges that normally incur the damage typically inflict damage to a pan it is placed within during the post bake pan-stacking process.
The Gaddy Offset Bottom process will insure significantly improved life time expectancies of such pans. Also, scrap rates of deformed bread will be improved and thus, higher yield of bread out-put per pan used in the baking process. Heretofore, the pan renovation process consisted of using a top die and a rigid, static bottom die that had only fixed guide rails on the sides and the ends of such bottom die. Also, the top die had a surface area along the bottom portion of such die that conformed with the inside dimensions of the baking pan being straightened. With such rigid die surfaces, many pans could not be straightened because of the severity of the deformity along the bottom and bottom edges of such baking pans.
Accordingly, several objects of my invention are to allow the use of dynamic, moveable guide rails on the bottom dies that allow a pan to be guided down into the surface contact area of the bottom die. Whence, a convex ridge mating with a concave cut out on a male die, forces a stretching of the bottom of the pan and an offset, raised, reformed bottom to be formed on the bottom pan surface area. Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings thereof. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Online Social Networks (OSNs) represent an online community of Internet users. Depending on the website in question, many of these online community members share common interests in, for example, hobbies, religion, politics, etc. Online social networks such as Twitter, Foursquare, and Facebook have emerged only during the last decade and have since become popular tools for public discourse as well as political and social commentary. Other social networks, such as LinkedIn, also focus on business and professional networking.
As the popularity of social networking is on the rise, new uses for the technology are constantly being unearthed. At the forefront of emerging trends on social networking websites is the concept of “real time” and “location based” searches. However, mining attributes such as the location of a user is not an easy task in itself. For instance, traditional text-based location extraction techniques often do not perform well in the domain of social networks. A reason for the abridged performance is the presence of multiple locations within the text, which makes it difficult to identify a single location for the user. Additionally, there is often a lack of relationship between the location of the user and the location mentioned in the text. Thus, there is a need for a solution to these limitations, as well as others, in existing techniques. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a ring binder mechanism for retaining loose-leaf pages, and in particular to an improved ring binder mechanism for opening and closing ring members and for locking closed ring members together.
A ring binder mechanism retains loose-leaf pages, such as hole-punched pages, in a file or notebook. It has ring members for retaining the pages. The ring members may be selectively opened to add or remove pages or closed to retain pages while allowing the pages to be moved along the ring members. The ring members mount on two adjacent hinge plates that join together about a pivot axis. An elongate housing loosely supports the hinge plates within the housing and holds the hinge plates together so they may pivot relative to the housing.
The undeformed housing is slightly narrower than the joined hinge plates when the hinge plates are in a coplanar position (180°). So as the hinge plates pivot through this position, they deform the resilient housing and cause a spring force in the housing that urges the hinge plates to pivot away from the coplanar position, either opening or closing the ring members. Thus, when the ring members are closed the spring force resists hinge plate movement and clamps the ring members together. Similarly, when the ring members are open, the spring force holds them apart. An operator may typically overcome this force by manually pulling the ring members apart or pushing them together. Levers may also be provided on one or both ends of the housing for moving the ring members between the open and closed positions. But a drawback to these known ring binder mechanisms is that when the ring members are closed, they do not positively lock together. So if the mechanism is accidentally dropped, the ring members may unintentionally open.
Some ring binder mechanisms have been modified to include locking structure to block the hinge plates from pivoting when the ring members are closed. The blocking structure positively locks the closed ring members together, preventing them from unintentionally opening if the ring mechanism is accidentally dropped. The blocking structure also allows the housing spring force to be reduced because the strong spring force is not required to clamp the closed ring members together. Thus, less operator force is required to open and close the ring members of these mechanisms than in traditional ring mechanisms.
Some of these ring mechanisms incorporate the locking structure onto a control slide connected to the lever. The lever moves the control slide (and its locking structure) to either block the pivoting movement of the hinge plates or allow it. But a drawback to these mechanisms is that an operator must positively move the lever after closing the ring members to position the locking structure to block the hinge plates and lock the ring members closed. Failure to do this could allow the hinge plates to inadvertently pivot and open the ring members, especially if the mechanisms are accidentally dropped.
Some locking ring binder mechanisms use springs to move the locking structure into position blocking the hinge plates when the ring members close. Examples are shown in co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/870,801 (Cheng et al.), Ser. No. 10/905,606 (Cheng), and Ser. No. 11/027,550 (Cheng). These mechanisms employ separate springs to help lock the mechanisms.
Movement of the locking structure is generally linear or translational, but the actuator is moved by pivoting a lever. Accordingly, there is a need to transfer only the translational component of the lever's motion to the locking structure. There are solutions that have been proposed. For example, refer to co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/870,801. However, there is a need to accomplish the transmission of motion with structure which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple in overall construction, and reliable in repeated operation. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of oral hygiene devices and, more specifically, to the field of oral hygiene devices such as toothbrushes that employ sonic and/or ultrasonic acoustic mechanisms.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Even the most effective existing power toothbrushes leave clinically significant plaque at tooth-to-tooth contact surfaces, at the gingival-tooth contact points, below the gingiva and beyond the direct reach of the bristles or other toothbrush components. Many oral hygiene devices employing sonic and/or ultrasonic mechanisms are known in the art. Previous attempts to take advantage of ultrasound acoustic energy in toothbrushes failed to exploit microbubble formation in dental fluid for purposes of facilitating plaque removal, or failed to consider microbubbles and macrobubbles as a potential impediment to ultrasound propagation beyond the bristle tips.
Some toothbrushes that employed ultrasound technology attempted to achieve the propagation of ultrasound waves from the base of the bristles either through the bristles themselves or through the bubbly dental fluid that fills the spaces between the bristles. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,138,733 and 5,546,624 to Bock disclose an ultrasonic toothbrush having a handle, a battery pack, an electronics driving module, a piezoelectric member, and a removable brush head. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,247,716 and 5,369,831 to Bock disclose a removable brush head for an ultrasonic toothbrush having a plurality of bristle clusters, a substantially tubular body constructed of a flexible material, and tensioning means securing the brush head to the ultrasonic device, providing for the efficient transmission of ultrasonic frequency oscillations from the device via the brush head. Because conventional toothbrush bristles and bubbly dental fluid can reduce rather than facilitate the propagation of ultrasound waves, the toothbrushes disclosed in these references would not achieve efficient ultrasound wave propagation. Also, the ultrasound systems in prior art toothbrushes did not take advantage of the specific bubble structure within dental fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,443 to Parisi discloses a brush that is coupled to an ultrasonic, vibratory handheld dental instrument that is capable of being oscillated at high sonic and ultrasonic frequencies. U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,956 to Andress discloses a device that is not a toothbrush, for removing dental plaque by ultrasonic oscillations.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,977 to Balamuth et al., which reissued as U.S. Pat. No. RE 28,752, discloses ultrasonic kits, ultrasonic motor constructions, and ultrasonic converter designs for use alone or in combination. The ultrasonic motor may be of piezoelectric material having a removable tip and is contained in a housing having an electrical contact means adapted to be plugged into an adapter that is connected to a converter. U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,932 and No. 3,941,424 to Balamuth et al. disclose an ultrasonic toothbrush applicator in a configuration to be ultrasonically oscillated to transmit mechanical oscillations from one end to a bristle element positioned at the other end.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,770 to Kuris et al. discloses a method for cleaning teeth employing bursts of ultrasonic mechanical oscillation at an applicator repeated at a sonic frequency to produce both ultrasonic and sonic vibratory motion during use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,035 to Kuris discloses an apparatus comprising an elongated member formed of a piezoelectric member with a pair of contacting surfaces with a brush member adapted to be received within the mouth. A casing adapted into a handle is configured to receive the piezoelectric member. U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,197 to Kuris discloses an ultrasonic toothbrush that includes an elongated handle member in the form of a hollow housing having a low voltage coil and cooperating ferrite core that is driven at ultrasonic frequencies. A brush member is affixed to the core and is adhesively affixed to an impedance transfer device that is adhesively affixed to the core material. The impedance transfer device insures maximum transfer of ultrasonic energy from the core material to the brush.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,249 and No. 5,150,492 to Suroff disclose an ultrasonic toothbrush having an exchangeable toothbrush member that is removably attached to an ultrasonic power member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,632 to Center discloses a device for removing plaque from teeth comprising a toothbrush having a thick, cylindrical, hollow handle encompassing an electric motor that is actuable to cause rotation of an eccentrically mounted member and oscillation of the entire device and an ultrasonic transducer actuable to produce high frequency sound waves along the brush.
Japan Application No. P1996-358359, Pat. Laid Open 1998-165228, discloses a toothbrush utilizing ultrasonic waves in which an ultrasonic wave generator is provided in the handle of a manual or electrically powered toothbrush and an ultrasonic wave vibrator is mounted in the brush and wired to the wave generator.
Japan Application No. P2002-353110, Pat. Laid Open 2004-148079, discloses an ultrasonic toothbrush wherein ultrasonic oscillation is radiated from a piezoelectric vibrator arranged inside a brush head and transmitted to the teeth via a rubber projection group.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,320 to Williams et al. discloses an electrically operated toothbrush and method for cleaning teeth. The toothbrush includes a handle, a brush head connected to the handle having a plurality of hollow filament bristles, passageways through the handle and brush head for transporting fluid into and through the hollow filament bristles, an electrical energy source in the handle, and a vibratory element for imparting a pulsation to the fluid being transported.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0079305 to Takahata et al. discloses an electric toothbrush in which a brush body is simultaneously oscillated and reciprocated. The electric toothbrush comprises a casing main body, an arm extending above the casing main body, a brush body arranged in a top end of the arm, and an ultrasonic motor arranged in a top end inside of the arm for driving the brush body.
U.S. Pat. No. RE 35,712, which is a reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,883 to Murayama, discloses an electric device (i.e. a flosser) for removal of plaque from interproximal surfaces. The device employs sonic energy and dental floss secured between two tines of a flexible fork removably attached to a powered handle. The electric motor revolves at sonic frequencies to generate sonic energy that is transmitted to the flexible fork.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,957 to Mosch et al. discloses an ultrasonic scaler comprising a scaler tip, actuator material, a coil, a handpiece housing, and an air-driven electrical current generator. The actuator material, coil, and air-driven electrical current generator are all encompassed within the handpiece housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,167 to Sharp discloses an ultrasonic dental scaler for use with a dental scaler insert having a resonant frequency. The dental scaler insert is removably attached to a handpiece having an energizing coil coupled to a selectively tunable oscillator circuit to generate a control signal having an oscillation frequency for vibrating the dental scaler.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,019 to Martin discloses a dental instrument for scaling by ultrasonic operation. The instrument of the dental instrument has a distal end with a hook-like configuration with a conical pointed end and comprising abrasive particles, typically diamond particles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,153 to Giuliani discloses a dental hygiene apparatus having a body portion and an extended resonator arm. The apparatus employs an electromagnet in its body that acts in combination with two permanent magnets to achieve an oscillating action about a torsion pin. The arm is driven such that the bristle-tips operate within ranges of amplitude and frequency to produce a bristle tip velocity greater than 1.5 meters per second to achieve cleansing beyond the tips of the bristles.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0091770 A1 discloses a toothbrush employing an acoustic waveguide that facilitates the transmission of acoustic energy into the dental fluid. The acoustic waveguide may be used in combination with a sonic component and/or an ultrasonic transducer. The disclosure of this publication is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
There remains a need in the art for devices that provide improved oral hygiene, and particularly that improve cleaning between the teeth and gums, at points of contact between the teeth, and beyond the direct action of the bristles. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Many businesses transactions require acknowledgement data to be displayed on a viewer (e.g., customer or client). In one common situation, a business needs to display data (e.g., in the form of documents) to a customer but only for a limited duration. In another common situation, a business needs to display data to a customer but only for the time needed for the customer to acknowledge the data (e.g., by the customer signing a document). Current methods for displaying data for acknowledgement (i.e., view and/or signing) can require a customer travel to a business location (e.g., a branch), view the data on a hard paper copy or on a computer screen, and if necessary, sign the hard paper copy of the document. If signing is required, the signed document is scanned typically using a scanner into data storage used by the business. These methods of displaying data and/or obtaining acknowledgments can be problematic for several reasons.
Manual processes for printing and exchanging paper, then collecting a signature, assembling the paper to be later scanned, and delivered manually can cause administrative overhead and an overall delay in processing. Displaying data to a customer at a branch location can be problematic, because the customer may need to view the data prior to visiting the branch. Also, the displayed data may be large or otherwise unsuitable for easy viewing as a paper printout (e.g., a large table). If an agent attempts to show the data to the customer on her computer, which is typically connected to the business'internal computing network, the customer could gain access to data that the company prefers to keep private. Another problem with current methods is that when a hard copy paper document is signed by a client, there may be document and/or scanning errors that go undetected, requiring that the customer travel back to the business location a second time. As a result, the customer can be inconvenienced.
Other known methods for displaying data to a customer to obtain acknowledgment involve using tethered devices. For example, during check-out at a grocery store, a small screen is typically provided to a credit card user so that the customer can electronically sign for the credit charge. The small screen is tethered to a cash register. These devices are insufficient in situations involving customer viewing of a large amount of data, and require the customer to travel to the branch location. Further, tethered devices require a physical connection to the computer from which the data is originating. Physically connecting computing devices to tethered displays can be time consuming, costly and impractical. Further, tethered devices do not allow for viewing and/or acknowledgment at a location beyond the distance of the physical wiring. Additionally, these proprietary technical solutions can limit rapid scaling of a solution and can greatly limit the solution from taking advantage of advances in technology.
Therefore, it is desirable to display data for acknowledgement at a location that can be remote from a device that is requesting the data be displayed. It is also desirable to display data for acknowledgment purposes that prevents the customer from accessing any internal systems of the business. It is also desirable to display data for acknowledgment on a screen that is large enough and/or has the capability for the customer to read easily a large amount of data. It is also desirable to display data for acknowledgment without having to add computer hardware to connect devices. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to hand tools and, more particularly, to hand tools designed to assist those who have trouble manipulating small objects such as the buttons and zippers on everyday clothing. Specifically, the present invention relates to a hand tool that is used to pull a button through a button hole.
2. Background Information
Shirt buttons are one of the daily frustrations for those who have difficulty manipulating small objects with one or both hands. The process of aligning a button with a button hole is difficult and time consuming for anyone who has difficulty grasping and manipulating fine objects between the thumb and finger or for those with limited eyesight. Various devices are known in the art for pulling a button through a button hole. Despite the existence of these devices, room for improvement remains in the art. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The invention is in the field of electronic components and is to be used in the construction of gas-filled surge arresters with at least two electrodes, in which an activating compound including a plurality of components is applied to at least one of the electrodes to ensure igniting properties.
In the case of surge arresters filled with an inert gas, the respectively required operating behavior, such as a static sparkover voltage (DC sparkover voltage), dynamic sparkover voltage (surge sparkover voltage), extinguishing voltage and glow voltage as well as a current-carrying capacity under alternating current and unipolar pulsed current, can be influenced by various measures. Those measures may be the structural layout of the electrodes, the type and pressure of the gas filling, the configuration of one or more ignition strips on an inner wall of a glass or ceramic insulator and the selection of the activating compound disposed on the active surfaces of the electrodes. For example, there is a known surge arrester which has two electrodes that are fitted at the ends into a hollow-cylindrical ceramic insulator and which has mutually facing electrode surfaces that are coated with an activating compound of aluminum and magnesium oxide. In that case, the activating compound is disposed in depressions in the electrode surface. Furthermore, a plurality of axially running ignition strips, which are constructed as so-called central ignition strips, are disposed on the inner wall of the insulator without directly joining the electrodes, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,260. In the case of surge arresters with two ceramic insulators and a third, annular central electrode, it is similarly known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,736 to also place the activating compound (in that case sodium silicate) in depressions in the central electrode.
The activating compounds used for gas-filled surge arresters frequently include a plurality of components. In the case of an activating compound including three components, there is a known composition which contains aluminum as a first component in an amount of approximately 25% by weight, a sodium bromide as a second component in an amount of approximately 50% by weight and a barium titanate as a third component in an amount of approximately 25% by weight. In that case, the gas filling contains not only an inert gas such as argon but also hydrogen in an amount of 5 to 20% by volume. Such an activating compound, according to German Patent DE 196 32 417 C1, is distinguished by a high adhesive strength over heavy-duty discharge gaps with low sparkover voltage.
With regard to high-voltage spark gaps it is also known in the case of a gas filling of pure nitrogen to use an activating compound which, apart from sodium or potassium silicate, additionally contains nickel. That structure, according to German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 37 23 571 A1, improves the long-term constancy of the ignition voltage.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a gas-filled surge arrester with an activating compound formed of a plurality of components, which overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and which, starting from a gas-filled surge arrester with at least two electrodes, with a hydrogen-containing gas filling and with an activating compound including a plurality of components, puts the components of the activating compound together in such a way that the surge arrester has a good current-carrying capacity under alternating current (test: 60 times 1A, 1 sec.) and under unipolar pulsed current (test: 1500 times 10A, wave {fraction (10/1000)} xcexcsec.) even at temperatures to xe2x88x9240xc2x0 C., while maintaining a low sparkover surge voltage (for example at 100 V/sec. lower than 550 V), a constant extinguishing voltage and a constant DC sparkover voltage.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a gas-filled surge arrester, comprising at least two electrodes; a hydrogen-containing gas filling; and an activating compound applied to at least one of the electrodes, the activating compound containing nickel powder in an amount of 30 to 35% by weight and potassium silicate in an amount of 25 to 35% by weight as basic components, sodium bromide in an amount of 15 to 20% by weight, and aluminum powder, sodium silicate and barium titanate as further components each in an amount of 5 to 10% by weight.
With such a combination of the components of the activating compound, the actual igniting and extinguishing properties of the surge arrester are essentially ensured by the potassium silicate component in combination with the hydrogen-containing gas filling, while the sodium bromide, barium titanate, sodium silicate and aluminum powder components stabilize the DC sparkover voltage and the nickel powder component guarantees the good extinguishing behavior before and after loading.
The novel electrode activating compound is suitable both for applying to the hollow-cylindrical central electrode of two-gap arresters and for applying to the end electrodes of two-gap and three-gap arresters.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a gas-filled surge arrester with an activating compound formed of a plurality of components, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Recently, development of portable and cordless types of such electronic apparatuses as AV equipment and personal computers has made rapid progress, and a secondary cell of small size, light weight and providing a high energy density is highly demanded as a driving power supply for such apparatus. Particularly, a secondary lithium cell with a negative electrode of metallic lithium used as an active material is highly expected to be a cell capable of providing a high voltage and a high energy density. However, because of insufficiency in safety and reliability, such lithium cell has not been practically applied for the present.
It is considered that the safety is reduced because the negative electrode of metallic lithium is changed to a dendritic shape by repetitive charging and discharging, leading to possible internal short circuiting and heat generating reaction between the electrolyte and lithium of the dendritic shape.
In order to solve the problem, a secondary lithium ion cell with a negative electrode of carbon material that is capable of reversibly intercalating and deintercalating lithium and a positive electrode of such oxide of a transition metal containing lithium as LiCoO.sub.2, LiNiO.sub.2 and LiMn.sub.2 O.sub.4 has been suggested.
In such secondary lithium ion cell, since lithium is intercalated into the carbon material of negative electrode during charging, precipitation of lithium is theoretically never caused on the negative electrode plate, it is advantageous in that internal short circuiting of the cell is restricted, and the cell is superior in safety and reliability.
Even in the case of such secondary lithium ion cell with a negative pole of carbon material that is capable of reversibly intercalating and deintercalating lithium, however, lithium is deposited on the negative electrode plate gradually as charging and discharging are repetitively conducted, and it has been a problem that the cell is reduced in safety and reliability in the final stage of its cycle life.
Hence, it is an object of the invention to solve the problem, and provide a cell superior in charging and discharging cycle life characteristics, safety and reliability by preventing precipitation of lithium on a negative electrode plate in the final stage of cycle life. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Surface markings are used in various settings to convey information. For example, surface markings, such as lines, stripes, arrows, words, symbols and/or the like, are often provided on roadways to provide drivers road-related information (e.g., lane boundaries, stopping points, warning signs, turn lane designations and/or the like). Similarly, surface markings, such as numbers, words and/or designs, may be provided in parking lots to identify specific parking spots (e.g., handicapped and/or numbered parking spots). In addition, surface markings may also be provided on sports fields to identify team names, team logos, boundaries, affiliations (e.g., conference logos) and/or the like.
Typically, complex surface markings, such as words, numbers, logos, designs and/or other images, are applied to a surface using pre-manufactured templates. For instance, to apply a logo onto a sports field, a template corresponding to a negative image of the logo may be initially placed onto the field. Thereafter, the portions of the field visible through the template may be manually painted (e.g., by hand painting or spray painting the logo). As such, the use of templates to create surface markings is typically a very labor intensive and time consuming process.
Moreover, it is often the case that the templates used to create surface markings cannot be reused until the paint applied to such templates has dried, which can be very problematic when a large number of repetitive surface markings must be created. For instance, number templates are typically used to create numbered parking places in parking lots. In such instances, once a given template has been used to create a single numbered parking place, the template may not be used again until the paint sprayed or otherwise applied across the template has dried. Thus, to mark a plurality of different parking places, a significant amount of time and/or templates is required.
Accordingly, a system and method for automatically applying painted surface markings to a surface would be welcomed in the art. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Conventionally, a user would submit a text message or short message service type message (SMS) to a known service provider in order to receive certain feedback. SMS-based messaging and question generation are becomingly increasingly popular as it saves time for the customer, the customer support center and requires less people to answer phone calls and address user concerns. Also, in the case of interactive voice response (IVR) systems, a user may be faced with various options for pressing phone keys to be directed to the correct department or in an effort to speak with a live agent. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In order to achieve high resolution video decoder throughput, for example, 4K@P60 (60 frames per second progressive scan, width 4096) or 8K@P60 (60 frames per second progressive scan, width 8192), conventionally a parallel processing with multiple hardware accelerators or multiple general purpose processors is needed. As for a multiple-hardware-accelerator solution, a frame level parallelization is used widely. As for a multiple-general-purpose-processor solution (CPU, GPU, DSP, etc.), various methods are used, including slice parallelization, tile parallelization, frame parallelization, basic wavefront parallelization, etc. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Known prior art flexible conductors include U.S. Pat. No. 2,062,752--Kindberg which has wires forming the power lines embedded in two slits in a rubber housing. This results in only a small area of contact--nominally a "point contact"--between the tines of a power take off device and the conductors of the track with resultant problems with connection failure. Further the configuration of the housing does not readily allow for bending of the track in a lateral direction with respect to the slots. It being necessary to cut one or more notches to facilitate the bending oft the track around a corner.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,105,833--Freuer, et al shows a track which comprises a flexible moulding having two slits with a wire embedded in each slit. Again only a "point contact" with a tine of a power take off device would occur. Further the moulding does not appear to be able to bend laterally to the slits.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,175,245--Brockman whilst showing a flexible track, requires that the contacts are in the form of separate jaws, and also only shows a shape of housing which does not permit bending of the track laterally, but only allows bending with the ingress to the contacts being internal or external to the bend direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,240,180--Frank describes a flexible track but does not show a track which can bend laterally. Further the contacts have individual jaws to assist bending with the ingress to the contacts being internal or external to the bend direction.
In International patent Application No PCT/SE86/00579 there is described a flexible conductor strip having an elongated wire conductor surrounded by a thin insulation layer with an elongaged slot extending through the insulation layer to provide access to the conductor. This conductor strip only provides a small area of contact between the conductor and a take off device. Further, because of the small diameter of the conductor strip, the strip will twist during bending resulting in the slot twisting out of position.
Systems utilizing the above tracks as described in the abovementioned references do not allow a secure connection to the conductors in the track; but rely on a straight "push in" of the tines of the power take off into the slits containing the contacts, generally relying upon the resilience of the material of the house to retain engagement.
A rigid supply rail system having bus bars located in vertically extending elongated channels is described in International Patent Application PCT/AU86/00252. This reference provides a single small diameter elongate conductor located adjacent to the roof of the channels. Access to the channels is by way of an elongated opening located on the side wall adjacent the base of the rail. Thus the connection of the take off device is dependent on the small area of contact between the tine of the take off device and the elongated conductor. Further, when a change of direction is required for the supply rail, a corner adaptor is required to be connected between the adjacent supply rails. Therefore, because of the connections between straight rail sections and corner adaptors, an increase in impedence of the supply rail system occurs. Therefore if a high fidelity signal is required, this system could cause interference or noise, distorting the signal.
The use of a rigid supply rail is also shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,243,284--Humphreys, U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,650--Humphreys and U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,687--Humphreys et al. These references show a limited access to the conductors by way of discrete doorways with resultant complex arrangements for opening and closing. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Rapid advancements in technology and communications have led to the ubiquitous use of wireless electronics. As such, today's society has grown to become heavily device reliant. This reliance has led to the use of electronics to make monetary transactions for goods and services. For example, a smartphone may now be used to complete a purchase transaction at a merchant location. In some instances, machine readable codes may be used to complete such transaction. Unfortunately, the use of electronic devices and in particular machine readable codes may often leave a user susceptible to fraudulent activity. Therefore, it would be beneficial to create a system and method that generates machine readable codes that can be used to protect a user from such activity.
Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, whereas showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Based on studies which indicated a large potential for significantly increased coal-firing in the commercial sector, the development of advanced coal combustion systems is currently being pursued.
Fluid heating systems known in the art include conventional combustion systems in communication with boiler assemblies. Oil or gas is primarily used in these conventional combustion systems to provide heat to water passing through boiler systems. The heated water or steam is then forwarded for its desired application, such as space heating, turbine operation, or otherwise.
Conventional oil and gas systems suffer from a major drawback--availability and price stability, both of which are subject to the turbulent conditions in the Middle East. Solid domestic fuels, on the other hand, are generally plentiful at the present time and are not faced with the same concerns.
A major concern, however, with utilizing solid fuels such as coal, particularly the cheaper low grade sulfur-containing coals, for supplying heat to conventional fluid heating devices such as a fire tube boiler, is the amount of particulates and other contaminants produced by combustion that are carried over in the combustion gas stream. A particulate-contaminant-laden gas stream operating such systems can adversely impact the atmosphere as such particulate is released thereto. Although conventional devices such as cyclones may be used to remove larger particulate matter from combustion gas streams, these devices generally fail to remove smaller particulates such as fly ash from the streams. Similar problems also exist in other gas streams in which the suspended particulate matter originates from other than combustion.
Fuel-bound nitrogen also causes nitrogen oxide (NO.sub.x) emissions to form in the gas stream. Methods and processes to either reduce the production of nitrogen oxides or to destroy or remove such pollutants from the flue gas stream are necessary to meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act. Economically viable means for removing these pollutants from the exhaust stream before discharging such exhaust into the atmosphere have not heretofore been available.
Various attempts have been made to overcome the above and other problems and to provide an economically feasible and efficient process for treating fluids using a solid fuel. One such attempt has focused on ultracleaning the coal prior to combustion to reduce coal-based contaminants. The coal must be extensively cleaned in an attempt to remove ash and sulfur from the fuel prior to firing. Generally, a cold water slurry is made from micronized, deeply cleaned coal and then used as fuel. This approach is very expensive and imposes delays in time before the coal may be used. It does, however, produce an essentially oil-like slurry fuel made from coal.
In summary, effective reduction of suspended particulates and other contaminants in a gas stream created by combustion remains a paramount problem due to the lack of a cost effective, efficient system for particulate and contaminant removal. Available particulate collection/removal systems are limited by combustor operating conditions. Any new systems should possess a number of attributes, such as high combustion efficiency, high sulfur capture capability, high solid fuel particulate removal, low nitrogen oxide emissions, and high removal of alkali vapors created by the combustion of the fuel. New systems providing these attributes should be relatively inexpensive and should not require substantial preparation and pre-cleaning of the fuel used for combustion.
Acoustic agglomeration is a process in which high intensity sound is used to agglomerate submicron- and micron-sized particles in aerosols. This concept is a pretreatment process to increase the average size of entrained particulates to permit high collection/removal efficiencies using cyclone or other conventional separators. Sound waves cause relative motion between the solid particles, and hence, increase their collision frequency. Once the particles collide, they are likely to stick together. As an overall result of sound treatment, the particle size distribution in the aerosol shifts significantly from small to larger sizes relatively quickly. Larger particles may be more effectively filtered from the carrying gas stream by conventional particulate removal devices such as cyclones. The combination of an acoustic agglomeration chamber with one or more cyclones in series provides a promising high-efficiency system to clean particulate-laden gases such as hot flue gases from pressurized combustors.
Acoustic agglomeration of small particles in hot combustion gases and other sources of fine dust-bearing effluent streams has been studied intermittently for many years. Although effective in producing larger-sized particles (5 to 20 microns) for more efficient removal by conventional devices, the prior art methods of acoustic agglomeration are not generally viewed as potential clean-up devices due to their large power requirements. For example, fine fly ash particulates (less than 5 microns in size) have been agglomerated using high-intensity acoustic fields at high frequencies in the 1,000-4,000 Hz range. These higher frequencies were necessary for the disentrainment of the fine particulate so as to effect collisions therebetween, and hence, agglomeration of the fine particles.
In these prior art acoustic agglomeration devices, the acoustic fields have been produced by sirens, air horns, or electromagnetic speakers. The resulting acoustic generation for sonic agglomeration requires power estimated to be in the range of 0.5 to 2 hp/1,000 cfm. This, of course, is a significant parasitic power loss even for efficient horns and sirens which normally have efficiencies ranging from 8 to 10%.
Furthermore, the sirens and air horns require auxiliary compressors to pressurize air. Electromagnetic devices require special designs and precautions to provide the desired equipment reliability, availability and life. In addition, powerful amplifiers are required to drive such speakers to deliver 160 decibels (dB) or more of sound pressure.
In addition to the foregoing, desired system performance goals include dual fuel capability (i.e., coal as primary fuel and a premium fuel as secondary fuel), combustion efficiency exceeding 99 percent, thermal efficiency greater than 80 percent, turndown of at least 3:1, dust-free and semi-automatic dry ash removal, fully automatic start-up with system purge and ignition verification, emissions performance exceeding new source performance standards and approaching those produced by fuel oil-fired commercial-scale units, and reliability, safety, operability, maintainability, and service life comparable to the oil-fired units currently employed for heating fluids.
The apparatus and process according to the present invention overcome most, if not all, of the above-noted problems of the prior art and generally possess the desired attributes set forth above by using a pulse combustor to produce a heat source for enhancing the generation of fluid heat, such as the creation of steam. The present invention may be designed to operate in both a slagging and a non-slagging mode. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical information recording medium capable of recording and reproducing large-capacity information using a light beam.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, in the field of information recording, research into optical information recording media and optical information recording methods are progressing at various laboratories. Optical information recording media can record/reproduce information in a noncontact state. Optical information recording media are classified into read-only-type, write-once, read-many-type, and rewritable media and can cope with various memory forms. Such optical information recording media can inexpensively store large-capacity files and are expected to be widely used as industrial and consumer devices.
CDs, LDs, and DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs) corresponding to a read-only memory form have already been widely proliferated. These optical disks have a transparent substrate on which a three-dimensional pattern such as pits and grooves that indicate an information signal is formed. A reflecting film formed from a metal thin film of, e.g., aluminum is formed on the transparent substrate. A protective film for protecting the reflecting film from oxidation is formed on the reflecting film. A light beam incident on the optical disk is reflected by the reflecting film. The three-dimensional pattern such as pits and grooves that indicate an information signal is reflected on reflected light reflected by the reflecting film. Hence, when a change in reflected light is detected, the information signal can be reproduced.
Phase change optical disks corresponding to a rewritable memory form are already forming a market of PDs, DVD-RAMs, and DVD-RWs. The disk structure will be described below. A transparent dielectric film is formed on a transparent substrate. A phase change recording layer essentially consisting of Ge, Sb, Te, In, or Ag is formed on the transparent dielectric film. Another transparent dielectric film is formed on the phase change recording layer. A reflecting film made of, e.g., aluminum is formed on the transparent dielectric film. In addition, a protective film made of, e.g., a UV curing resin is formed on the reflecting film. Upon receiving a light beam from a semiconductor laser, the phase change recording layer on the transparent substrate reversibly transits between an amorphous state and a crystal state. In an information reproduction mode, an information signal is reproduced by detecting a change in reflected light from a recording portion of the phase change recording layer. In an information recording mode, a recording portion of the phase change recording layer is irradiated with a short-pulse light beam having a relatively high power to heat the recording portion to a temperature equal to or more than the melting point. Then, the recording portion is quickly cooled to form an amorphous recording mark at the recording portion. In an information erase mode, the recording portion of the phase change recording layer is irradiated with a long-pulse light beam having a lower power than in the recording mode to hold the recording portion at a temperature between the crystallization temperature (inclusive) and the melting point (exclusive) or cool the recording portion from a temperature equal to or more than the melting point, thereby crystallizing the recording portion. As described above, in the phase change optical recording, information is recorded using a change in reflectance between the amorphous state and the crystal state. For this reason, an apparatus can have an optical system with a simple structure. Phase change optical recording requires no magnetic field, unlike magnetooptical recording. Additionally, in phase change optical recording, an overwrite by light intensity modulation is easy, and the data transfer rate is high. Furthermore, phase change optical recording has good compatibility with a read-only disk represented by a DVD-ROM and CD-ROM.
As a method of increasing the capacity of such an optical disk, the NA (Numerical Aperture) of the objective lens of an optical pickup is increased to reduce the spot diameter of reproduction light, thereby attaining a high recording density. In a shift from, e.g., a CD to a DVD, the substrate thickness is decreased from 1.2 mm to 0.6 mm to cope with an optical system with a high NA. To increase the NA, the transparent substrate through which reproduction light passes must be made thinner. This is because when the NA is increased, the allowable amount of aberration generated by the angle of shift of the disk surface from a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the optical pickup, i.e., the tilt angle becomes small. For this reason, as the NA increases, the transparent substrate must be made thin, and the substrate thickness distribution in the disk must fall within a predetermined range.
For a recording/reproduction optical disk such as a DVD, a light beam becomes incident from the substrate side. That is, a light beam irradiation surface in the reflecting layer is formed on the protective layer. An interface is formed between the reflecting layer and the protective layer. Since the surface of the protective layer is reflected on the light beam irradiation surface in the reflecting layer, an equilibrium is maintained. On the other hand, in a high-NA-compatible optical disk which is applied to an apparatus having an optical pickup with a high-NA lens, layers are formed in an order reverse to that of the above-described conventional optical disk to ensure a tilt margin. In such a high-NA-compatible optical disk, a reflecting layer, second protective layer, phase change recording layer, and first protective layer are formed in this order. For this reason, the surface state of the reflecting layer is reflected on the second protective layer formed on the reflecting layer, the recording layer formed on the second protective layer, and the first protective layer formed on the recording layer. Generally, crystal grains on the surface of the reflecting layer formed from an AL alloy tend to have a large side due to columnar growth unique to a metal thin film. The surface roughness of the reflecting layer also roughens the surface of the recording layer through the second protective layer. A mark recorded on the high-NA-compatible optical disk which aims at increasing density by increasing the NA is finer than a mark recorded on the conventional optical disk. That is, the above-described surface roughness of the recording layer greatly influences the recording/reproduction characteristic of the high-NA-compatible optical disk. More specifically, the surface roughness of the recording layer produces noise in the reproduction mode or causes strain at a mark edge in forming a recording mark. Hence, in a high-NA-compatible optical disk, such surface roughness (three-dimensional pattern) of the reflecting layer is preferably suppressed.
In the conventional optical disk in which a light beam is incident from the substrate surface side, a reflecting layer is divisionally formed for efficient mass production. With the divisional reflecting layer formation, the columnar growth of the reflecting layer is slightly suppressed. However, the surface roughness of the reflecting layer generates noise in the reproduction mode or fluctuates a mark edge at a 1/10 wavelength or more. For this reason, even the above-described columnar growth suppression by divisional film formation does not suffice in obtaining a satisfactory recording/reproduction characteristic. In the conventional optical disk, an Al-based material is used for the reflecting layer. However, this material readily forms large-size crystal grains and is therefore unsuitable for a high-NA-compatible optical disk in which layers are formed in a reverse order. As a method of reducing the surface roughness of the recording layer of a high-NA-compatible optical disk, a method of inserting a metal undercoat between the reflecting layer and the substrate is proposed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-327890. However, this method has another problem that the disk manufacturing cost increases because an additional layer is formed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of opening obstructed biological conduits. Preferred methods of the invention include methods and systems for opening obstructed biological conduits using local delivery of a therapeutic agent, particularly a protease, to lyse the extracellular matrix of the obstructing tissue.
2. Background
Obstructions to biological conduits frequently result from trauma to the conduit which can result from transplant, graft or other surgical procedures wherein the extracellular matrix of the obstructing tissue largely comprises collagen. Balloon angioplasty is a common initial treatment for stenosis or stricture obstruction that yields excellent initial results (Pauletto, Clinical Science, (1994) 87:467-79). However, this dilation method does not remove the obstructing tissue.
It only stretches open the lumen, the trauma of which has been associated with the release of several potent cytokines and growth factors that can cause an injury which induces another round of cell proliferation, cell migration toward the lumen and synthesis of more extracellular matrix. Consequently, balloon angioplasty is associated with restenosis in nearly all patients (Pauletto, Clinical Science, (1994) 87:467-79). There is currently no treatment that can sustain patency over the long term.
The extracellular matrix, which holds a tissue together, is composed primarily of collagen, the major fibrous component of animal extracellular connective tissue (Krane, J. Investigative Dermatology (1982) 79:83s-86s; Shingleton, Biochem. Cell Biol., (1996) 74:759-75). The collagen molecule has a base unit of three stands of repeating amino acids coiled into a triple helix. These triple helix coils are then woven into a right-handed cable. As the collagen matures, cross-links form between the chains and the collagen becomes progressively more insoluble and resistant to lysis. When properly formed, collagen has a greater tensile strength than steel. Not surprisingly, when the body builds new tissue collagen provides the extracellular structural framework such that the deposition of hard collagen in the lesion can result in duct obstruction.
Benign biliary stricture results in obstruction of the flow of bile from the liver and can result in jaundice and hepatic dysfunction. If untreated, biliary obstruction can result in hepatic failure and death. Biliary strictures can form after duct injury during cholecystectomy. They can also from at biliary anastomoses after liver transplantation and other biliary reconstructive surgeries (Vitale, Am. J. Surgery (1996) 171:553-7; Lilliemoe, Annals of Surgery (1997) 225).
Historically, benign biliary stricture has been treated surgically by removing the diseased duct segment and reconnecting the duct end-to-end, or connecting the duct to the bowel via a hepaticojejunostomy loop (Lilliemoe, Annals of Surgery (1997) 225). These long and difficult surgeries have significant morbidity and mortality due to bleeding, infection, biliary leak, and recurrent biliary obstruction at the anastomosis. Post-operative recovery takes weeks to months. More recently, minimally invasive treatments such as percutaneous balloon dilation have been utilized, yielding good initial biliary patency results (Vitale, Am. J. Surgery (1996) 171:553-7, Lilliemoe, Annals of Surgery (1997) 2250). However, balloon dilation causes a localized injury, inducing a healing response that often results in restenosis (Pauletto, Clinical Science, (1994) 87:467-79). Long-term stenting at the common bile duct with flexible biliary drainage catheters is another minimally invasive alternative to surgery (Vitale, Am. J. Surgery (1996) 171:553-7). However, these indwelling biliary drainage catheters often become infected, or clogged with debris, and must be changed frequently. At present, long-term treatment of biliary stricture remains a difficult clinical problem.
Patients with chronic, end-stage renal failure may require replacement of their kidney function in order to survive. In the United States, long-term hemodialysis is the most common treatment method for end stage chronic renal failure. In 1993, more than 130,000 patients underwent long term hemodialysis (Gaylord, J. Vascular and Interventional Radiology (1993) 4:103-7); more than 80% of these patients implement hemodialysis through the use of a synthetic arteriovenous graft (Windus, Am. J. Kidney Diseases (1993) 21:457-71). In a majority of these patients, the graft consists of a 6 mm Gore-Tex tube that is surgically implanted between an artery and a vein, usually in the forearm or upper arm. This high flow conduit can then be accessed with needles for hemodialysis sessions.
Nearly all hemodialysis grafts fail, usually within two years, and a new graft must be created surgically to maintain hemodialysis. These patients face repeated interruption of hemodialysis, and multiple hospitalizations for radiological and surgical procedures. Since each surgical graft revision consumes more available vein, eventually they are at risk for mortality from lack of sites for hemodialysis access. One estimate placed the cost of graft placement, hemodialysis, treatment of complications, placement of venous catheters, hospitalization costs, and time away from work at as much as $500 million, in 1990 alone (Windus, Am. J. Kidney Diseases (1993) 21:457-71).
The most frequent cause of hemodialysis graft failure is thrombosis, which is often due to development of a stenosis in the vein just downstream from the graft-vein anastomosis (Safa, Radiology (1996) 199:653-7. Histologic analysis of the stenosis reveals a firm, pale, relatively homogeneous lesion interposed between the intimal and medial layers of the vein which thickens the vessel wall and narrows the lumen (Swedberg, Circulation (1989) 80:1726-36). This lesion, which has been given the name intimal hyperplasia is composed of vascular smooth muscle cells surrounded by an extensive extracellular collagen matrix (Swedberg, Circulation (1989) 80:1726-36; Trerotola, J. Vascular and Interventional Radiology (1995) 6:387-96). Balloon angioplasty is the most common initial treatment for stenosis of hemodialysis grafts and yields excellent initial patency results (Safa, Radiology (1996) 199:653-7). However, this purely mechanical method of stretching open the stenosis causes an injury which induces another round of cell proliferation, cell migration toward the lumen and synthesis of more extracellular matrix. Consequently, balloon angioplasty is associated with restenosis in nearly all patients (Safa, Radiology (1996) 199:653-7). There is currently no treatment which can sustain the patency of synthetic arteriovenous hemodialysis grafts over the long term.
Intimal hyperplasia research has focused largely on the cellular component of the lesion. The use of radiation and pharmaceutical agents to inhibit cell proliferation and migration are active areas of research (Hirai, ACTA Radiologica (1996) 37:229-33; Reimers, J. Invasive Cardiology (1998) 10:323-31; Choi, J. Vascular Surgery (1994) 19:125-34). To date, the results of these studies have been equivocal, and none of these new treatments has gained wide clinical acceptance. This matrix is composed predominantly of collagen and previous work in animals has demonstrated that systemic inhibition of collagen synthesis decreases the production of intimal hyperplasia (Choi, Archives of Surgery (1995) 130:257-261).
During normal tissue growth and remodeling, existing collagen matrices must be removed or modified. This collagen remodeling is carried out by macrophages and fibroblasts, two cell types which secrete a distinct class of proteases called “collagenases” (Swedberg, Circulation (1989) 80:1726-36; Trerotola, J. Vascular and Interventional Radiology (1995) 6:387-96; Hirai, ACTA Radiologica (1996) 37:229-33). These collagenases rapidly degrade insoluble collagen fibrils to small, soluble peptide fragments, which are carried away from the site by the flow of blood and lymph.
See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,981,568; 5,409,926; and 6,074,659.
It thus would be desirable to provide new methods to relieve obstructions blocking flow through biological conduits. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sample processing apparatus for inspecting the surface of a sample, and more particularly to a sample processing apparatus and method by which it is inspected whether or not there is a foreign matter sticking to the surface of a sample such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in a process of production of a semiconductor device, it must be inspected whether or not there is a foreign matter sticking to the surface of a semiconductor wafer determined as a circuit board, and variable surface inspection apparatus are available which realize such inspection.
A surface inspection apparatus of the type mentioned generally irradiates a laser beam onto the surface of a sample while the sample is moved so that the surface thereof is optically scanned to detect a foreign matter. If a foreign matter is detected on the surface of the sample by the optical scanning, then the position of the foreign matter on the surface of the sample is recorded as data.
The sample from which the foreign matter is detected in this manner is moved, when necessary, from the surface inspection apparatus to a separate foreign matter analyzer, by which the composition of the foreign matter is analyzed based on the position data.
In the analysis of the composition by the foreign matter analyzer, for example, the sample is placed into the inside of a vacuum vessel which is then evacuated. Then, a charged particle beam such as an electron beam or an ion beam is irradiated at the position of the foreign matter of the sample, and a secondary electron beam and/or a reflected electron beam and secondary ions generated as a result of the irradiation are detected.
If a result of the analysis reveals that the foreign matter will be an obstacle to operation of an electronic circuit, then the sample is moved from the foreign matter analyzer to a separate foreign matter removal apparatus, by which the foreign matter is removed based on the position data.
Such removal of the foreign matter by the foreign matter removal apparatus is performed, for example, by irradiating a laser beam to evaporate the foreign matter.
Since a fine foreign matter sticking to the surface of a sample can be detected and removed if a surface inspection apparatus, a foreign matter analyzer and a foreign matter removal apparatus are used as described above, this can contribute to production of, for example, an electronic circuit which will not suffer from an obstacle to its operation thereof.
However, such successive movements of a sample to different apparatus as described above complicate the operation and lowers the productivity of electronic circuits.
Further, installation of such various apparatus as mentioned above disadvantageously increases the area occupying by the equipment.
Furthermore, when a foreign matter is processed by the foreign matter analyzer or the foreign matter removal apparatus based on position data detected by the surface inspection apparatus as described above, since the sample is moved between the different apparatus, there is the possibility that the position data and the actual position of the foreign matter may be displaced from each other. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
A plurality of US patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 8,197,863B2, U.S. Pat. No. 8,012,516B2, US20080213342A1, US20060269588, US20040219240, U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,873, US20060134248, US20110311663, U.S. Pat. No. 7,553,504, US20130018106 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,461, and as plurality of European patents, such as EP2606742A1, EP1542543B1, EP2429311A2 and EP1722635B1, have disclosed the application of hops acids and hydrogenated β-acids as substitutes for antibiotic growth promoters used in feed.
However, recited in the above-mentioned patents is the application of extracts from hops or hops acids (e.g. a mixture of α-acids and β-acids) as feed additives those already included in the Chinese Feed Additive Catalogue but only serve as condiment for feed. Secondly, the grounds of the patents are mainly results of trial in vitro rather than feeding trial. What's more, there is no data so far, to demonstrate safety and stability of these natural products, or the salts and ester thereof, as animal feed additives.
Hexahydro-β-acids are also mentioned in the above-mentioned patents, but application of the esters, salts or ester salts thereof as animal feed additives has not been reported so far. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Coherin is a polypeptide complex isolated from the bovine neurohypophysis which has been shown to have a unique regulatory action on the small intestine of dog and man. This physiologic function has two phases. Coherin, when injected intravenously, immediately activates the inhibitory mechanisms in the small intestine producing a complete cessation of intestinal motility for periods lasting up to 40 minutes without loss of tone. This effect is dose-related, and can be achieved at a dosage measured in nanograms per kilograms of body weight. This physiologic property of coherin is a convenient basis for bioassay. The second phase of coherin activity follows the inhibitory phase and consists of a coupling of the electromotor performance of adjacent short segments of intestine, resulting in coherent motor patterns capable of propagating intraluminal contents in a caudad direction. In dogs that have been fasted more than 18 hours, it has been shown that the electromotor performance of adjacent short segments of intestine (3 cm in the jejunum, 0.6 cm in the ileum) is characterized by a lack of coordination or coupling. When the basic electrical rhythm (BER) and the mechanical events occurring in a segment of intestine are recorded, either by means of monopolar electrodes or by intraluminal pressure transducers, coordinated propagative activity can be identified. This can be done by measuring the time differential between events with multiple, equally spaced electrodes or balloons. Any mechanical or electrical activity that is propagated through the entire segment in the caudad direction can be identified by a constant time differential (phase lag) between electrical or muscular activity.
In this connection, attention is directed to the following publications:
1. Hiatt, R. B., Goodman, I., Sandler, B., Cheskin, H.: The effect of coherin on the basic electrical rhythm of the dog ileum in vivo. Am. J. Dig. Dis. 22 (2): 108, 1977; PA1 2. Mendel, C., Jaeck, D., Grenier, J. F., et al: Action of coherin on the basic electric rhythm and propagation in the isolated profused canine jejunum. J. Surg. Res. 19: 403, 1975; PA1 3. Hiatt, R. B., Goodman, I.: Peptide treatment of postgastrectomy obstruction. Arch. Surg. 111: 997, 1976; PA1 4. Hiatt, R. G., Goodman, I.: Long-term results in the treatment of regional ileitis with coherin. Am. J. Gastroenterol. 67: 274, 1977; PA1 5. Dauchel, J., Schang, J. C., Kachelhoffer, J., Eloy, R., Grenier, J. F.: Effects of some drugs on electrical activity of the gut in the postoperative period. Eur. Surg. Res. 8: 26, 1976. PA1 6. Goodman, I., Hiatt, R. B.: Coherin a new peptide of the bovine neurohypophysis with activity on gastrointestinal motility. Science 178: 419, 1972.
The isolation of this polypeptide complex has been described. See:
Because of the properties described above, the polypeptide coherin possesses useful activity on the smooth muscle of the gastrointestinal tract and other tissues. More particularly, it is useful in the treatment of ileitis, colitis, spastic constipation, spastic diarrhea, diverticulitis, peptic ulcer, post gastric surgery obstruction, and other conditions where irregularity of the smooth muscle function is involved. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Viruses of the family Nodaviridae, genus Betanodavirus (i.e., betanodaviruses) infect many different marine and freshwater fish species worldwide and are the etiological agents of viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER) in fish. This disease, also called viral nervous necrosis (VNN), can cause significant fish mortality.
The betanodaviruses that cause the disease are non-enveloped and their genomes contain two single-stranded, positive-sense RNA molecules, designated RNA1 and RNA2. Infected cells contain three ssRNAs: RNA1, RNA2 and subgenomic RNA3 derived from RNA1. The T4 variable region within the RNA2 segment has been used to classify betanodaviruses into four different genotypes: striped jack nervous necrosis virus (SJNNV), tiger puffer nervous necrosis virus (TPNNV), barfin flounder nervous necrosis virus and red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) (Nishizawa et al. 1997). The NNV part of the name refers to nervous necrosis virus and the initial part of the name refers to the fish from which it was isolated. These have become accepted species, with the Striped jack species being known as the type species, based on the characterisation of the SJNag93 isolate. (Iwamoto et al, 2001) Others which may be members of the genus Betanodavirus, but have not yet been approved as separate species, and may or may not be variants of any of the four accepted species listed above include: Atlantic cod nervous necrosis virus, Atlantic halibut nodavirus, Dicentrarchus labrax encephalitis virus, Dragon grouper nervous necrosis virus, Greasy grouper nervous necrosis virus, Japanese flounder nervous necrosis virus, Lates calcarifer encephalitis virus, Malabaricus grouper nevous necrosis virus, Seabass nervous necrosis virus, Solea senegalensis nervous necrosis virus and Turbot nodavirus. (Virus Taxonomy, 2012).
Different genotypes of betanodaviruses likely infect different host ranges of fish. However, coexistence of SJNNV and RGNNV, within single fish in the wild, has been shown in wild meager (Argyrosomus regius). Genetic analysis based on both RNA1 and RNA2 has also demonstrated the existence of reassortant viruses (RGNNV/SJNNV and SJNNV/RGNNV) in infected fish. Such reassortant virus strains or isolates, containing one genome RNA molecule from SJNNV and one genome RNA molecule from RGNNV, have been isolated from Senegalese sole and gilt-head sea bream. Reassortant strains have been associated with clinical outbreaks of disease. Reassortants could result from coinfection of the same cells with SJNNV and RGNNV. Although this evidence indicates that both SJNNV and RGNNV RNA can coexist in the same infected cells, nothing is known about how this affects replication and/or progeny virus production, or how it affects the ability to cause symptoms of disease.
SJNNV and RGNNV have separately been detected in fish species inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula, such as European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis), gilt-head seabream (Sparus aurata), red-banded seabream (Pagrus auriga), common seabream (Pagrus pagrus), Shi drum, (Umbrina cirrosa) and white seabream (Diploidus sargus).
The RGNNV genotype appears to be the most common in the Mediterranean region and has been responsible for devastating losses in the fishing industry, especially in Greece. The losses in the field of European sea bass have been reported to be up to 60%. Hence there is an urgent need for ways to protect fish, especially sea bream, from the effects of RGNNV infection. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of power electronics. It is based on a power electronic circuit arrangement, in particular a static railway power converter.
2. Discussion of Background
Such a circuit arrangement has already been described on pages 4-10 of the journal "ABB Technik" No. 5/1995. This concerns a static frequency converter installation for railway power supply. It comprises a first power converter, in particular a thyristor power converter, which is connected to a first voltage supply system and is connected to a voltage intermediate circuit. A second power converter, in particular a GTO power converter, is connected to the voltage intermediate circuit and feeds a second voltage supply system (e.g. the railway grid). The second power converter has a two-point invertor structure with a positive terminal, a negative terminal and a neutral terminal. In the voltage intermediate circuit, a first filter for taking up the doubled supply-system frequency of the second voltage supply system is provided ("331/3 Hz filter" at a railway frequency of 162/3 Hz).
The use of the otherwise advantageous threepoint circuit results in undesirable in-phase currents of relatively high frequency in the intermediate circuit, and interfering in-antiphase and in-phase current components occur in the intermediate circuit. These undesirable components result in distortion of the voltage characteristic. It would be possible to counteract these instances of distortion e.g. by enlarging the capacitor bank of the voltage intermediate circuit. In the event of a short circuit, however, such a high energy would be stored in the capacitor bank, which would be discharged in an extremely short time via the components, that instances of destruction would have to be expected. It is therefore desirable not to have any excessively large capacitance in the intermediate circuit. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The ability to exogenously introduce DNA into mammalian cells has become a commonplace and essential part of molecular biology work with many applications. An efficient and reproducible method to accomplish such introduction would be useful, for example, for expressing recombinant proteins, for studying mammalian gene regulation, for functional screening of gene libraries, for creation of transgenic cell lines, and for gene therapy. A number of methods have been used to introduce DNA into mammalian cells.
For example, chemical transfection of cells relies on the treatment of DNA with specific chemicals (e.g., calcium phosphate) or cationic lipids (e.g., lipofectamine). These methods are reasonably reliable although each cell line must be empirically evaluated for optimal efficiency. Also, chemical transfection occasionally suffers from its lack of reproducibility from experiment to experiment and from cell line to cell line. The highest efficiencies are usually achieved with the lipid like compounds. Such compounds, however, often are expensive and many have been demonstrated to be toxic to the cells (1).
A second method to incorporate DNA into mammalian cells is by electroporation. Although this method can be efficient, it is very unreliable and requires a significant amount of handling of the cells. Most cells that become subject to the treatment eventually die during the electric shock, but those that survive have usually taken up the DNA.
A third common technique that exhibits a number of advantages to both transfection and electroporation is infection by virus. Viral infection does not require significant handling of the cells, it is very efficient, high titers of some viruses can be achieved, some viral vector systems have a very large coding capacity, and many cell lines are amenable to this process. However, as attractive as viral systems of gene delivery would appear, significant drawbacks limit or preclude their use. Such drawbacks include cell line specificity, safety concerns, low viral titers, limited vector capacity (in some cases), and cumbersome genomes for genetic manipulations.
The two most commonly used viral vectors are retroviruses and adenoviruses. A primary concern are health and safety issues, particularly for retroviruses. Retroviruses are known causative agents for many types of cancers and infectious diseases. Because their life cycle involves genetic recombination with the host DNA and, because mammalian DNA contain sequences homologous to DNA contained in retroviruses, even vectors that are themselves replication incompetent can be converted to replication competent at a low but measurable frequency. This limits their use in many scientific settings and presents an obstacle to many gene therapy strategies. However, they are utilized in spite of these concerns because they can be propagated at very high titers and libraries can be packaged and infected. Retroviruses only infect actively growing cells and certain cell lines. Another drawback is that the size of foreign DNA that a retroviral vector can incorporate is limited to 5 kb, which may limit its use for many functional genomic cloning strategies.
Adenovirus vectors have a number of advantages over retroviruses. They infect a wide variety of cell lines and, because of their size, can incorporate very large DNA inserts. However, their titers are usually quite low which makes direct library screening difficult to accomplish. In addition, the adenovirus is not benign to either mammalian cells (induction of undesired genes will often occur making certain gene expression studies problematic to evaluate) or people working with the virus, and adverse health effects can result.
Accordingly, there continues to be a need for methods that significantly improve DNA introduction into mammalian cells in any of the areas of efficiency, reproducibility, ubiquity among cell lines and growth phases, and providing for large DNA capacity. It would also be advantageous if one could efficiently introduce primary ligation products (unamplified in another host) so that direct functional cloning is achieved without the need for amplification in E. coli, which is inherently biased. In addition, the ability to target specific tissues or cells by using a wholly benign viral system would be favored by many. This would be particularly advantageous for gene therapy.
An object of the present invention is to provide improved systems for gene delivery. According to certain embodiments, such systems will combine the efficiency and high titers of retroviruses, the cell line ubiquity and large size capability of adenovirus, and the benign effect that chemical transfection (by calcium phosphate) has on the cells.
The present invention provides improved DNA delivery systems by transfecting eukaryotic cells with the membrane receptor for a bacteria virus receptor and infecting these cells with the bacteria virus.
According to certain preferred embodiments, the bacterial virus is an E. coli virus.
According to certain preferred embodiments, the present inventors have achieved improved gene delivery systems by transfecting a mammalian cell line with the membrane receptor for the E. coli bacteriophage lambda and infecting these cells with the E. coli virus.
According to certain preferred embodiments, infection involved the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) bell line. This infection was specific for cells expressing the receptor with the proper membrane targeting signals and stably transfected cell lines resulted.
According to certain preferred embodiments, cells transfected with DNA encoding a membrane receptor for a bacterial virus are provided. Such cells can be used to express DNA contained in bacterial viruses after infection with the virus.
Exploiting this process would have a number of applications including, but not limited to, basic molecular biology studies and gene therapy strategies. Libraries (both genomic and cDNA) could be directly introduced into mammalian cells without the requirement for bacterial amplification, subcloning, or other such manipulations. Large segments of DNA can be introduced (up to 40 kb for cosmids), and direct expression cloning experiments readily can be performed. By controlling the way that the lambda receptor is expressed, one can conceivably control the cell type or the part of the cell cycle that the DNA enters. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to spinning satellites and more particularly to satellite spin and attitude control.
2. Description of the Related Art
During their operational lifetime, satellites are involved in a variety of maneuvers which require careful control of the satellite's attitude. An exemplary situation is shown in the orbit maneuvers 18 of FIG. 1 that place a satellite 20 into a geostationary orbit (GEO) 24 about the earth 26. In these maneuvers, the satellite 20 is initially launched into a low earth orbit (LEO) 30 by a launcher.
A first velocity increment is then applied (e.g., by a last stage of the launcher) to the satellite 20 to inject it into an elliptical geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) 32 which has a perigee 34 tangent to the LEO 30 and an apogee 36 tangent to the GEO 24. At the apogee 36, a second velocity increment injects the satellite 20 into the GEO 24. This final velocity increment is typically applied with a liquid apogee motor (LAM) 38 that is carried by the satellite.
In general, the GTO 32 and the GEO 24 are not coplanar but are inclined from each other by an inclination angle. The inclination angle is essentially a function of the latitude of the earth site from which the satellite 20 was launched (e.g., the GTO 32 and the GEO 24 are typically coplanar only if the launch site was on the earth's equator).
Accordingly, the schematized illustration 40 of FIG. 2 illustrates that the GTO 32 of FIG. 1 is inclined from an equatorial plane 42 by an inclination angle 44. The satellite (20 in FIG. 1) has a velocity at the GTO's apogee (36 in FIG. 1) that is represented by the apogee velocity vector 46 which is in the plane of the GTO 32 and tangent to the GTO. The apogee velocity vector has a magnitude representative of a typical apogee velocity (e.g., .about.1.6 km/sec). In contrast, a GEO velocity vector 48 is in the equatorial plane 42, is tangent to the GEO (24 in FIG. 1) and has a magnitude (.about.3.07 km/sec) that represents the velocity (at the perigee 36) of a satellite in the GEO. For an exemplary GTO which resulted from a launch at an earth latitude of 28 degrees, the inclination angle 44 is .about.28 degrees.
For clarity, an enlarged view 45 of the apogee velocity vector 46 and the GEO velocity vector 48 is shown in FIG. 3. If no plane change were required, a velocity increment equal to the difference between these vectors (.about.1.5 km/sec) would be sufficient for circularization of the satellite's LEO and ejection of the satellite into the GEO (24 in FIG. 1). However, the vector addition of FIG. 3 forms an injection velocity vector 50 with a magnitude of .about.1.8 km/sec and an orientation dictated by the velocity vectors 46 and 48. Accordingly, to inject the satellite 20 into the GEO 24 its LAM 38 must be aligned with the velocity vector 50 and the LAM must generate a force sufficient to achieve a velocity increase of .about.1.8 km/sec in the satellite 20.
This simplified injection process implies that the LAM can deliver an impulse of sufficient magnitude to achieve orbit injection. In actual practice, a lengthy LAM burn time is required and it is generally more fuel efficient to divide the burn time into a plurality of LAM burns. For example, a first LAM burn at the apogee 36 might reduce the ellipticity of the GTO 32 as indicated by the modified elliptical orbit 32A of FIG. 1. This LAM burn could also reduce the inclination angle 44 so that the apogee velocity vector 46 is changed to a modified apogee velocity vector 46A in FIG. 3. Additional LAM burns would then generate elliptical orbits 32B, 32C and so on with the velocity vector changed to apogee velocity vectors 46B, 46C and so on. A final LAM burn would circularize the orbit and reduce the inclination angle 44 to zero.
A summary of conventional GEO injection methods will be facilitated by preceding it with a description of the satellite 20 as envisioned in the present invention and as detailed in FIGS. 4A-4C.
The spatial relationships of elements of the satellite 20 can be defined by reference to an orthogonal body frame 62 that has a longitudinal z axis 63 and a pair of transverse axes in the form of a y axis 64 and an x axis 65. A satellite body 66 carries the LAM 38 on a lower body face 67 with the LAM having a LAM axis 68 that is nominally aligned with the z axis 63. In addition, the body 62 carries a thruster system 70 and a wheel system 72.
Thruster systems of the invention may be arranged to effect a 3 axis control, i.e., they can generate any torque vector that can be defined by the body frame 62. Because the thrusters oppose primarily transverse disturbance torques, the teachings of the invention can be practiced, however, with thruster systems having two degrees of freedom (e.g., two thrusters whose torques are noncolinear with each other and transverse to the LAM axis 68) or having a single degree of freedom (e.g., a single thruster whose torque is transverse to the LAM axis).
An exemplary thruster system 70 is shown to have four axially-oriented thrusters 74 on the lower body face 67. Each is spaced from the z axis 63 and positioned in a different body corner. These thrusters can generate torques about the x and y body axes 64 and 65 (i.e., torque vectors aligned with the axes 64 and 65). In addition, tangentially-oriented thruster pairs 78 and 79 are carried on opposite body faces 80 and 81. These thrusters can generate torques about the z body axis 63 (i.e., torque vectors aligned with the axis 63). Accordingly, the thruster system 70 can effect satellite rotation about any axis of the body frame 62.
Wheel systems of the invention may also be arranged to effect a 3 axis control. Because the wheels also oppose primarily transverse disturbance torques, the teachings of the invention can be practiced with wheel systems having two degrees of freedom (e.g., two noncolinear wheels which are noncolinear with the LAM axis 68) or having a single degree of freedom (e.g., a single wheel which is noncolinear with the LAM axis).
An exemplary wheel system 72 is shown with four wheels 84 which are spaced from the z axis 63, equally spaced circumferentially and angled inward. When the satellite is spinning about the z axis 63, they preferably generate torque about axes 64 and 65 (i.e., torque vectors in x-y plane) by virtue of their angular momentum and a body rate spin. The wheels of the invention can be either momentum wheels or reaction wheels (i.e., they can form either a zero-momentum or a momentum-bias system).
The satellite 20 also includes other conventional satellite elements such as fuel tanks 88 and an electrical power supply system which has batteries 89 and solar panels 90 that carry solar cell arrays 92. The fuel tanks are coupled to supply fuel to the LAM 38 and the thruster system 70. After injection of the satellite 20 into the GEO (24 in FIG. 1), the solar panels 90 would be extended to the deployed position that is indicated in broken lines (for clarity of illustration, the solar panels are shown only in FIGS. 4A and 4C). Although the satellite 20 has been shown to have planar exterior faces, it can have, in general, a variety of configurations (e.g., a cylindrical shape as indicated by the broken circle 96 in the bottom view of FIG. 4C.
Transferring the satellite 20 from the LEO 30 to the GEO 24 of FIG. 1 requires the use of considerable thruster fuel. Accordingly, a substantial portion of the satellite's original mass is lost in this maneuver. In an exemplary situation, a 2700 kg satellite in the LEO 30 may have a mass of only 1800 kg after placement into the GEO 24. Maneuvers which can reduce this mass loss (i.e., reduce fuel use) are of significant importance because the reduction facilitates an increase of satellite life and satellite revenue.
Satellite stabilization during orbit injection has typically been achieved by simply spinning the satellite about the axis of its LAM (the z axis 63 of FIGS. 4A and 4B). If the resultant momentum is sufficiently large, it inhibits the attitude disturbances that are urged by various disturbance torques that are imposed during the orbit injection process. The largest disturbance torque is typically due to spatial offset between the satellite's center of gravity (86 in FIGS. 4A and 4B) and the LAM axis (68 in FIGS. 4A and 4B).
To carry out a useful orbit injection process, therefore, a satellite's spin and attitude control system preferably, (a) spins the satellite about its LAM axis (even if the LAM axis is not an equilibrium spin axis, i.e., a spin axis that is colinear with a spin-induced momentum vector) and (b) aligns the LAM axis with a desired inertial direction (e.g., the velocity vector 50 of FIG. 2) during the LAM's burn time. When the stabilization provided by spin momentum is not sufficiently stiff, these process objectives have often been performed (e.g., see Salvatore, J., et al., Galaxy IIIR Transfer Orbit Attitude Control, G&C Conference, Noordwijk, Netherlands, Fall, 1996) by an all-thruster control system (e.g., exclusive use of the thruster system 70 of FIGS. 4A-4C). Although all-thruster control systems generally have the torque authority to manage processes (a) and (b), such systems are not fuel-efficient.
In another prior art control method (e.g., see Loebel, Michael, Guidance and Control - II, Academic Press, 1964, New York, pp. 313-337), process objective (a) has been performed by an all-wheel control system (e.g., exclusive use of the wheel system 72 of FIGS. 4A-4C). Although the wheels of a wheel system can be appropriately sized to handle LAM-induced torques, this requires them to be larger than is typically needed for efficient management of operational attitude control after orbit injection (i.e., during the service phase of the satellite's lifetime). For example, Loebel employs control moment gyroscopes which are powerful but are larger, more expensive and more complex than fixed wheel systems.
A simple combination of an all-thruster system and an independent all-wheel system is discouraged because corrective action of the thruster system suppresses rotational errors. Thus, the error signals that are typically required to generate corrective action in an all-wheel system are reduced. In addition, the thruster action adds noise to these error signals so that torque and power are wasted as the all-wheel system responds to degraded signals. These problems are also unresolved in a system discussed by Loebel which used wheels and thrusters for above-mentioned process (a) and (b) respectively.
Conventional spin and attitude control systems, therefore, have typically been either fuel-inefficient, have required wheel systems with grossly oversized torque authority (for conventional satellite missions) or have presented system operational problems.
The present invention is directed to accurate, fuel-efficient control structures and methods which have sufficient torque authority to effect satellite maneuvers (e.g., spin a satellite about a desired spin axis and align that spin axis with a desired inertial direction) in the presence of disturbance torques but which can also realize enhanced fuel efficiency.
These objectives are achieved by cooperatively combining a thruster control loop with a wheel control loop in which the wheels respond to an estimate of the disturbance torques (e.g., an angular acceleration estimate, a thruster torque command or a filtered thruster torque command).
In process steps of the thruster control loop, at least one of a desired satellite rotation rate, a desired satellite attitude and a desired angular acceleration is commanded, the commanded parameter is compared with sensed satellite parameters to generate at least one error signal and thruster correction torques are applied to the satellite to reduce the error signal.
In process steps of the wheel control loop, an estimate of the disturbance torques is generated, and, in response to this estimate, wheel correction torques are used to change the internal momentum of the satellite to reduce the magnitude of the thruster correction torques and thereby reduce the use of thruster fuel. The methods of the invention can also be practiced by using received or stored predetermined estimates for the disturbance torque estimate.
Simulations of the invention's methods have shown they have the authority of all-thruster control systems and fuel efficiency that rivals that that of all-wheel control systems.
The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Pneumatic actuated grippers exist in the field. However, users of pneumatic actuated grippers seek electric alternatives to the pneumatic for various reasons. Reasons for seeking alternative actuators are lower energy costs and application where pneumatics are undesirable or unavailable. One such environment is a controlled clean room.
Electric grippers exist in the field. However, these electric grippers are expensive and difficult to operate when compared with their pneumatic counterparts. These add to the cost and complexity of the grippers. Most electric grippers require feedback devices and complicated control systems.
Solenoid driven grippers have been utilized in the past. However, these grippers are problematic in that they create a large heat build up. This is due to the fact that power is continuously on in these solenoid grippers. That is, the solenoid magnetic coil always requires power to maintain its state of full open or full close. Thus, these solenoid grippers generate a tremendous amount of heat. Thus, it is desirable to provide an electric gripper that is as simple to control as a pneumatic gripper and also has a comparable cost to the pneumatic gripper.
The present disclosure provides the art with an electric gripper that overcomes the deficiencies of prior art electric grippers. The present gripper provides the field with an electric gripper that is locked in a first, full open, and second, full close, position. The present disclosure provides an electric gripper that is activated for a very short duration in both a latching and unlatching direction. The present electric gripper is of a simple construction and utilizes simple control logic. The present disclosure provides an electric gripper that is held in both its full open and full close positions when power is terminated to the solenoid. Thus, no energy is required to hold the gripper in both a first, full open, and second, full close, position. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Rewards are given to customers by merchants for various reasons, including to encourage certain consumer behaviors and also to strengthen relationships between Banks and customers. Rewards can also be used to strengthen the relationships between merchants and customers, such as when a Bank offers a merchant-related reward such as a gift card, or when a merchant or affiliated Bank offers a reward for using a particular credit card with the merchant.
There is a recognized need in the financial services industry to attract and retain loyal customers. A loyal customer is one who uses a single Bank for all or a significant number of banking relationships and does so over an extended period of time. This need is particularly important to Banks in small and medium sized communities where regionally and nationally marketed financial services have attracted customers away from local institutions. This need is also important to Banks that compete in small and medium-sized communities to attract customers, and also to Banks that compete in highly competitive markets where customers are offered a wide variety of investment and other banking relationship options, some of which may individually be very enticing to existing customers of other banks.
Thus, incentive reward programs for rewarding customers, particularly repeat or ongoing customers, have become increasingly common in a variety of industries. Well known examples of the use of incentives to attract and reward repeated customer patronage are airline frequent flyer programs. In airline frequent flyer programs the customer is awarded points, often expressed in terms of “miles traveled” for each use of a particular airline or its partners or affiliates. Additional points or “miles” are awarded for use of ancillary services such as car and hotel room rentals. Other examples of customer incentive programs include the trading stamp programs once popular in the grocery retail trade.
The implementation of a customer incentive program for Bank customers has complexities not found in customer incentive plans in other industries. The relationships between the Bank and any customer may be quite numerous and complex, involving a number of different kinds of accounts and interactions. Most other incentive programs require tracking of only one customer factor such as miles traveled in a frequent flyer program or the total dollar volume of purchases in a grocery store trading stamp program.
There can exist a great deal of variation among Banks in the types of financial services offered and emphasized. In particular, different Banks may wish to establish different scoring systems for the various types of consumer-bank relationships and consumer behaviors, depending on which relationships and behaviors are found to be the most profitable by the Bank, Bank partners, and third parties who offer rewards to Bank customers. Further, each Bank may wish to establish a different award structure of incentives, depending upon that Bank's perception of the benefits of the program in relation to the costs of the incentives and the needs of its particular community.
Furthermore, for an incentive program to be fully effective as a tool for attracting and retaining long-term customers, it is desirable for the Bank's management to be able to monitor customer behaviors and the relationships between the Bank and its customers, as individuals and as groups. The Bank may thus be able to identify significant opportunities for marketing its financial services by evaluating customer behaviors and relationships and the appeal of those behaviors and relationships to customers.
To these ends, Banks have developed a wide variety of rewards programs to attract and retain customers. Typically, a reward program of a financial product such as a credit card will allow customers to earn rewards in a predetermined rewards system. There is typically one type of reward, a base reward, and one type of method of earning the reward. For instance, some Banks offer a 1% cash rebate each time a customer uses a platinum credit card issued by the Bank. Other incentive rewards programs may offer a reward in the form of reward currency, such as frequent flyer miles or points, which can be used to purchase other rewards or benefits.
Further, the universe of reward-earning behaviors for such rewards programs is limited. Rewards are typically earned by charging more transactions on a credit card account. Special rewards also may be earned by purchasing from a particular Bank partner (“Partner”). Finally, rewards can be earned by accomplishing certain tasks or exhibiting certain behaviors, such as by opening a bank account. However, prior art reward systems typically cannot differentiate transactions (or other reward-earning behaviors) beyond these limited criteria of dollar amount and merchant.
Thus, prior art rewards programs typically have limited reward-earning behaviors that earn limited rewards. While Banks have successfully encouraged cardmembers to use their credit cards by offering a rewards program associated with the card, Banks typically do not continually provide additional promotional rewards programs targeted to specific customers or groups, wherein rewards are earned through specific triggering behaviors. What is needed is a robust and efficient system of offering a plurality of promotional rewards programs to individual cardmembers or classes of cardmembers, wherein the rewards programs enable customers or customer groups to earn a variety of rewards by accomplishing a variety of behaviors and/or transactions. It is further desirable to have a rewards program system that is customizable across a wide variety of variables. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Band saws employ a continuous loop blade that is coupled to a pair of pulleys or band wheels. The band wheels are typically mounted in a common plane to a frame, the mounting spaces apart the band wheels and allows the band wheels to rotate about parallel axes. Typically, one of the band wheels is coupled with a motor assembly which drives the rotation of the band wheel and therefore the blade.
Generally, one of the band wheels is enabled to be moved relative to the position of the other band wheel while maintaining the common plane and parallel axes of rotation. This movement capability allows an operator of a band saw to increase and decrease the distance between the upper and lower band wheels, thereby increasing or decreasing the tension applied to the band saw blade. This is commonly referred to as tensioning the band saw blade.
Proper care of a band saw includes releasing the tension on the continuous loop blade, when not in use, to prevent stretching the blade, deforming the frame and the like. This de-tensioning process can be time consuming for the user. Another difficulty in using a band saw is when changing blades. For example, band saws may accept a variety of blades to accomplish different tasks such as re-sawing, curve cutting and the like. Various operations require different blades. For instance, a three-quarter inch (¾″) blade may be used for re-sawing, while a three-eighths inch (⅜″) blade is used for cutting a tight radius. Previously, a user would have to rotate a threaded shaft device to adjust one of the band saw pulley wheels to achieve the proper tension. When switching between different sized blades the user is often forced to repeat this process. Because of the time required to properly tension a blade to account for different sized blades, the user may be tempted to employ a single size blade to accomplish different tasks. For instance, a user may try to use a wide blade to cut a curve rather than switching to the proper width, to save time. Using the wrong blade may result in an imprecise cut, a wrong cut, damage the equipment, and the like.
Dust and debris collection is another problem in workshops, and particularly, in woodworking shops. For example, in a small woodshop if sawdust is not properly collected, dust may impede staining and varnishing operations. Additionally, many hardwoods are hazardous to people with allergies or respiratory problems associated with repeated exposure to dust. Proper dust collection at the source, such as at a band saw, may eliminate much of the dust created during cutting. Current band saws suffer from poor dust collection performance, such as clogging or dust collection hoses interfering with operations by exiting the band saw adjacent to the work area. Clogging may occur at the throat plate, where the loop blade passes below the table, or near the bottom of the saw blade path.
Proper angle adjustment is difficult for many power tools, such as band saws, drill presses, and the like, employing variable angle support surfaces. For example, a user may wish to angle a band saw table to provide a beveled cut. To accomplish this beveled cut, the user releases a securing assembly, rotates the support surface to the proper angle using a gage, and perhaps checks the angle with a square, before re-securing the support. Current tools with adjustable tables are susceptible to improper alignment and/or variation in alignment, especially when friction securing assemblys, such as a clamp mechanism, are used. For example, a support surface may become misaligned due to accidental contact or other factors. In another example, even though exercising caution, a user may accidentally vary the angle between the support surface and the tool, resulting in misalignment. While utilizing a gauge or conducting a sample cut reduces error, these techniques are time consuming.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a device for overcoming the previously experienced drawbacks. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Golf balls having multi-layer cores are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,852,044 discloses golf balls having multi-layered cores having a relatively soft, low compression inner core surrounded by a relatively rigid outer core. U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,531 discloses a solid golf ball comprising a solid core having a three-layered structure composed of an inner layer, an intermediate layer, and an outer layer, and a cover for coating the solid core. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0128904 also discloses multi-layer core golf balls. Other examples of multi-layer cores can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,743,816, 6,071,201, 6,336,872, 6,379,269, 6,394,912, 6,406,383, 6,431,998, 6,569,036, 6,605,009, 6,626,770, 6,815,521, 6,855,074, 6,913,548, 6,981,926, 6,988,962, 7,074,137, 7,153,467 and 7,255,656.
The present invention provides a novel multi-layer core golf ball construction which includes an intermediate core layer formed from a metallic, composite, or inorganic/organic hybrid composition. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The aliphatic esters and polyesters of substituted sterically hindered hydroxyhydrocinnamic acid are well-known as effective antioxidants for a wide variety of organic materials protecting them from oxidative and thermal degradation. Many of these esters have gained wide commercial acceptance as phenolic antioxidants.
Some transesterification catalysts which may be used to prepare the instant compounds include lithium amide, aluminum isopropylate and dibutyltin oxide. U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,444 (Orban) teaches a process for the preparation of sterically hindered hydroxyphenylcarboxylic acid esters by the transesterification of the corresponding methyl or ethyl ester with a higher aliphatic alcohol using an oxide or an organometallic compound of a metal of the fourth main group or subgroup of the periodic table as catalyst in an amount between 0.05 and 1.0 mol percent based on the methyl or ethyl ester. Higher dialkyltin oxides, particularly dibutyltin oxides, are taught as the preferred catalyst for this process.
However, if the amount of tin residue in the product is too high, ultimate product stability is compromised and efforts must be taken to remove such residues. If the amount of tin catalyst can be reduced well below that seen in the Orban process, such residue removal efforts may be unnecessary and process economies would be evident. That is the case in the instant process where the amount of tin catalyst required is so small that its removal from the final product by distillation of said product is often unnecessary.
The instant process differs from this Orban process by running the transesterification process at much lower concentrations of tin catalyst and also at lower temperature. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The invention relates to a gudgeon pin for connecting a piston of a reciprocating internal combustion engine to a connecting-rod, composed at least in part of a fibre-reinforced composite material, and a metallic sliding bearing layer having a circular cylindrical external surface being arranged on the external surface of the fibre-reinforced composite material.
In reciprocating internal combustion engine, in particular in Otto and diesel engines, the piston and the connecting-rod are joined together by means of a gudgeon pin. This gudgeon pin transmits the forces of combustion and compression and the dynamic forces from the piston to the connecting-rod and thus to the crank shaft of the reciprocating internal combustion engine. The gudgeon pin is rotatably inserted into a bore in the connecting-rod and into a continuous bore in the piston and is secured against axial displacement by suitable means, for example by a Seeger circlip ring.
The forces acting on the gudgeon pin deform it and cause, on the one hand, bending of the pin axis and, on the other hand, ovalisation of and shear stress on the cross-section of the pin. These deformations should be minimal. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is used to capture a high-resolution cross-sectional image of scattering biological tissues and is based on fiber-optic interferometry. The core of an OCT system is a Michelson interferometer, wherein a first optical fiber is used as a reference arm and a second optical fiber is used as a sample arm. The sample arm includes the sample to be analyzed as well as a probe that includes optical components. An upstream light source provides the imaging light. A photodetector is arranged in the optical path downstream of the sample and reference arms.
Optical interference of light from the sample arm and the reference arm is detected by the photodetector only when the optical path difference between the two arms is within the coherence length of the light from the light source. Depth information from the sample is acquired by axially varying the optical path length of the reference arm and detecting the interference between light from the reference arm and scattered light from the sample arm that originates from within the sample. A three-dimensional image is obtained by transversely scanning in two dimensions the optical path in the sample arm. The axial resolution of the process is determined by the coherence length.
To obtain a suitably high-resolution 3D image, the probe typically needs to meet a number of specific requirements, which can include: single-mode operation at a wavelength that can penetrate to a required depth in the sample; a sufficiently small image spot size; a working distance that allows the light beam from the probe to be focused on and within the sample; a depth of focus sufficient to obtain good images from within the sample; a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR); and a folded optical path that directs the light in the sample arm to the sample.
In addition, the probe needs to fit within a catheter, which is then snaked through blood vessels, intestinal tracks, esophageal tubes, and like body cavities and channels. Thus, the probe needs to be as small as possible while still providing robust optical performance. Furthermore, the probe operating parameters (spot size, working distance, etc.) will substantially differ depending on the type of sample to be measured and the type of measurement to be made. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The invention relates to an arrangement for detecting the position of wheels on a vehicle.
The wheels of a vehicle may be turned, i.e. the position of the wheels on the vehicle may be changed. Electronic sub-assemblies such as, for example, tyre pressure sensors, which may be present on the wheels, are permanently assigned to the respective wheel and are thus also turned together with the wheel. The electronic signals supplied by such sensors are centrally evaluated in the vehicle. However, after the wheels have been turned, the position of a given wheel, whose sub-assembly supplies a given signal, is no longer known. However, in the case of, for example, tyre pressure sensors, it is desirable to know the position of the vehicle wheel to which a tyre pressure sensor indicating, for example, a too low air pressure is assigned. It should be indicated in the vehicle that this sensor is situated at, for example, the front left. After the wheels have been turned, this information is, however, no longer available or may be false.
It is therefore desirable to provide an arrangement with which, also after the wheels have been turned, the position of the individual wheels on the vehicle can be detected and a given vehicle position can be assigned to the above-mentioned electronic sub-assemblies.
According to the prior art, arrangements are known in which the electronic sub-assemblies assigned to each wheel transmit their signals at different amplitudes. Due to the tolerances of the sub-assemblies and the required calibration, this method is, however, relatively laborious and not very reliable in practice due to its amplitude sensitivity.
A method of assigning the vehicle wheel position is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,587, in which angle sensors are provided on the wheels which supply their angle signals to a central evaluation unit at discrete time intervals. Furthermore, the evaluation unit determines the numbers of rotation of the individual wheels by means of HBS sensors that are fixedly provided on the vehicle wheels. These rotation signals, which are supplied by the rotation sensors, are checked in the central unit as to which rotation signal exhibits the same angular offset as the signals supplied by the angle sensors on the wheels. This method is relatively laborious and particularly requires the signals from ABS sensors which are not always available.
It is an object of the invention to provide an arrangement of the type described in the opening paragraph, which operates reliably without rotation sensors on the vehicle.
In accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, this object is achieved by the characteristic features defined in claim 1.
An arrangement for position assignment of vehicle wheels, in which means for detecting the number of rotations and turning direction of the wheel are assigned to each wheel, and in which the vehicle is provided with an evaluation unit which, in the case of a curved trajectory of the vehicle, performs the following vehicle position assignments with reference to the number of rotations and turning directions detected for each wheel:
the wheel having the highest number of rotations is situated at the front of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the turning direction,
the wheel having the lowest number of rotations is situated at the rear of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the turning direction,
the position assignments of the other two wheels are determined from their turning direction.
In the arrangement according to the invention, means for determining the number of rotations and the turning direction of the wheel are assigned to each wheel. The vehicle is provided with an evaluation unit which, in the case of a curved trajectory of the vehicle, performs a position assignment of the vehicle wheels with reference to the number of rotations and turning directions detected for each wheel by the assigned means.
In such a curved trajectory, the evaluation unit detects the wheel having the highest number of rotations. It is always situated at the front of the vehicle, because the rear axle trails in the case of a curved trajectory. The position of the wheel at the front left or at the front right is determined from the turning direction; when the wheel turns right, it is situated at the front right, when it turns left, it is situated at the front left.
The evaluation unit thus detects the wheel having the lowest number of rotations, which is always at the rear of the vehicle. Here again, the position at either the rear left or at the rear right can be concluded from the turning direction.
There are still two wheels whose position on the vehicle has not yet been assigned. Since these wheels are always positioned diagonally opposite to each other, it is sufficient to detect the turning direction in this case. This detection directly reveals that one of the wheels, which turns right, is situated at the still unoccupied position at the front right or at the rear right and that the other wheel, which turns left, is situated at the still unoccupied position at the front left or rear left.
All of the four positions of the vehicle wheels are thus assigned.
In this method, rotation sensors permanently assigned to the vehicle positions can be dispensed with. Moreover, the arrangement has a high reliability and accuracy because it is independent of analog measuring values. A calibration of the rotation sensors is not required because the evaluation unit performs a central evaluation and purely digital measuring methods are applicable. The number of components is relatively small and thus economical. The rotation sensors and turning direction sensors of the wheels may be used for further tasks within the electronic system of the vehicle.
The above-mentioned object of the invention is achieved by a second embodiment defined in claim 2.
An arrangement for position assignment of vehicle wheels, in which means for detecting the number of rotations of the wheel are assigned to each wheel, in which a steering sensor is provided which supplies a steering signal signalizing the steering direction, and in which the vehicle is provided with an evaluation unit which, in the case of a curved trajectory of the vehicle, performs the following vehicle position assignments with reference to the number of rotations and turning directions and the steering signal detected for each wheel:
in the case of a curved trajectory in a first direction
the wheel having the highest number of rotations is situated at the front of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the steering direction,
the wheel having the lowest number of rotations is situated at the rear of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the steering direction,
in the case of a curved trajectory in a second direction
the wheel having the highest number of rotations is situated at the front of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the steering direction,
the wheel having the lowest number of rotations is situated at the rear of the vehicle, and the position at the rear left or at the rear right is determined from the steering direction.
In this embodiment of the invention, the means assigned to each wheel only detect the number of rotations and not the turning direction of the wheel. Instead, the vehicle is provided with a steering sensor, which supplies a steering signal signalizing the relevant steering direction and thus indicating in which direction the vehicle is steered in a curved trajectory.
In accordance with the second embodiment of the invention, the vehicle wheel positions are also assigned on the basis of this information.
The evaluation unit determines this vehicle position in accordance with the following rules.
The wheel having the highest number of rotations is first detected by means of the steering sensor in the case of a curved trajectory in a first direction, in which it is unimportant whether a left or a right turn is concerned. This wheel is situated at the front of the vehicle. The position at the front left or at the front right can be directly concluded from the steering direction. When, for example, a left turn is concerned, this wheel is situated at the front right; when, in contrast, a right turn is concerned, it is situated at the front left.
The wheel having the lowest number of rotations is assigned to the rear axle of the vehicle. Here again, it can be directly concluded from the steering direction whether the wheel is situated at the rear left or at the rear right. When a left turn is concerned, the wheel is situated at the rear left; when, in contrast, a right turn is concerned, it is situated at the rear right.
Subsequently, the evaluation unit waits until a curved trajectory in a second direction, i.e. the direction opposite to the first direction is taken. Then, the evaluation unit evaluates the signals of the means for detecting the number of rotations as follows.
Again, the wheel having the highest number of rotations is detected, which wheel is situated at the front of the vehicle. Dependent on the steering direction, it may be assigned to the position at the front left or at the front right, as described above. However, since a curved trajectory in the opposite direction is now concerned, the relevant other position, which has hitherto been unoccupied, is occupied.
In a corresponding manner, the position of the wheel having the lowest number of rotations at the rear of the vehicle is determined.
The arrangement in accordance with the second embodiment of the invention has the same advantages as that of the first embodiment, in which, additionally, means for detecting the direction of the wheels can be dispensed with. It is true that a steering sensor is required but such a sensor will be available anyway in electrically operating steering systems which find an increasingly wider application. Such a steering sensor is available anyway in vehicles with ESP or similar systems.
In accordance with a third embodiment of the invention, the above-mentioned object is achieved by the characteristic features defined in claim 3.
An arrangement for position assignment of vehicle wheels, in which means for detecting the number of rotations of the wheel are assigned to each wheel, in which a steering sensor is provided, which supplies a steering signal signalizing the steering direction, and in which the vehicle is provided with an evaluation unit which, in the case of a curved trajectory of the vehicle having a steering lock exceeding a predetermined steering lock, performs the following vehicle position assignments with reference to the number of rotations and turning directions and the steering signal detected for each wheel:
the wheel having the highest number of rotations is situated at the front of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the steering direction,
the wheel having the lowest number of rotations is situated at the rear of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the steering direction,
the wheel having the second highest number of rotations is situated at the rear of the vehicle, and the position at the rear left or at the rear right is determined from the steering direction,
the wheel having the second lowest number of rotations is situated at the front of the vehicle, and the position at the front left or at the front right is determined from the steering direction.
The third embodiment of the invention operates similarly as the second embodiment, using means on the wheels that detect only the number of rotations but do not detect the turning direction of each wheel. In the third embodiment of the invention, the arrangement determines the positions of the wheels in a single curved trajectory, independent of their direction. The direction must, however, be known for a correct position assignment of the wheels.
The evaluation unit first detects the wheel having the highest number of rotations, which wheel is situated at the front of the vehicle. It is known from the steering direction whether it is situated at the front right or at the front left.
The wheel having the lowest number of rotations is situated at the rear of the vehicle, while the position on the rear axle can be concluded from the steering direction.
In so far, the method used by the evaluation unit is similar to that defined in the second embodiment of the invention.
In contrast to the second embodiment, however, the assignments of the two other wheels are performed in the same curved trajectory when using the third embodiment.
In this embodiment, the wheel having the second highest number of rotations is situated at the rear of the vehicle, while it can be concluded from the steering direction whether it is situated at the rear left or at the rear right. In a corresponding manner, the wheel having the second highest number of rotations may be assigned to the correct position on the front axle.
This method is only admissible when sufficient differences in the number of rotations are obtained between the wheels on one of the axles. Therefore, the condition is to be imposed that the steering lock with which the curve is taken exceeds a predetermined steering lock. Only then can this condition be complied with.
The second and third embodiments of the invention have the same advantages as the first embodiment.
In accordance with an embodiment as defined in claim 4, all of the three embodiments of the invention comprise means in the form of a sensor on each wheel for detecting the number of rotations or the turning direction of the relevant wheel. The central evaluation unit can determine the rotation values from the sensor signal.
In the second and third embodiments of the arrangement according to the invention, a plausibility test as defined in claim 5 may be performed as to whether a vehicle wheel position assignment performed in a previous step was also performed for another wheel in a subsequent step. This is of course inadmissible. In such a case, in which the plausibility test is not positive, it is advantageous, as in a further embodiment of the invention as defined in claim 10, to reject the new assignments and, instead, to further consider the previously determined position assignments as being valid.
For the arrangement in accordance with the first embodiment, further advantageous plausibility tests as defined in claims 6 to 8 are performed, in which a previous position assignment also remains advantageously valid in the case of a negative test result. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention generally relates to marksmanship training devices and methods and, more particularly, to devices and methods for converting firearms, such as, for example, revolver handguns, into marksmanship training devices which function without requiring live ammunition. In this regard, an important embodiment of the present invention is directed to an improved marksmanship training conversion kit and method which includes a longitudinally adjustable light-emitting lens tube having dual beam adjustment screws that is capable of blind indexing and locking in registry with a radiant energy emitting cylinder, the lens tube and cylinder being sized for use in a variety of firearms.
The concept of using a radiant energy source, such as visible light, instead of live ammunition in order to practice marksmanship or to test firearm sighting structures has long been in use. Heretofore, however, the prior art devices of this type have usually embodied a simulated firearm designed for this purpose only. While some conversion kits of live-ammunition firearms are known, these generally either necessitate modification of the firearm's stock parts or require cumbersome external attachments to the firearm.
The prior art also includes devices for converting a particular model of a firearm into a device for practicing marksmanship and the like; that is, they are of non-universal type. Such devices lack the flexibility that is desirable for conversion kits in general. Being able to market a conversion kit of a generally universal type brings with it significant eonomies for the manufacturer and distributor of the kits, as well as for the ultimate purchaser of the kit who may desire to use the conversion kit for more than one make of firearm.
Previously known firearm conversion kits suffer the numerous drawbacks including being generally cumbersome, lacking in the firmness of assembly needed to give the user the "feel" exhibited by a stock firearm, especially the user's own firearm, thereby reducing significantly the quality of markmanship practice provided when compared with the use of an individual's own unmodified firearm.
In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing problems and disadvantages of markmanship training devices have been overcome through the use of an improved apparatus and method for converting a firearm to a marksmanship training device by replacing the cartridge chamber of the firearm with a cylinder having a radiant energy emitting unit and by inserting a lens tube into the barrel of the firearm which includes dual beam adjustment screws which tube is adapted to be firmly indexed and locked into the cylinder while a chamfered, biased member on the lens tube is placed into secure abutting relationship with the muzzle end of the barrel of the firearm. In use, a beam of radiant energy passes out of this cylinder and into and through the lens tube whereby it is directed toward the particular target at that which it is aimed.
An object of this invention is to provide an improved device and method for converting a firearm into a marksmanship training device.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved firearm conversion kit suitable for secure and precise installation into a variety of revolver-type firearms without having to alter any of the actual parts of the firearm.
Another object of this invention is an improved marksmanship training device which combines a firearm replacement cylinder with an automatically adjustable elongated barrel-length lens tube.
Another object of this invention is an improved method for converting any one of a variety of revolver-type firearms into a marksmanship training device by merely replacing or adding to the stock parts of the firearm.
Another object of the invention is an improved method for converting any one of a variety of firearms into a marksmanship training device which includes the blind indexing and locking of an elongated lens tube having dual beam adjustment screws with the transmitting cylinder of the conversion kit. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
I/O pull-down devices have regularly been used to protect I/O logic circuits from electrostatic discharge (ESD). One such I/O pull-down device 100 is shown in FIG. 1. Device 100 comprises a P-well or P-type substrate or body 110 having P+ taps or contacts 120, a polysilicon gate 140 on the substrate and insulated therefrom by gate oxide 145, heavily doped N-type source and drain regions 150, 160, and N-type lightly doped drain (LDD) regions 155, 165 extending toward each other in the substrate from the source and drain regions. A parasitic NPN bipolar transistor is formed in this device in which the source and drain regions 150, 160 are the emitter and collector of the transistor and the P-well or substrate 110 is the base. The structure of a typical I/O logic device is similar to that of device 100 and is typically formed in the same integrated circuit as I/O pull-down device 100.
FIG. 2 is a top view of an implementation of device 100 of FIG. 1. Device 100 is formed in a portion of a semiconductor substrate 205. A P-well 210 is formed in that portion and electrical connection to the P-well is made through P+ well taps 220. Illustratively, the P-well tap extends around the entire periphery of P-well 210. An NMOS transistor is formed in the P-well having a plurality of gate fingers 240 and N+ source/drain regions 250 on both sides of the gate fingers. While not shown in FIG. 2, N-type lightly doped drain (LDD) regions extend toward each other from the source/drain regions 250 on both sides of each gate finger 240.
FIG. 3 depicts the use of device 100 in a typical input/output circuit 300. Circuit 300 comprises pull-down device 100 connected between an I/O pad 392 and ground VSSIO Pull-down device protects from ESD events one or more logic circuits 302 containing devices that are similar to device 100 and connected between I/O pad 392 and ground. Illustratively, a first ballast resistor 362 is connected between drain 360 of pull-down device 100 and the I/O pad and a second ballast resistor 352 is connected between source 350 of device 100 and ground. P-well or P-type substrate or body 110 of device 100 is connected to ground. Ballast resistors 352, 362 are used to provide a more uniform current distribution through device 100. Alternatively, a salicide block could be used. The resistance of the P-type body is represented in the schematic by resistor 312. A diode 394 is connected between I/O pad 392 and ground with its cathode connected to the I/O pad and its anode connected to ground. Diode 394 is used to discharge negative voltage electrostatic events.
Since both the I/O pull-down device and the circuitry that it is intended to protect are in general formed at the same time through the same implants, the breakdown voltage of the I/O pull-down device and that of any other NMOS device connected to the pad are substantially the same. In the absence of an input resistance to isolate the NMOS I/O pull-down device from the circuits to be protected, some layout techniques can be adopted to prevent competitive triggering such as locating the p+ taps of the I/O pull down device at a larger distance from its active area compared to the distance between the circuits to be protected and their taps. However, capacitive coupling of sensitive nodes to the pad potential or specific topologies can still create the potential of competitive triggering unless the triggering voltage of the I/O pull down device is lowered significantly.
Various methods are used for reducing the trigger voltage of the I/O pull-down transistor. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,882,009 of M. Ker et al., P-type pocket implants are used next to the source/drain regions. However, since the P-type pocket implants are used throughout the circuit, this reduces the trigger voltage of both the pull-down transistors and the logic transistors. As a result, the I/O pull-down transistor may not be able to protect the I/O logic circuit. In addition, the P-type pocket implant can degrade the transistor performance by increasing its junction capacitance, and thereby reducing its speed, and can increase the transistor leakage. In M. Ker et al., “ESD Implantation for On-Chip ESD Protection with Layout Consideration in 0.18 um Salicided CMOS Technology,” IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 328-337 (May 2005), a P-type ESD implant is located vertically under the source-drain area. This, however, significantly increases the junction capacitance and affects the transistor performance. It also increases the transistor leakage.
In the above-referenced application Ser. No. 11/185,609 which is incorporated herein by reference, an ESD protection device is disclosed in which a P-type region is formed underneath a portion of each N-type LDD region so that a P-N junction is formed with the drain/source region. In the embodiment of FIG. 2 of application Ser. No. 11/185,609, the location of the P-type region and therefore the location of the P-N junction is indicated generally by the dashed rectangle 280. The rectangular region 280 is shown to cover the center area of the transistors for illustrative purposes, although it can be anywhere in the transistors. Preferably, the width W of the rectangular region 280 is approximately 25% of the width WLDD of an LDD region although greater widths can be used. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Methods for the alkylation of the ortho position of phenols having at least one ortho-hydrogen are known in the art. Such methods are usually carried out in the presence of a catalyst.
Hamilton, U.S. Pat. No. 3,446,856 discloses a method for methylating the ortho positions of phenol by the vapor phase reaction of a phenol with methanol in the presence of magnesium oxide at a temperature in the range of 475.degree. to 600.degree. C.
Van Sorge, U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,628, discloses a method for the ortho-alkylation of phenol in the presence of a catalyst consisting of a mixture of magnesium oxide and manganese sulfate.
Other Van Sorge patents describe methods for the ortho-alkylation of phenols using a magnesium oxide catalyst together with a "promoter" consisting of manganese oxide (U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,229), or a magnesium oxide catalyst bonded with an inert organic cellulosic polymeric binder (U.S. Pat. No. 3,972,828).
It is desirable to carry out the ortho-alkylation of phenols in the presence of a catalyst which does not depend on the use of a promoter compound or polymeric binders for the catalyst. The procedure described in the aforementioned Hamilton patent, using magnesium oxide alone serves the purpose to some extent. However, it is known that in Hamilton's procedure the service life of the magnesium oxide catalyst is relatively short because of the high temperatures required, 475.degree. to 600.degree.. , and there is only moderate selectivity with respect to methanol. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The invention pertains to a gearbox arrangement for the power train of a motor vehicle, possibly to a dual-clutch gearbox arrangement or to a power-shift gearbox arrangement, with at least one group of gear-shifting elements, each of which can be actuated to engage and to disengage at least one individual gear of the gearbox arrangement by moving, relative to a gearbox arrangement housing, between at least one neutral position, in which no gear assigned to the gear-shifting element is engaged, and at least one gear-engaged position, in which a gear assigned to the gear-shifting element and to the gear-engaged position is engaged. In this context, we are thinking primarily but not exclusively about so-called dual-clutch gearboxes or power-shift gearboxes, which have two gear trains which can be shifted independently of each other, each gear train having its own input shaft, to which a clutch arrangement (such as a wet-running clutch of the plate type or a dry-running clutch of the friction disk type) of a dual clutch is assigned so as to allow shifting between a gear of the one gear train to a gear of the other gear train without any interruption in the tractive force.
A dual-clutch gearbox can in principle be considered a parallel circuit of two fully functional gearboxes, each of which forms one of the two gear trains of the dual-clutch gearbox. The engine torque is distributed by the two clutches (two clutch arrangements) between the gear trains, where the one gear train takes care of shifting the even gears, while the other gear train takes care of shifting the odd gears. So that shifting from one gear to another can be accomplished without any interruption in the tractive force, one gear must be engaged in each gear train while the clutch torque is passed from the one gear train to the other.
The invention also pertains, however, to simple gear-shift mechanisms in which shifting gears always means an interruption in the tractive force.
To provide a corresponding vehicle with sports car-like driving behavior and to make it possible for the driver to respond rapidly to hazardous driving situations, it is desirable to realize, at least optionally, short shifting times for switching the gearbox arrangement between different gears. To prevent two gears assigned to the same gearbox input shaft from being engaged simultaneously by mistake, which could destroy the gearbox arrangement, the shifting forces required to shift gears must, under the conventional approach, be applied to the gear-shifting elements in a coordinated manner so that two of these gears cannot be engaged simultaneously. This means that, to ensure that no shifting errors can occur, the gear-shift time cannot be reduced below a certain minimum value. Nor is it excluded that an occurring defect, such as a defect in the actuator arrangement or in the control unit which drives the actuator, could cause the error of simultaneous engagement of two gears assigned to the same gearbox input shaft, leading to the corresponding negative effects on the gearbox and also to an endangerment regarding the driving safety of the vehicle.
In the case of a dual-clutch gearbox, especially upshifting and downshifting by more than one gear are time-critical where the starting gear and the target gear are both assigned to the same gear train and the torque must therefore be re-routed temporarily via the other gear train. If it is important to shift without any interruption in the tractive force during these multi-gear shifts, there must be at least two phases, during each of which two gears, one in each gear train, are engaged simultaneously. Between the two phases, it is necessary to disengage one gear and to engage another one as quickly as possible in the same gear train.
An object of the present invention is to provide gearbox arrangement in which the danger of incorrect shifting such that two or more gears are simultaneously engaged, which should not or must not be engaged simultaneously, is at least reduced. Another object of the present invention is to provide a gearbox arrangement which allows very short gear-shift times.
According to an embodiment of the invention, at least one locking device is provided with the gearbox arrangement, which is assigned jointly to all the gear-shifting elements of the group or of one of the groups, which is in a releasing state when all of the gear-shifting elements are in their neutral positions, and which can be moved from the releasing state to the locking state by the movement of one of the gear-shifting elements into the gear-engaged position or into one such position, wherein the locking device, when in the locking position, prevents the other gear-shifting element or all the other gear-shifting elements from moving out of the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position.
The locking device opposes the incorrect movement of the other or of all the other gear-shifting elements from the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position when one of the gear-shifting elements is located in the gear-engaged position. Thus the danger of incorrect shifting, as discussed above, is at least greatly reduced if not eliminated entirely. For this reason, short shifting times are possible indirectly, because the specific coordination of the shifting forces to be applied to shift gears is no longer of any particular importance.
It is advantageous for the locking device, when it is in the releasing state, to allow the assigned gear-shifting elements to move out of the neutral position and into the gear-engaged position or into one such position. It is proposed in particular that the locking device, when in the releasing state, allows the assigned gear-shifting elements to move out of the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position in such a way that only one of the gear-shifting elements can move into the gear-engaged position or into one such position.
An especially preferred embodiment is characterized in that, when the locking device is in the locking state, the other or all of the other gear-shifting elements are held, preferably locked, to prevent them from moving out of the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position, when subjected to a given maximum actuating force in this context, we are thinking in particular of a mechanical, positive type of interlock.
It is highly advisable for the locking device, when it is in the releasing state, to prevent the assigned gear-shifting elements from moving out of the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position on the basis of an actuating force which is less than a certain minimum actuating force. In this context, it is proposed by way of elaboration that, when the locking device is in the releasing state, all of the assigned gear-shifting elements are held and preferably locked to prevent them from moving out of the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position when subjected to an actuating force less than a certain minimum actuating force. In the releasing state of the locking device, it is advantageous for the individual assigned gear-shifting element to be released by the application of the minimum actuating force or of an actuating force greater than the minimum actuating force (for example, an actuating force equal to or approximately equal to the maximum actuating force).
An especially preferred embodiment is characterized in that, as a result of the movement of one of the gear-shifting elements from the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position, a retaining force can be activated or increased which acts on the other or on all the other gear-shifting elements, thus holding it/them in the neutral position. A locking device design of this type is especially resistant to errors, and a corresponding locking device can be realized mechanically in a very simple manner.
We are thinking here in particular that, as a result of the movement of one of the gear-shifting elements from the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position, a locking engagement which locks the other or all the other gear-shifting elements in the neutral position can be activated or increased.
According to an especially effective embodiment, the locking device comprises a locking element arrangement, which is preferably elastically pretensioned against the gear-shifting elements and engages positively with guide surfaces on the individual gear-shifting elements. The gear-shifting element guide surface can be advantageously designed so that a movement of one of the gear-shifting elements from the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position causes at least one element of the locking element arrangement to move in such a way that the locking element arrangement is tensioned more strongly against the other or all the other gear-shifting elements. A locking device of this type of particularly simple mechanical design has a spring-loaded plunger arrangement or ball arrangement, which is tensioned between two shaft elements and which engages positively in a recess in the guide surface of the gear-shifting element in question when this element is in the neutral position.
The locking device can have an even simpler mechanical design when formed as one rigid, inelastic locking element, not pretensioned in any way, or based on several such elements. It is proposed in this respect but also in general that the locking device have at least one locking element which is movably supported and dimensioned in such a way that, when the gear-shifting elements are in the neutral position, it is or can be brought into retaining engagement with at least one of the gear-shifting elements, and that any one of the gear-shifting elements can be moved out of the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position, where, when any one of the gear-shifting elements moves out of the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position, the gear-shifting element which moves out of the neutral position brings the locking element into retaining engagement with the other gear-shifting element or with all the other gear-shifting elements. The locking element can be, for example, a rigid plunger or pin with no moving parts, or a rigid disk with no moving parts.
It is proposed by way of elaboration that the retaining engagement is a positive engagement between an engaging section, such as an engaging end, of the locking element and an engaging section, such as a recess, in a surface of the associated gear-shifting element.
We are thinking here, for example, that, when the gear-shifting elements are in the neutral position, the locking element (e.g., the previously mentioned pin or plunger) can move in exactly one direction, especially in linear fashion, between a retaining engagement with a first gear-shifting element and a retaining engagement with a second gear-shifting element. In the case of a pin or plunger, the linear movement of the pin or plunger would be in the direction of its longitudinal axis.
As an alternative, it is proposed that, when the gear-shifting elements are in the neutral position, the locking element (e.g., the previously mentioned disk) can move, especially in linear fashion, in several directions between retaining engagements with more than two gear-shifting elements. In the case of a disk, the linear directions of movement will be in the plane of the disk.
As another possibility, it is proposed as being especially preferred that, when the gear-shifting elements are in the neutral position, the locking element can pivot between a retaining engagement with a first and a retaining engagement with a second gear-shifting element. A pivot bearing can be provided at especially low cost and provides a high level of functional reliability.
Insofar as a “retaining engagement” has been mentioned above, what is meant primarily or meant additionally is that, when the gear-shifting elements are in the neutral position, the retaining engagement of the locking element, at least one of which is provided, with an associated gear-shifting element is a nonlocking type of engagement, which can be overcome by the movement of the gear-shifting element in the direction toward the gear-engaged position or into one such position, and that, in the case of a gear-shifting element which has been moved out of the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position, the retaining engagement of the at least one locking element with the other gear-shifting element or all the other gear-shifting elements is a locking type of engagement which cannot be overcome, at least not by the given actuating forces, and which is locked by the gear-shifting element which has moved out of its neutral position.
Especially short gear-shift times are possible when a gear-engaging actuating force can be applied to one of the gear-shifting elements of the group in the neutral position while the other or one of the other gear-shifting elements of the group is in the gear-engaged position or in one such position, the one gear-shifting element being held in the neutral position by the locking device in opposition to the applied gear-engaging actuating force, wherein, through the movement of the other gear-shifting element from the gear-engaged position into the neutral position under the action of an applied gear-disengaging force, the locking device can be switched to the releasing state in order to allow the one gear-shifting element to move under the action of the applied gear-engaging actuating force out of the neutral position and into the gear-engaged position or into one such position.
In correspondence with conventional designs, the gear-shifting elements can be designed as gear-shift rods. The group or the individual group in question can have two gear-shifting elements (possibly gear-shift rods). The group or each group, however, can also have more than two gear-shifting elements (possibly gear-shift rods). For example, it can have three gear-shifting elements (possibly gear-shift rods).
Especially in the case of a dual-clutch gearbox arrangement or power-shift gearbox arrangement, at least two groups of gear-shifting elements (possibly gear-shift rods), which can be actuated independently of each other, are provided.
We are thinking here in particular of an automatic shifting of the gearbox arrangement. For this purpose, an actuator arrangement assigned to the gear-shifting elements (possibly gear-shift rods) can be provided, by means of which the gear-shifting elements (possibly gear-shift rods) can be actuated in automated fashion.
It is preferable for each of the gear-shifting elements (possibly gear-shift rods) of the group or of at least one group to have at least one actuator assigned to, so that an actuating force which acts in the direction of movement of the gear-shifting elements (possibly gear-shift rods) can be applied simultaneously to each of several gear-shifting elements (possibly gear-shift rods) of the group.
The invention also provides a motor vehicle power train comprising a drive unit (possibly an internal combustion engine), a gearbox arrangement (possibly a dual-clutch gearbox arrangement or a power-shift gearbox arrangement with two groups of gear-shifting elements) according to the invention, and a clutch device (possibly a dual-clutch device with two clutch arrangements, each of which is assigned to its own gearbox input shaft and thus to its own group of gear-shifting elements) for the transmission of torque between the drive unit and the gearbox arrangement.
The invention also provides a process for shifting an inventive gearbox arrangement or the gearbox arrangement of an inventive motor vehicle power train. The inventive process is characterized by a sequence of gear-shifting steps in which a gear-engaging actuating force is applied to one of the gear-shifting elements of the group of gear-shifting elements or of one such group of the elements in the neutral position, while the other gear-shifting element or one of the other gear-shifting elements of the group is in the gear-engaged position or in one such position, wherein the one gear-shifting element is held in the neutral position by the locking device in opposition to the applied gear-engaging actuating force as long as the other gear-shifting element is in the engaged position; and in which a gear-disengaging actuating force is applied to the other gear-shifting element to move the other gear-shifting element out of the gear-engaged position into the neutral position, wherein the locking device is switched to the releasing state by the movement of the other gear-shifting element out of the gear-engaged position into the neutral position, as a result of which the one gear-shifting element is then moved out of the neutral position into the gear-engaged position or into one such position under the action of the applied gear-engaging actuating force. Very short gear-shift times can thus be realized.
By way of elaboration, it is proposed with respect to the shifting of a dual-clutch gearbox arrangement or of a power-shift gearbox arrangement that the shifting sequence comprise a multi-gear shifting of the gearbox arrangement from a starting gear to a target gear several gears away from the starting gear, wherein a gear-shifting element assigned to the starting gear and a gear-shifting element assigned to the target gear both belong to the same group of gear-shifting elements, and wherein the gear-engaging actuating force is applied to the one gear-shifting element and the gear-disengaging force is applied to the other gear-shifting element during the process of shifting from the starting gear to the target gear. The sequence of shifting steps can comprise, for example, a multi-gear downshift, especially a multi-stage downshift. We are thinking here in particular that the sequence of shifting operations will comprise at least one crossover shifting phase and preferably at least two crossover shifting phases between the starting gear or one of the starting gears and a target gear or one of the target gears. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Conventional metal-catalyzed organic radical reactions and living radical polymerizations (LRP) performed in nonpolar solvents, including atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), proceed by an inner-sphere electron-transfer mechanism that require high activation energies. There is a need in the art for processes that can be performed at lower activation energies and, thus, lower temperatures. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to electronic timers and, more particularly, to an improved asynchronous clock for processing signals from random events. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to a power transmission unit for motor vehicles, and more particularly to an improvement of a power transmission unit of the type which comprises an auxiliary transmission for selectively completing low and high speed drive power trains and a primary transmission for selectively completing a plurality of forward drive power trains and a reverse drive power train after one of the low and high speed drive power trains is completed.
In such a power transmission unit as described above, when the primary transmission is shifted to a desired position after completion of a low speed drive power train, a suitable change-speed ratio can be selected to obtain good drivability during travel of the vehicle on town roads or mountain roads. When the primary transmission is shifted to a desired position after completion of a high speed drive power train, a suitable change-speed ratio can be selected to obtain good drivability during travel of the vehicle on a highway. Thus, the power transmission unit of this type is very useful to ensure good drivability without unnecessary fuel consumption under various travelling conditions. In case the power transmission unit is adapted to a small automotive vehicle of front-wheel drive type, it is needed that the transmission unit is designed to be assembled within a limited space of the vehicle. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
There are a number of ways to search. A navigational search uses a hierarchy structure or taxonomy to enable users to browse information. A direct search allows users to query information using one or more keywords. A faceted search often combines elements of both navigational and direct searches by allowing users to explore the information by applying multiple filters and/or keywords to a facet hierarchy.
The facet hierarchy classifies the information along dimensions, called facets. Facets correspond to properties of the information, and are often derived by analysis of text or documents using various extraction techniques or from metadata associated with the information. For example, online retailers often use a faceted hierarchy that reflects product attributes, such as type, brand, price, etc. Facet values can be added to the facet hierarchy manually or extracted automatically using text mining software.
An n-dimensional facet cube can be generated using the facets, wherein the facet cube allows multi-dimensional access to data. Each facet is a separate dimension of the facet cube, and the intersection of two or more dimensions can be computed and displayed, such as all products of a particular type, brand and price, sold in a given time period. This allows users to query for complex relationships in the facet values, and discover previously unknown relationships in the facet values.
However, there is a need in the art for improved techniques of deriving facet values. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In the current systems-on-a-chip (SoC), the aging of the electronic components is anticipated during the design of the systems.
Usually, the aging is compensated by allocating an excess, or a compensation, of voltage to the power supply voltage, in order for the aged components to continue to operate in a satisfactory manner within a “worn” product. For example, an excess of 40 mV for a power supply of 150 mV is usually provided for the first uses of such a system-on-a-chip.
As a consequence, this compensation leads to an excessive energy consumption from the first use, which represents a handicap within the framework of applications in which the energy efficiency is primordial, for example in the case of a weak battery or with an objective of minimal energy dissipation.
Furthermore, these losses in performance may be even more serious when a system-on-a-chip of the same design is used for various mission profiles. A mission profile is a model of use corresponding to various stresses to which the system-on-a-chip must be subjected. By way of illustration, a system designed for industry will be subjected to a more intensive use than a system designed for motor vehicles, which itself will be subjected to a more intensive use than a system used by individuals.
The systems-on-a-chip usable for various mission profiles are consequently designed in order to withstand the model with the most severe stresses, and this represents a loss of competitiveness owing to conventional energy values (referred to as a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)) that are poorly adhered to for mission profiles that are less demanding.
Thus, the optimization of the power supply in systems for managing the aging of electronic components represents a problem area in the compromise between performance characteristics and reliability, taking into account the limitations of the systems-on-a-chip comprising the components.
It would therefore be desirable to overcome this problematic feature by providing an adaptive compensation for the aging of systems-on-a-chip.
With regard to adaptive adjustment of the voltage/frequency (AVF/AFS) of a system-on-a-chip, U.S. Pat. No. 8,154,335 (incorporated by reference) describes a system-on-a-chip in which a power supply voltage is reduced and/or a clock frequency is increased in order to recover conditions of use within acceptable margins, the margins being generated by a circuit for replicating a critical path. This teaching also describes an increase in the voltage and/or a decrease in the frequency for preventative purposes in the case of exceeding the acceptable margins for conditions of use.
However, the solution provided in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 8,154,335 is adapted to occasional variations in the operation of the system-on-a-chip, and does not take into consideration the longer term problems of excess power supply and aging previously described.
There accordingly exists a need to estimate an operating profile of an integrated circuit of a system-on-a-chip taking into account the long-term aging of the system-on-a-chip. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to the art of presses and, more particularly, to apparatus for feeding workpieces to a press work station and orienting the workpiece at the station for work to be performed on different portions of the workpiece.
The present invention find particular utility in connection with forging operations performed on large annular metal workpieces and, accordingly, will be described in detail hereinafter in connection with such use. At the same time, however, it will be appreciated that the apparatus can be employed in connection with workpieces other than annular workpieces and in connection with the performing of work other than forging operations on the workpiece.
Heretofore, in connection with the forging of large, heavy metal workpieces in the form of plates, discs and/or rings, the workpiece has been positioned in the press die space through the use of a crane or roller table. When so positioned, a portion of the workpiece is supported within the die space by the anvil of the press and the remainder of the workpiece is supported externally of the press by appropriate workpiece leveling devices associated with the press and/or the shop floor adjacent the press. During the forging operation, the leveling devices operate to maintain the workpiece in a level orientation relative to the forge tooling. When it is desired to perform forging operations on different portions of the same workpiece, the workpiece must be elevated following one forging operation and then reoriented relative to the die space to bring an unworked portion of the workpiece thereinto. In connection with such a reorientation which requires rotation of the workpiece in a horizontal plane, such rotation has been achieved manually heretofore utilizing levers suspended on chains from overhead cranes, and this operation not only requires a large number of personnel but also is very demanding physically and requires considerable time. Accordingly, if several forging operations are required with respect to a given workpiece, the cost of production is undesirably high as a result of both the time and number of personnel required to achieve such production. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting diode, and more particular, to a light emitting diode having a strain-enhanced well layer.
2. Discussion of the Background
Generally, a Group III-V nitride-based laser diode/light-emitting diode (LD/LED) includes an InxGa1-xN buffer layer, an n-GaN layer, an active layer having a quantum-well structure of InGaN/GaN, a p-AlGaN electron blocking layer, and a p-GaN layer, which are sequentially formed on a patterned sapphire substrate having a c-plane (0001).
In a general GaN/In0.15Ga0.75N quantum-well structure, an InGaN well layer has compressive strain of about 1.6%. In the related art, since strain applied to an active layer has been considered to deteriorate efficiency, a strain relieving technique has been developed.
On the other hand, a high brightness LED undergoes a droop phenomenon wherein optical output efficiency decreases with increasing drive current. Therefore, there is a need to relieve the droop phenomenon of a light emitting diode in order to obtain high optical efficiency at high drive current.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form any part of the prior art nor what the prior art may suggest to a person of ordinary skill in the art. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method for releasably connecting together two elements, such as two orthotic devices, or two elements of an orthotic device. More particularly, the invention relates to a quick connect apparatus that quickly and easily enables a user to attach and detach two devices or two elements of a device, such as the elements of a knee-ankle-foot orthosis.
2. Background of the Invention
Orthotic devices traditionally have been utilized to aid in supporting, guiding and limiting the range of motion of different joints in the human body, or in the case of prosthetic devices, to replace missing body joints and limbs or portions thereof. For example, if natural joints such as knees or ankles are congenitally impaired or become impaired due to disease or injury, an orthosis may be used to support the joints, and guide and limit their range of motion. Orthotic devices typically comprise one or more orthotic supporting members that support a limb or part of a limb, such as for example a foot, a leg, or a lower or upper portion of a leg. When more than one orthotic supporting member is used the members are typically connected with orthotic metal bars that may form a pivoting mechanical orthotic joint across, for example, the knee, elbow, wrist, hip, ankle, spine, torso or neck of a patient. Such orthotic metal bars are typically mounted on opposite sides of the orthotic supporting members and cannot usually be detached except by an orthotist using fabrication techniques. Orthotic devices are often custom fit specifically for an individual patient, such as by contouring orthotic supporting members and orthotic metal bars to a plaster mold of a patient's anatomy. Examples of such procedures are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,535, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In some cases a patient no longer needs part of their orthotic device, for instance where a patient with a knee-ankle-foot orthosis improves and requires only an ankle-foot orthosis. Alternatively, a patient with an ankle-foot orthosis may occasionally or temporarily need a knee-ankle-foot orthosis, for instance for certain physical activities. However, when orthotic metal bars are permanently or semi-permanently attached to the orthotic supporting members to create, for instance, a knee-ankle-foot orthosis, it is difficult and time consuming for the orthotist to later remove the various orthotic supporting members from the orthotic device. Because in the past they were not easily modified, patients have often required separate knee-ankle-foot and ankle-foot orthoses.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,129,689 and 6,736,567 to Dibello, both entitled Quick Connect Apparatus And Method For Orthotic And Prosthetics Devices, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference, are generally directed to a device for releasably connecting orthotic metal bars to orthotic supporting members. Each Dibello device includes two plate members attachable to different orthotic elements, and a slider plate that is movable between a first released position and a second locked position. The Dibello device also may include a stop to secure the slider plate in the locked position. While the Dibello device should theoretically be usable to allow a patient to releasably connect orthotic supporting members to his or her orthotic device, in practice the Dibello device has proven very difficult and tedious to implement and use, because it requires precise, simultaneous, three-dimensional alignment of complicated plate members. Specifically, two Dibello plate members must each be separately attached to orthosis metal bars, and then precisely aligned and connected with corresponding plate members attached to opposite sides of an orthotic supporting member. Such alignment and connection of the Dibello plate members is in practice very difficult even for a professional orthotist, due to the misalignment and dimensional variation inherent in custom fabrication, as well as normal flexing and deformation of the metal bars and polymer supporting members.
A need remains for a device and method of quickly and reliably attaching and detaching orthotic members to and from an orthotic device that can be performed easily, for instance by a patient. A need also exists for such a device and method allowing easy connection of orthotic members that is sturdy and reliable for the user of an orthotic device and will not inadvertently disconnect when the orthotic device is in use. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a foil decorated molding.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, various kinds of methods for manufacturing a foil decorated molding, which is molded by an injection molding process and has a transfer layer removed from a substrate foil of a transfer foil and placed on the surface of the molding after the transfer foil is inserted into cavities in an injection mold, have been known in the art. Since the use of the method requires an alignment of the transfer foil along a cavity-forming face of the mold, the transfer foil is preheated before the injection molding process so as to be easily aligned along the cavity-forming face of the mold where the cavity-forming face thereof is greatly recessed or projected from a parting face of the mold.
A traditional injection molding method includes transferring a heater between the male mold and the female mold to heat the foil before matching the molds, and removing the heater after the foil is heated. However, because of the need for the heater and the space it occupies, cost and volume of the injection mold is increased.
What is needed is to provide an effective method for manufacturing a foil decorated molding. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Drive trains are often used in gas turbine energy conversion facilities and in turbine compressor test facilities for transferring torque to or from components connected to the drive train. Integrated drive trains may include components such as starting motors, gearboxes, compressors, shafts, etc. Most of the drive train components are connected to a common rotating shaft or coupled to the shaft, for example, via gearboxes. Certain components on the drive train may supply torque while other components may consume torque. For example, an electric motor may be used to supply starting torque for the drive train, while a compressor may consume part of the torque provided by the motor. To complicate matters, a gas turbine, for example, may consume torque during ramp-up to full speed and before being fired, but once the combustors begin to burn fuel at a sufficient rate, the gas turbine may begin to supply torque to the drive train.
The positive (supply) or negative (consumption) torque coordination to the drive train from multiple torque producing components on large integrated drive trains have, in the past, resulted in torque oscillations and marginally stable operations, often requiring manual adjustments. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In the technical field of video compression, optical flow fields can be used to demonstrate directions and speeds of motion information on all pixels within a video frame. The information that the optical flow fields provide is very useful for compressing videos or decoding compressed videos since the information can help to reduce efforts needed for searching each pixel of a frame from adjacent frames.
Under traditional technologies, the optical flow fields are generally obtained by estimations through captured still or video images. These approaches involve complex algorithms and are time consuming. Furthermore, such approaches may involve technologies such as texture decompositions, which make it inapplicable to real-time applications, such as aerial video imaging applications.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for imaging systems and methods that can construct optical flow fields in a rapid and cost-effective manner. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.