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(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to 3-methyl-4-(4-pyridinyl)benzeneamines, which are useful as cardiotonic agents, to cardiotonic compositions containing the same, a method of increasing cardiac contractility using the same and to chemical processes for the preparation thereof.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Koenigs et al., Ann., 509, 142-158 (1934) disclose, on pages 147-148, the preparation of 4-(4-pyridinyl)-N,N-dimethylbenzeneamine for which no utility is asserted. The compound is prepared by heating on a water bath a mixture of 16 g. (0.202 mole) of pyridine with 14 g. (0.099 mole) of benzoyl chloride in the presence of 0.5 g. (0.0079 mole) of copper powder and then treating the cooled reaction mixture with 12 q. (0.098 mole) of N,N-dimethylbenzeneamine (i.e. N,N-dimethylaniline) followed by heating for five hours on a water bath, the ratio of pyridine to benzoyl chloride to dimethylaniline to copper thus being 2:1:1:0.079. However in a section on pages 150-151 entitled (in translation) "Condensation Products from m-Dimethylamino-toluene, Pyridine and Benzoyl Chloride", the authors describe a similar reaction using the same reaction conditions and precisely the same molar ratios of reactants, except that 3-methyl-N,N-dimethylbenzeneamine (i.e. dimethyl-m-toluidine) was used in place of the N,N-dimethylbenzeneamine used in the procedure described on pages 147-148 of the reference. The product obtained is identified only by its empirical formula, which corresponds, not to 3-methyl-4-(4-pyridinyl)-N,N-dimethylbenzeneamine, which would result if the reaction followed the same course as the reaction using N,N-dimethylbenzeneamine, but rather to a compound of unknown composition having the empirical formula C.sub.21 H.sub.21 N.sub.2 OCl.
British Pat. No. 518,886 discloses 2-methyl-4-(4-pyridinyl)benzeneamine, useful as an intermediate for the preparation of dyestuffs, and Forsythe et al., J. Chem. Soc., 2921 (1926) disclose 4-(4-pyridinyl)benzeneamine, for which no utility is given. | {
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Wireless networks are increasingly employed to provide various communication functions including voice, video, packet data, messaging and the like. A common example of wireless local area network (WLAN) architecture is an infrastructure network adhering to 802.11 standards established by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) that typically employ one or more access points to coordinate communications for a number of stations or other client devices. In an infrastructure network, the access point and associated stations may be known as a basic service set (BSS).
Due to the wide availability, popularity and convenience of WLAN-based wireless communications, a wireless communications device may be within range of multiple WLANs at any given time. Often, very little information may be available to the wireless communications device regarding the quality of the network or the performance that may be expected regarding each WLAN. Indeed, the wireless communications device may only have information regarding the current signal strength of the network, the type of security being employed and, in some situations, the 802.11 protocols supported by the network that may indicate the theoretical maximum data rate. Thus, under conventional systems, choosing among the options may involve simply selecting a network identifier from a list on the basis of one or more of these criteria.
However, these criteria may not provide an adequate indicator of the network performance that may be expected. For example, a wireless communications device may be located close to a given access point, which may result in an indication that the network has excellent signal strength. However, if that access point is servicing a large number of other clients, or if other access points are operating on the same channel, performance of the network may be poor. Conversely, even if communications from another access point are received at reduced signal strength, when the WLAN served by that access point has few client devices with low activity, a wireless communications device may be able to utilize the WLAN at reasonable performance levels.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods allowing a wireless communications device to determine the congestion present for networks within range. Further, it would be desirable for the wireless communications device to determine congestion on a unilateral basis, without requiring active involvement from other network devices. This disclosure satisfies these and other needs. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to an air filter adapted to filter air passing through a scoop which is mounted over an air intake system such as a carburetor, fuel injector or throttle body of a vehicle.
2. General Background and State of the Art
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a scoop 10 designed to direct air to a traditional air filter 14 mounted over an air intake system of an engine such as a carburetor, fuel injector, throttle body or the like. Air enters through a front opening 12 of the scoop 10 which is filtered by the traditional air filter 14 before the filtered air is provided to the air intake system. The air filter 14 is mounted over the air intake system such that the air filter 14 fits within the neck area 18 of the scoop 10. The design of this scoop 10 is such that the size of the air filter 14 is limited by the space available near the neck area 18 of the scoop 10. In some applications, no filter is used so that unfiltered air is directly provided to the air intake system.
The scoop 10 is generally used in high performance vehicles such as race cars. The scoop 10 is generally designed to direct as much air as possible to the filter 14 to enhance the performance of the race car. In some instances, race cars can reach the speed of 160 miles per hour or more in a few seconds. At such high speeds, there may not be enough surface area in the traditional filter 14 to intake the air flowing through the front opening 12. In addition, the flow rate of the air through the front opening 12 of the scoop 10 may be so high that the air flow path inside the scoop 10 from the front opening 12 to the filter 14 may become turbulent such that air may not efficiently flow from the front opening 12 to the filter 14. The air turbulence within the scoop 10 can dampen the amount of air provided to the filter 14. The air turbulence within the scoop 10 can also cause the air in front of the front opening 12 to stall such that the area around the front opening 12 acts as a boundary layer or wall. This increases the drag on the car, in particular at high speeds. As such, there is a need to increase the flow rate of air through the scoop 10 and to the air intake system while minimizing the drag on the vehicle. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of introducing into fresh concrete, as herein defined, compounds capable of sequestering chloride ions to establish resistance to corrosion of metal reinforcing elements contained within or contacting the concrete and provide a corrosion resistant oxide layer on the metal reinforcing elements, as well as related compositions and structures. The invention is also directed toward corrosion protection of concrete articles wherein the concrete has already set and hardened.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The advantageous use of metal reinforcing members, such as steel reinforcing members, in concrete for structural uses has been known for many years. Concrete is known to provide desired compressive strength, but tends to lack tensile strength. The reinforcing bars co-act with the concrete to provide enhanced tensile strength for the combination of materials. It has also been known to employ corrugated metal deck in combination with concrete to create a composite with similar benefits. Numerous other metal members have been embedded in concrete or provided in contact therewith to achieve enhanced benefits in the structural environment as a result of such materials. Among these additional materials are grids, beams, bolts, hold-downs and wire mesh.
One problem with such construction has arisen as a result of exposure of concrete to salts, such as calcium chloride and sodium chloride, on external structural members to resist the undesired accumulation of snow and ice on bridges and other concrete paved areas such as roadways, parking lots, sidewalks and the like. While these chloride salts do provide benefits in terms of de-icing of concrete surfaces, they frequently result in the chloride solutions migrating into the concrete decks and adjacent vertical concrete surfaces, such as walls and columns, also subjecting these to chloride intrusion. Also, saline seawater may migrate into the pores of concrete exposed to seawater as in sea walls. With respect to bridge decks, in particular, an enhanced problem results from air movement under the deck creating an environment wherein the salts are aspirated into the concrete and salt laden solutions flow into the pores.
Regardless of the manner in which chloride enters such concrete, the chloride, upon reaching the steel reinforcing members, tends to accelerate corrosion of the same because the oxidation of the metal metallic iron to Fe2+ is catalyzed by the chloride. Also, oxides and hydroxides of Fe2+ frequently form and occupy porosity in the vicinity of the interface of the steel and concrete. In addition, oxides and hydroxides of Fe3+ may also be produced. As these iron oxides and hydroxides are of greater volume than the iron metal from which they were produced, they tend to cause internal stresses which may become high enough to crack the concrete, and also degrade the desired bond between the metal reinforcing elements and the concrete.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,412 discloses a method of re-alkalizing concrete in which carbonation has occurred. An outer layer of the concrete structure containing reinforcement which layer through exposure to air has been carbonated has an adjacent layer that remains relatively less carbonated. The patent discloses applying to the outer surface a water type adherent coating followed by introducing between the outer adjacent layers, water from a source external to the concrete structure and maintaining the concrete structure in this condition for a period of time sufficient to effect diffusion of the alkaline materials from the relatively less carbonated adjacent layer into the relatively carbonated outer layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,082 discloses a process for rehabilitation of internally reinforced concrete, which includes temporary application of an adhered coating of an electrode material to surface areas of the concrete. Distributed electrodes such as a wire grid is embedded in the coating. A voltage as applied to the reinforcement and distributed to the electrode to cause migration of chloride ions from the chloride into the electrolytic coding. Among the shortcomings of this approach are the need to provide, at the local source, a source of electrical power. This electrical equipment might have to be maintained at the site for extended periods of time. This further complicates matters by establishing a risk of injury to children and others that might find the equipment at an attractive nuisance, as well as the risk of theft and vandalism. Also, such chloride extraction processes may alter the concrete microstructure by making it more porous and permeable, thereby, facilitating enhanced re-entry of chloride when de-icing salts are again applied to the exterior.
It has been known to employ nitrites, such as calcium nitrite, in resisting corrosion of steel parts in concrete. It is believed that the nitrites oxidize the Fe2+ to Fe3+ which, in turn, precipitates as Fe2O3. The Fe2O3 thus formed tends to act as a barrier to further contact between the chloride and the steel. See, generally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,092,109 and 4,285,733. Neither calcium nitrate nor Fe2O3, however, function to sequester chloride. The latter provides merely a barrier.
There remains, therefore, a very real and substantial need for a method and related composition and structure which will resist undesired corrosion of metal structural elements contained within, or in contact with, concrete structural members. | {
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Dispensers are known which are designed to either automatically or non-automatically dispense lengths of wiping materials in public or private toilets. Such devices employ various materials: paper, cotton wool, non-woven materials all of which are somewhat absorbent. It has become customary to fabricate such materials whereby they are webs of thinner and thinner and concomitantly more and more fragile.
Problems arise as the sheets of wiping materials become thin, they do not tear at their respective kiss die cuts.
In order to overcome such a problem the present application discloses an apparatus which advantageously can dispense lengths of the thinnest wiping materials. | {
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1. Field
Our invention is in the field of bed accessories, and particularly relates to an application for relieving the adverse effects of inadequate hospital-bed mattresses upon orthopedic patients who have back problems.
2. Prior Art
A normal hospital-bed mattress is relatively inadequate for an orthopedic patient being treated for spinal disorder. Even when new, a mattress designed for the average hospital patient is too soft or compliant for the back-trouble patient. Such a mattress does not adequately transmit the firmness of the underlying bed frame and panels to support the patient's spine. On the other hand, a mattress suitable for a patient with back trouble would be too firm or stiff and thus a problem for most other patients.
One approach to these varying requirements would be to use specially made mattresses, offering firm support, for orthopedic patients with bad backs--while using normal mattresses for other patients. However, in hospital use this would normally be considered impractical. It would entail relatively frequent interchange of mattresses, because the beds even in an orthopedic ward are used in turn by patients with and without spinal complaints. Since mattresses are both quite heavy and quite bulky, the option of using different mattresses would call for added labor, storage facilities and possibly special equipment--all costly and complicating factors unacceptable in most hospitals.
An additional major problem area arises from the fact that a typical hospital bed has an articulated frame permitting upward tilting of the frame portion beneath the patient's back and head; it may also have a stationary horizontal portion beneath the patient's buttocks, an upward tilting of the portion beneath the patient's thighs, and a downward tilting of the portion beneath the patient's lower legs. Usually a rigid or semirigid panel spans each frame section, so that when the sections are all horizontal the bed resembles a segmented tabletop. Typically the mattress of such a bed is continuous and simply is disposed atop the articulated frame and panel where it must bend or fold to accommodate the articulated action of the frame and panels.
The mattress is subject to deterioration from use, particularly in the area where it bends, due to repeated flexure and disintegration of the padding material and springs. Interacting with this flexture and disintegration are the weight distribution and movements of a patient lying on the mattress. The padding, as a result, seems to migrate; whatever the mechanism, it forms lumps and soft areas and provides uneven and inadequate support for the patient. While this condition is not confined to the bending area, it is most severe there.
In that same area the rubberized or plastic mattress cover tends to develop ripples or creases which then become relatively permanent. These creases add to the patient's discomfort through chafing and may actually cause abrasions; to escape the concentrated effects of the creases on a particular part of the body the patient may shift into an awkward position in which the body is not properly supported--leading inevitably to even greater and more-fundamental discomfort.
All of these effects are exacerbated for back patients, especially if protracted confinement is required. In such a case it is essential to maintain generally uniform support for the length of the spine. In particular, if the lower part of the spine is not adequately supported relative to the upper portion, the spine tends to bend or distort.
Even a relatively thin foam pad placed directly on the hard metal tabletop-like surface of a typical articulated hospital bed would be preferable to the deteriorated normal mattresses found on such beds. However, such a solution (as with the mattress-changing technique described above) is impeded by the costs of mattress moving and storage.
The prior art reflects efforts to overcome these problems, but teaches away from the concepts of our invention--some of the oldest art presenting the most similar structure, though the similarity is superficial.
U.S. Pat. No. 46,569, issued Feb. 28, 1865 to R. H. Mathews illustrates a portable "bedstead" for use of invalids, and for maternity cases in actual delivery. This "bedstead" comprises a continuous, relatively thin cushion and an articulated thin backing secured to the cushion, providing easy means for the attendant or physician to maneuver the patient between lying and sitting positions. Foot-blocks, and handles for use by either the patient or attendant, are included. For carrying, the apparatus folds into a configuration which is quite compact; it has straps for securing it in the folded configuration and handles for carrying it in that condition. The device is described as "put . . . into use by laying it on a common bedstead or any article that will sustain it"--i.e., likely a flat bedstead, workbench or the like.
The folding action of Mathews' device is not coordinated with that of any underlying articulated bedstead, if indeed such beds were then in general use or even general hospital use. To the contrary, the inventor noted that his "sick bed or frame [could] be converted into the form of a chair by shifting it, with the patient thereon, toward the edge or side of the bedstead on which it lies, so as to allow the legs of the patient to hang down, the feet resting on the foot-blocks . . . . The handles . . . afford every facility in moving and turning the frame with its burden without touching the patient." In short, Mathews' structure was not directed to the same purposes as the present invention, and accordingly its details reflect different constraints, as will be seen.
Composites of cushioning and backing materials for various purposes are of course well-known, an early example of modern technology appearing in British Pat. No. 490,461, which issued Jan. 11, 1937 to F. De. Lautour: "A sheet or board of gas-expanded rubber or rubber-like materials is faced on one or both sides with a wood-veneer or plywood board."
Somewhat more closely related purposes characterize the inventions of A. W. Schenker, protected under U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,373,421 and 2,469,084, issuing respectively Apr. 10, 1945 and May 3, 1949 and described as "body resting appliances." These inventions involve combined cushioning and thin reinforcing materials, forming a composite structure for comfort and for spinal or other skeletal therapy. The special feature of Schenker's inventions seems to be custom molding of the reinforcing material to the contours of a particular patient's body, for optimum stress distribution and skeletal support.
The later of Schenker's patents discloses a version which is articulated in the manner of a conventional hospital bed, the reinforcement being embedded between two cushioning layers which produce overall thickness generally comparable to that of a conventional mattress.
Schenker's inventions thus are intended to substitute for existing conventional hospital mattresses rather than to cooperate with, and extend the beneficially useful lives of, such already-existing mattresses. In these ways Schenker's inventions are distinguished, as will be seen, from ours.
More-modern approaches to the problem of deteriorating hospital bedding are seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,188,660 and 3,249,952, issued respectively June 15, 1965 to Y. R. Guttman and May 10, 1966 to M. N. Janapol.
Guttman contributes the concept of sectionalizing the mattress cushion itself at one point, to match the principal articulation of the bed frame. This approach reduces the flexure of the padding material in that area, expectably reducing to an extent the formation of lumps and pockets. But Guttman does not reduce the component of the mattress disintegration which results from the interaction of the patient's weight and movements with the mattress-section tilting; eventually this too causes the mattress to become lumpy. Moreover, unless extreme care is taken to position the mattress sections properly and monitor their condition, over the long term the separate edges of the mattress sections which are exposed where they abut at the base of the patient's spine, and are subject to at least slight misalignment, may produce as much patient discomfort and eventual spinal distortion as a conventional unitary mattress, if not more.
Janapol's technique is to facilitate articulation of the mattress without actually separating it into distinctly fabricated sections. He teaches drawing down or retracting the padding material of the mattress into a laterally extending recess in the frame, at the point of the principal hinge; and separating the mattress padding into layers with low-friction interfacing, so that the layers slide upon each other rather than catching, bunching and wrinkling. By this construction the inventor purports to control the flexure and consequent disintegration of the padding. Without evaluating the merits of this design, one may see immediately that it is a very different kind of solution to the hospital-bed problem from our invention.
A possibly closer relative in that it supplements an existing mattress in an "egg-crate foam" overlay intended to be placed on top of an existing hospital mattress. This overlay is a large piece of plastic foam, molded into a cellular structure reminiscent of the paper-fiber separators used in crating eggs. The "egg-crate foam" does not include any type of firm backing or stirrener. Thus this construction may provide a softer support for delicate skin, rather than firming or stiffening the support, and thus offers a teaching directly contrary to that of our invention, while serving very different purposes. | {
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The present invention relates generally to clamps, and more particularly to clamps for hoses.
The automotive industry utilizes numerous hoses (or tubes) in their constructions. Many of the hoses used in the industry are connected to the vehicle by means of a clamp (hose clamp, constant tension clamp, etc.) Numerous manufacturers have requested that hoses be provided with attached clamps in order to assist in assembly. The attached clamps assist by reducing the amount of time to connect the hoses to the vehicle.
Clamps are currently attached to hoses by several known methods. The most common methods utilize some form of superglue to attach the clamp or a fixture housing the clamp. A common problem with these attached clamps is that the clamp becomes detached from the hose during shipment or unpacking.
Another known method for attachment of clamps to hoses utilizes a clip that is mechanically attached to the hose. The clip, which is spot welded to the clamp, runs axially with the hose and wraps around the end of the hose. This clip is then closed onto the wall of the hose in order to be held in place. This puts the clip in contact with the sealing surface of the hose. This interference of the clip with the hose sealing surface increases the possibility of leakage when the clamp is tightened to connect the hose to the vehicle.
What is needed is an improved hose and clamp assembly, an improved clamp subassembly, and an improved method for attaching an annular clamp to a hose.
A first expression of an embodiment of the invention is for a hose and clamp assembly having a hose and having a clamp subassembly. The hose has an outer surface and an opposing sealing surface. The clamp subassembly includes an annular clamp and includes a clip attached to the clamp. The clamp surrounds the hose and has an inner surface with an adjustable diameter. The clip includes a tang having a free end embedded in the hose providing attachment of the clamp to the hose. No portion of the clamp and no portion of the clip interferes with the sealing surface of the hose.
A second expression of an embodiment of the invention is for a clamp subassembly including an annular clamp and including a clip attached to the clamp. The clamp is positionable to surround a hose having an outer surface and an opposing sealing surface. The clamp has an inner surface with an adjustable diameter. The clip includes a tang. The tang has a free end which is embeddable in the hose to provide attachment of the clamp to the hose with no portion of the clamp and no portion of the clip interfering with the sealing surface of the hose.
A method of the invention is for attaching an annular clamp to a hose. The clamp has an inner surface with an adjustable diameter. The hose has an outer surface and an opposing sealing surface. The method includes steps a) through c). Step a) includes attaching a clip to the clamp, wherein the clip includes a tang having a free end. Step b) includes positioning the clamp to surround the hose. Step c) includes embedding the free end of the tang in the hose with no portion of the clamp and no portion of the clip interfering with the sealing surface of the hose.
One expression of a second embodiment of the invention is for a hose and clamp assembly having a hose, an annular clamp, and a tang. The hose has an outer surface and an opposing sealing surface. The clamp and the tang together define a monolithic structure, wherein the clamp surrounds the hose and has an inner surface with an adjustable diameter, wherein the tang has a free end embedded in the hose providing attachment of the clamp to the hose, and wherein no portion of the clamp and no portion of the tang interferes with the sealing surface of the hose.
Another expression of a second embodiment of the invention is for a clamp subassembly including an annular clamp and a tang together defining a monolithic structure, wherein the clamp is disposable to surround a hose having an outer surface and an opposing sealing surface, wherein the clamp has an inner surface with an adjustable diameter, and wherein the tang has a free end which is embeddable in the hose to provide attachment of the clamp to the hose with no portion of the clamp and no portion the tang interfering with the sealing surface of the hose.
Several benefits and advantages are derived from one or more of the expressions of the disclosed embodiments and/or the method of the invention. Attaching the clamp to the hose by embedding the free end of the tang in the hose provides a mechanical attachment of the clamp to the hose which is more robust than prior art glued-on clamp-to-hose attachments. By having no portion of the clamp and no portion of the clip (or no portion of just the tang in the embodiment without the clip) interfere with the sealing surface of the hose, prior art leakage problems of a clamp or a clip contacting the sealing surface of the hose are avoided. | {
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This invention relates generally to a micro-mirror for a micro-mirror array, and more particularly to a micro-mirror which can be angularly tilted in conjunction with a light source so as to project an image onto a screen. | {
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Some conventional portable electronic devices can be worn or otherwise attached to a user and provide functionality related to the physical activity of a user. For example, many conventional wearable devices can monitor the heart rate of a user. However, conventional devices are limited in their functionality, and their accuracy can be limited by changes in the distance of the user with respect to the wearable device. | {
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It has been recognized that it is desirable in connectors, as are used for example to electrically connect backplanes and daughter boards in using circuit boards, to protect the fingers, for example, of a worker, against undesired contact with a power source conductor. | {
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Heretofore, waterproofed washing and scrubbing mitts have been used only to protect the user's hands from harsh detergents and other chemicals which are utilized in most cleaning operations. Typically, the user dons the wash mitts and then grasps a steel wool-like scouring pad to clean an intended item such as a kitchen implement. This task can often prove cumbersome and daunting in that the scouring pad is difficult to retain within the user's hand due to the slippery, smooth quality of the rubber wash mitt.
In certain instances, abrasive cleaning surfaces have been attached to waterproof cleaning gloves and mitts. Typically though, in these instances, the abrasive natured substances are secured only to the mitt's palm and finger-tip region. In essence, the majority of the surface area of these gloves is unusable for cleaning purposes, and the wearer is restricted to utilizing only the small palm or fingertip region for cleaning purposes.
While these prior art units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an exposure adjusting device for a camera which enables first priority photographic information to be automatically adjusted.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, in automatic exposure control apparatus for cameras, there is a shutter priority method and a diaphragm priority method for automatically setting a proper film exposure. Usually a desired shutter time or diaphragm value first is set by operating a shutter dial or diaphragm setting ring. Subsequently, a light measuring switch is turned on in order to perform a light measuring computation so that the operator will know the diaphragm value of shutter time as a function of the computed exposure value which corresponds to the object brightness. A release operation then may be performed establishing an exposure control that is based on the computed exposure value. With the light measuring switch turned on, when the first shutter time setting or diaphragm value setting is wrong with respect to the object brightness, in other words, when the computed exposure value is out of an exposure response range, or when the computed exposure value is outside of what was intended by the photographer, it is necessary to re-adjust the shutter time or diaphragm value. Therefore, the shutter dial or diaphragm setting ring is operated again in order to change the exposure value to a value that is desired or that is within the response range of the computed exposure value. After that, the release operation may be performed.
Such conventional setting and resetting of the shutter dial or the diaphragm setting ring is not only troublesome but also is time-consuming. Consequently, good shutter opportunities are missed and picture framing determination in the exposure operation is hindered. The setting and resetting operations of the shutter dial or diaphragm setting ring are particularly troublesome in motor driven photography, in which a motor drive unit is attached to a camera and in which the shutter button is located on the grip. In remote control photography, the resetting operation is particularly troublesome. Some photographic situations may be encountered, for example, in which the shutter dial or diaphragm ring simply canot be reset.
It is an object of the present invention to eliminate these drawbacks.
Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to reset photographic information.
Still another object of the present invention is to make it possible to set and reset photographic information easily, even in motor drive photography and in remote control photography.
A further object of the present invention is to make it possible to change the set shutter time to a flash exposure time when flash photography is rendered operative. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The application of a coating to a substrate of a prescribed geometry is required in a variety of engineering applications, including thermal or environmental protection of the substrate, improved wear resistance, altered optical properties or creation of devices on the substrate such as thin film batteries. In all such cases, the ability to deposit compositionally controlled coatings efficiently, uniformly, at a high rate, with high part throughput, and in a cost-effective manner is desired. Some illustrative examples of deposition systems are provided in the following applications and patents and are co-assigned to the present assignee 1) U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,314, filed Aug. 31, 1994, entitled “Directed Vapor Deposition of Electron Beam Evaporant”, 2) U.S. application Ser. No. 09/634,457, filed Aug. 7, 2000, entitled “Apparatus and Method for Intra-layer Modulation of the Material Deposition and Assist Beam and the Multilayer Structure Produced Therefrom”, and 3) PCT International Application No. PCT/US01/16693, filed May 23, 2001, entitled “Process and Apparatus for the Plasma Activated Deposition in a Vacuum”. These applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. The present invention discloses, among other things an apparatus and a method for applying a coating(s) on a substrate(s) in an improved and more efficient manner. The present invention method can be applied to coatings of any type onto any substrate geometry. In this document, the application of a thermal barrier coating to a turbine blade is used as a non-limiting example.
Vapor phase processes are widely used for applying thermal and environmental protection coating systems to components. They are widely used to protect the hot structural components of many gas turbine engines that must operate at temperatures approaching their melting point [1]. As gas inlet temperatures continue to rise, failure by thermally-induced mechanisms has been avoided by making airfoil components with internal cooling conduits, and injecting compressor discharge air to decrease the component temperature [2]. To maximize engine efficiency, however, it is desirable to minimize the use of this air for cooling purposes. Traditionally, this has been accomplished by designing more efficient cooling geometries within the component and by film cooling of the component surface using drilled holes. These approaches have now matured and alternate strategies that exploit the insulating abilities of thermal barrier coatings (TBC's) are being investigated for the thermal protection of engine components.
The TBC systems currently in use are multilayer systems consisting of an yttria partially-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) top layer that thermally protects the superalloy component, and an underlying MCrAlY (M=Ni, Co) or nickel aluminide bond coat which improves the YSZ adhesion. The YSZ layer has a relatively high thermal expansion coefficient to limit thermally induced strains and a low thermal conductivity resulting in surface temperature reductions of up to 170° C. [3]. This layer is well bonded to a thin (approximately 1 μm) thermally grown (aluminum) oxide (TGO) layer which impedes oxidation and hot corrosion of the underlying component [4]. This TGO layer is formed on the surface of the aluminum-rich alloy layer (bond coat). Either a low pressure plasma spray [5] (LPPS) or pack cementation [6] approach is used to apply the bond coat layer. The high temperature oxidization environment present prior to and during deposition leads to growth of a thin TGO layer at the interface between the TBC and the bond coat layer [7]. The generated YSZ layer consists of a “nontransformable” tetragonal (t′) phase having a complex microstructure consisting of twins and anti-phase boundaries. This microstructure yields a thermomechanically tough coating which has been shown to improve TBC performance by limiting crack propagation in the YSZ layer [8].
To date, the lowest cost TBC's have been applied using the plasma spray (PS) process, such as an air plasma spray (APS) process. The approach employs a plasma or combustion torch to melt and spray deposit YSZ droplets onto airfoil substrates. These deposits contain disc-like pores in the plane of the coating resulting in a YSZ top layer that has an extremely low thermal conductivity. This is due to the high thermal resistance of the pores oriented normal to the heat flow direction. Unfortunately, these layers also have poor spallation resistance, resulting from a combination of the disc-like coating defects and the large thermal expansion mismatch between the YSZ layer and the bond coat [9]. This lack of reliability limits these coatings to component life extension at current operating temperatures (i.e., they cannot be used to increase engine temperature).
More recently, TBC's have been produced by electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD). Using this technique the YSZ layer has a columnar microstructure with elongated inter-columnar voids aligned perpendicular to the substrate surface. This structure results in a low in-plane stiffness that limits thermomechanical stresses on heating/cooling and improved spallation resistance compared to the LPPS layers [10]. The columns exhibit a tapered shape, growing wider with increased thickness, a faceted surface and a strong {200} crystallographic texture [11]. Failure in these coatings no longer occurs within the YSZ layer but at the TGO/bond coat interface. This failure path appears to result from large stresses within the TGO layer, which increase with oxidation induced layer growth in service [12, 13]. For turbine blade applications, EB-PVD TBC's have the further advantages of limiting the undesirable blocking of air cooling holes during deposition and generating a smoother, more aerodynamic surface [14]. However, EB-PVD coatings have a higher thermal conductivity than their LPPS counterparts [15] and are more costly to apply (due to high equipment costs, deposition efficiencies of about 2-5 percent of the evaporated flux, and relatively slow (approximately 5 micrometers (μm) min−1) deposition rates) [16]. To make vapor phase deposited TBC's a viable means for increasing engine performance, improved deposition techniques/strategies are needed.
The cost of the EB-PVD coatings can be as much as ten times that of PS coatings. The higher equipment costs of EB-PVD are a result of the high vacuum environment that is necessary during deposition (e.g., typically below 10−6 Torr), high cost of high power electron beam guns, and sophisticated component manipulation needed to achieve acceptable coatings. The operating pressure defines the vacuum pump requirements with lower pressures generally needing more expensive pumps. The low deposition rate and low materials utilization efficiency (MUE) of EB-PVD is related to the distribution of the vapor flux as it leaves the evaporated source. Generally, the vapor flux spreads out from the source with a distribution described by a cosnθ function (where n=2,3,4 or more, and θ is the angle to the normal axis). The general alignment of the normal axis is referred to herein as the main direction. When relatively long source-to-substrate distances are required (e.g., as in YSZ deposition using EB-PVD where this distance often approaches 50 cm to avoid substrate overheating) deposition efficiency is dramatically decreased to 1-5 percent of the evaporated flux and the deposition rate is proportionally reduced. To overcome the low deposition rate, the evaporation rate from the source materials is raised by increasing the electron beam power. However, this is costly and during YSZ evaporation, increased beam power leads to the production of molten droplets of material rather than atomistic vapor. This produces coating defects, and as a result, other approaches must be used to increase deposition rates. The high cost of deposition also impedes the use of physical vapor deposition methods for the deposition of bond coats.
The low deposition efficiency results from flux spreading beyond the periphery of the sample. One approach to reduce the spread of the flux exploits entrainment of the vapor in a controllable inert (e.g. helium or argon) carrier gas flow [17]. Such an approach is used in electron beam directed vapor deposition (EB-DVD). In this approach, the combination of a continuously operating 60 kV/10 kW axial e-beam gun (modified to function in a low vacuum environment) and an inert carrier gas jet is used. As shown in FIG. 1, in this system the vaporized material is entrained in the carrier gas jet 5 created using a converging/diverging nozzle 30 configuration and deposited onto the substrate or target 20 at high rate and with a high materials utilization efficiency [18]. Preliminary results have shown that YSZ layers having a columnar structure, a low thermal conductivity, the t′ phase structure and a (200) texture can be produced using this technique [19]. Therefore the use of EB-DVD to produce low cost TBC's appears feasible. However, current versions of the EB-DVD process make inefficient use of the gas jet, which is a significant contribution to the process cost. They are also limited in their ability to spatially manipulate the flux.
There exists a need in the art for a cost-effective method to apply coatings to surfaces. The present invention addresses this need and provides, among other things, how to further manipulate the spatial distribution of the atomic flux and more efficiently utilize the carrier gas. | {
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In recent years, with supply expansion of mobile apparatuses, a wireless LAN technology that can provide a rapid wireless Internet service to the mobile apparatuses has been significantly spotlighted. The wireless LAN technology allows mobile apparatuses including a smart phone, a smart pad, a laptop computer, a portable multimedia player, an embedded apparatus, and the like to wirelessly access the Internet in home or a company or a specific service providing area based on a wireless communication technology in a short range.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 has commercialized or developed various technological standards since an initial wireless LAN technology is supported using frequencies of 2.4 GHz. First, the IEEE 802.11b supports a communication speed of a maximum of 11 Mbps while using frequencies of a 2.4 GHz band. IEEE 802.11a which is commercialized after the IEEE 802.11b uses frequencies of not the 2.4 GHz band but a 5 GHz band to reduce an influence by interference as compared with the frequencies of the 2.4 GHz band which are significantly congested and improves the communication speed up to a maximum of 54 Mbps by using an OFDM technology. However, the IEEE 802.11a has a disadvantage in that a communication distance is shorter than the IEEE 802.11b. In addition, IEEE 802.11g uses the frequencies of the 2.4 GHz band similarly to the IEEE 802.11b to implement the communication speed of a maximum of 54 Mbps and satisfies backward compatibility to significantly come into the spotlight and further, is superior to the IEEE 802.11a in terms of the communication distance.
Moreover, as a technology standard established to overcome a limitation of the communication speed which is pointed out as a weak point in a wireless LAN, IEEE 802.11n has been provided. The IEEE 802.11n aims at increasing the speed and reliability of a network and extending an operating distance of a wireless network. In more detail, the IEEE 802.11n supports a high throughput (HT) in which a data processing speed is a maximum of 540 Mbps or more and further, is based on a multiple inputs and multiple outputs (MIMO) technology in which multiple antennas are used at both sides of a transmitting unit and a receiving unit in order to minimize a transmission error and optimize a data speed. Further, the standard can use a coding scheme that transmits multiple copies which overlap with each other in order to increase data reliability.
As the supply of the wireless LAN is activated and further, applications using the wireless LAN are diversified, the need for new wireless LAN systems for supporting a higher throughput (very high throughput (VHT)) than the data processing speed supported by the IEEE 802.11n has come into the spotlight. Among them, IEEE 802.11ac supports a wide bandwidth (80 to 160 MHz) in the 5 GHz frequencies. The IEEE 802.11ac standard is defined only in the 5 GHz band, but initial 11ac chipsets will support even operations in the 2.4 GHz band for the backward compatibility with the existing 2.4 GHz band products. Theoretically, according to the standard, wireless LAN speeds of multiple stations are enabled up to a minimum of 1 Gbps and a maximum single link speed is enabled up to a minimum of 500 Mbps. This is achieved by extending concepts of a wireless interface accepted by 802.11n, such as a wider wireless frequency bandwidth (a maximum of 160 MHz), more MIMO spatial streams (a maximum of 8), multi-user MIMO, and high-density modulation (a maximum of 256 QAM). Further, as a scheme that transmits data by using a 60 GHz band instead of the existing 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, IEEE 802.11ad has been provided. The IEEE 802.11ad is a transmission standard that provides a speed of a maximum of 7 Gbps by using a beamforming technology and is suitable for high bit rate moving picture streaming such as massive data or non-compression HD video. However, since it is difficult for the 60 GHz frequency band to pass through an obstacle, it is disadvantageous in that the 60 GHz frequency band can be used only among devices in a short-distance space.
Meanwhile, in recent years, as next-generation wireless LAN standards after the 802.11ac and 802.11ad, discussion for providing a high-efficiency and high-performance wireless LAN communication technology in a high-density environment is continuously performed. That is, in a next-generation wireless LAN environment, communication having high frequency efficiency needs to be provided indoors/outdoors under the presence of high-density stations and access points (APs) and various technologies for implementing the communication are required. | {
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With the improvement of the integration density and performance of semiconductor integrated circuits and so on, there has been a growing demand for a microfabrication technique for a semiconductor substrate or the like. In particular, for obtaining a predetermined pattern on a substrate or thin film of an insulator, a semiconductor or metal, a photoetching technique which removes an unnecessary part by an optical or chemical method is important and is now attracting attention as the microfabrication technique.
But, when imaging is performed through use of ultraviolet radiation for microfabrication in the order of submicrons, its wavelength is so long that it is impossible to prevent image lines from "defocusing" which is caused by the diffraction or reflection of light in a mask transfer process.
In the recent years, there has been developed, with a view to achieving ultra-microfabrication, an exposure system which utilizes an electron beam or soft X-rays of a shorter wavelength than the ultraviolet rays. The development of such an exposure system and improvement in a dry etching system which produces no appreciable undercut of a resist material together have made possible ultra-microfabrication in the order of submicrons.
The sensitivity of positive resist, which is a sort of resist, increases with an increase in the G-value used as a measure of the solubility of a main chain and an increase in the ratio between the solubility rates of irradiated and unirradiated parts of the resist during development, that is, an increase in the selective solubility of the resist itself.
Now, consider a benzene ring-containing polymer. This kind of resist is highly resistant to dry etching but since its G-value is small, it is difficult to achieve high sensitivity. It is considered, however, that if the abovesaid selective solubility could be enhanced by some method, a positive electron resist could be obtained which is excellent in the resistance to dry etching and high in sensitivity.
A cross-linking method has been known as one of techniques for improving the selective solubility. This method is one that coats straight-chain high molecules on a substrate and then heat treats the coating to create intermolecular cross-links, whereby the positive resist forms a resist film which is insoluble in a solvent. The positive resist of this kind, even after having been irradiated by an electron beam or X-rays, retains the cross-linking structure in the unirradiated part, so that even if a strong developing solvent is used, the unirradiated part will not undergo any swelling or deformation. With the strong developing solvent, since the irradiated part slightly decomposed by a very small amount of irradiation is also dissolved, high sensitivity can be achieved.
The known cross-linking type positive resist can be roughly divided into the following four kinds according to the type of thermal cross-linking reaction (the following reaction formulae being given noting only functionality groups of polymer side chains).
[1] --COOH+--COCl.fwdarw.--COOCO--+HCl (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,985) PA0 [2] --COOCH.sub.3 +--COCl.fwdarw.--COOCO--+CH.sub.3 Cl (See U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,832) PA0 [3] --COOR+--COOR.fwdarw.Cross-linking polymer (where R represents --(CH.sub.3).sub.3 or --CH.sub.2 CCl.sub.3. ) (See U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,715) PA0 [4] --COOC.sub.6 H.sub.5 +--COOH.fwdarw.--COOCO--+C.sub.6 H.sub.5 OH (see K. Harada et al., "Poly(Phenyl Methacrylate-Co-Methacrylic Acid) as a Dry-Etching Durable Positive Electron Resist", IEEE Ed-29 (4) p518 (1982))
Usually these thermally cross-linkable functional groups are located in the same polymer molecules through copolymerization or in dissimilar polymer molecules through mixture of dissimilar polymers. However, since the thermal crosslink density varies with the content of such functional groups and the heat treatment temperature, their accurate control is needed for obtaining sensitivity of excellent reproducibility after development.
Especially, in the case where it is necessary, for the purpose of increasing the dry etching resistance of the resist, to mix therein a monomer unit containing the benzene ring, the resulting resist material is a ternary copolymer which contains a third monomer unit in addition to two monomer units necessary for causing the abovesaid thermal cross-linking reaction. Hence it is very difficult to control the composition of the copolymer. Furthermore, in the case of utilizing the reaction mentioned above in [4], a high-temperature heat treatment at about 200.degree. C. is required, so that especially when the substrate to be worked is made of aluminum or the like, hillock grows, resulting in the device characteristics being degraded.
As described above in detail, ultra-microfabrication techniques in the order of submicrons are required with the advancement of the integration density and performance of semiconductor integrated circuits; to meet such a requirement, an electron beam or soft X-ray exposure process and an electron resist material have been developed for imaging a predetermined pattern on the substrate. Moreover, a dry etching process such as plasma etching has recently come into wide use as a precision etching process of limited undercut, while at the same time such advances in the dry etching technique have now called for development of an electron resist material of high dry etching resistance.
At present, however, no particular positive resist is available which is markedly effective for dry etching as referred to above; so there is much left to improve.
On the other hand, as described above, the increased integration density and performance of semiconductor integrated circuits inevitably necessitates ultra-microfabrication in the domain of submicrons; to fulfil such a requirement, there have been developed the exposure techniques using an electron beam or soft X-rays and the electron resist material. In the case of forming a resist pattern on a substrate through use of these techniques and materials, it is important to control the cross-sectional configuration of the resist pattern as well as to microminiaturize the resist pattern itself.
A conventional patterning method utilizes a lift-off process for obtaining a desired pattern without involving the etching of the material to be worked, in the manufacture of an LSI (large scale integrated circuit) or the like. With this method, a material sensitive to an electron beam, light, or soft X-rays is exposed thereto and then developed to form a desired undercut cross-sectional configuration. After the material to be worked is deposited by evaporation or some other method using the pattern as a mask, the mask forming material is removed, obtaining a desired pattern. This method necessitates the formation of the undercut cross-sectional configuration for removing the material forming the mask.
On the other hand, it has been proposed to taper the cross-sectional configuration of the resist pattern which is employed as a mask in the case of making a tapered contact hole through etching for the purpose of preventing the breakage of an interconnection material.
Such an undercut or tapered cross-sectional configuration can be obtained by forming a plurality of layers of positive resists of different solubility rates in the same developer.
The following methods have heretofore been utilized for controlling such a cross-sectional configuration as mentioned above.
(1) A first method makes use of excessive irradiation of a single layer of positive resist by an electron beam, light or X-rays, or excessive development of the layer by which the shape of the cross section of a resist pattern 2 formed on a substrate 1 becomes such a so-called undercut shape that a foot width d.sub.2 is larger than an aperture width d.sub.1, as depicted in FIG. 1. This method is simple but is attended with difficulty in controlling the dimensions and cross-sectional configuration of the resist pattern, that is, the aperture width d.sub.1 and the foot width d.sub.2. In particular, a fine aperture width d.sub.1 is difficult to obtain.
(2) A second method employs positive resists of different solubility rates for the same developer and obtains a pattern of such a cross section as shown in FIG. 2 by forming a two-layer structure with the lower layer built up from a resist of the higher solubility rate and the upper layer from a resist of the lower solubility rate. In FIG. 2, an underlying resist pattern 22 of the higher solubility rate and an overlying resist pattern 23 of the lower solubility rate are formed on a substrate 21. With method, however, when the ratio in the solubility rate between the upper and lower layers is small, dissolution of the upper resist pattern 23 proceeds in the course of dissolution of the lower resist pattern 22, introducing difficulties in obtaining a fine aperture width and in controlling the cross-sectional configuration as is the case with the method described above in (1).
With the method (2) it is also possible to laminate layers of resists of different molecular weights through utilization of the phenomenon that the solubility rate of a resist generally depends upon its molecular weight. In this instance, however, the molecular weight ratio that is feasible is limited and the underlying resist layer is readily dissolved during coating of the overlying resist layer, making it difficult to form, as a unitary structure, two layers of largely different solubility rates.
Furthermore, by reversing the relationship between the solubility rates of the underlying resist layer and the overlying resist layer formed on the substrate in the case of FIG. 2, that is, by selecting the solubility rate of the upper resist layer higher than the solubility rate of the lower resist layer, it is possible to obtain an upwardly tapered cross-sectional configuration. Also in this case, it is necessary, for easy control of the cross-sectional configuration, that the ratio between the solubility rates of the overlying and underlying layers.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a novel high-sensitivity positive resist mixture which obviates such defects of the conventional positive resists as described above and a patterning method which employs the novel positive resist mixture.
A second object of the present invention is to develop a developing method suitable for development of the novel positive resist mixture and a patterning method which employs the developing method.
A third object of the present invention is to provide a patterning method which employs the novel positive resist mixture and permits the formation of a fine pattern and at the same time high-precision control of its cross-sectional configuration. | {
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This invention relates to a method for identifying objects appearing at random positions, in random orientations, and at random times on an image window and having, on a surface facing the image window, an identification in the form of a field which includes on at least one data track contrasting symbols and a plurality of given contrasting line patterns, or a product identification code (PIC). The latter identifies the position and orientation of the data track(s) and comprises a plurality of lines having a variable line spacing and/or line widths. In use, the image window is opto-electronically scanned line-by-line and a video signal is generated which reflects to the scanned contrast sequence.
In a first method step, the image window is scanned in a fixed or stationary detection raster configuration (hereinafter simply "raster") and, upon identification of the individual contrasting line patterns, their position or orientation within the detection raster is determined. In a second method step, the angle .beta. at which the data tracks(s) and the lines of the detection raster intersect is determined. In a third method step, sometimes referred to as the reading step, the data field is scanned in direction of the data track(s) in a readout raster which is rotated by the angle .beta. to thereby read and decode the symbols or indicia on the data track(s). Alternatively, the the detection raster is rotated in predetermined angular increments .DELTA..alpha. and scanned. The readout raster is then rotated in direction of the data track(s) by the angle .beta. and the angular increments .DELTA..alpha..
Such method and apparatus are already known. The objects to be identified are, for example, commercial products, department store articles or the like which bear machine readable markings. For this purpose, appropriate identifications are applied to the objects by imprinting thereon a desired code, for example the well-known OCR code. The encoded information may relate to the quality, size, price, the number of articles, and the like and is applied to the surface of the goods in any desired manner.
It is difficult to machine read such information since the objects vary in size and since the information is frequently printed on adhesive labels which are applied to the article at random locations. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that the information is present at a specific location with a fixed orientation and at predetermined time intervals. Thus, the reading of such codes cannot be compared with the reading of punched cards or the like, where a card is available in a precisely defined position at precisely fixed times. In the present case, the exact opposite applies. The data field on the object appears with only rough approximation at a specific place, and the orientation of the data field is relatively arbitrary.
Such methods and apparatus for the identification of objects are used, for example, at the check-out counters of supermarkets and the like in order to identify the price and/or the number of articles which a customer wishes to buy and which he has brought to the counter for this purpose. The articles, such as boxes of varying shapes and sizes, bottles, cartons, cans, and the like, are then placed individually over an image window with the surface bearing the data field directed toward the window. The data fields on the various objects thus appear in variable orientations at differing locations within the image window. The data fields also do not appear at the scanning station at fixed time intervals. Thus, the scanning station must be able to search for the data field and, once found, must read the data track symbols in the direction of the data tracks of the field. The read symbols can then be fed to the cash register in the form of electric impulses so that the register can print out on the receipt the price, the number of the articles, its classification, etc.
The data field applied to the article includes a contrasting line pattern or product identification code ("PIC") which is formed by a plurality of parallel lines of varying spacing and/or line width. The contrasting line pattern reliably and clearly distinguishes the data field, for example the printed label, from other indicia or line patterns which may be present on the object in the vicinity of the data field. Further, within the data field the contrasting line patterns have given positions and orientations which can be used to ascertain the position and orientation of the data tracks relative to the raster lines in order to subsequently generate a raster in direction of the data tracks so that the symbols on the data tracks can be read.
German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,338,561 discloses a method and an apparatus of the above described type wherein the identification of the contrasting line pattern occurs only when the lines of the pattern are oriented substantially perpendicularly to the scanning direction and the resulting pulse sequence of a video signal generated thereby equals a predetermined pulse sequence which corresponds to the contrasting line pattern used. Thus, the disclosed method is a correlation method. In the method and the corresponding apparatus described in the German Offenlegungsschrift the line deflection signal is a constantly and linearly ascending saw tooth signal which results in a constant scanning of the individual raster lines. The relative position of the contrasting line pattern--and thereby of the data tracks--to the raster lines is determined by storing the amplitudes of the line ramp generator and the line advance ramp generator for the point of intersection between a raster line and the contrasting line pattern, when the latter has been recognized by the PIC decoder. The detection operation is continued until at least two points of intersection A, B appear between the raster lines and the contrasting line pattern. The relative angular position between the contrasting line pattern and the raster lines can be calculated on an analog basis from the amplitude coordinates of the points of intersection.
Storage of the analog amplitude signals for the points of intersection between the raster lines and the PIC for the subsequent analog calculation of the relative position of the PIC--and of the data tracks--is cumbersome. It is also disadvantageous because in addition to the line pulse counters for identifying the PIC, suitable analog circuits are required. Finally, the stored analog amplitude values are subject to time and heat drift, and there is no assurance for an accurate correlation between the line deflection voltage, which constantly varies in time, with specific points of intersection within the line raster. Thus, the determination of an angle between the raster lines and the contrasting line pattern or the data tracks lacks accuracy. | {
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The present invention relates to a synthetic peptide antigen the sequence of which corresponds to a region of an immunologically important protein of HIV-2. This peptide is useful as a diagnostic reagent for detecting the presence of antibodies to HIV-2. The peptide may also be useful as an immunogen in compositions to elicit the production of antibodies against HIV-2 in animals including man.
The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a major worldwide health problem. The etiologic agent of AIDS has been identified as HIV (for human immunodeficiency virus) which is the name given to a group of highly related viruses, formerly called HTLV-III, LAV and ARC (now collectively HIV-1).
HIV isolates from individuals with AIDS and ARC (AIDS-related complex) from North America, Western Europe and Central Africa generally have the same biological properties and antigenically cross-reacting proteins. Genetic studies, however, have characterized differences in nucleotide sequence of the genomes of North American and African HIV isolates (Benn et al., Science (1985) 230:949-951). In addition, small differences in nucleotide sequences in different HIV isolates from the USA have also been documented.
Several other viruses that are genetically and structurally related to HIV have been recently isolated. These viruses which genetically and immunologically resemble HIV have been isolated from captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) ill with an AIDS-like disease and healthy wild-caught African green monkeys (Cercocithecus sp.) (Kanki et al., Science (1985) 230:951-954). The viruses which were previously designated STLV-III.sub.AGM (Africa green monkey isolate) and STLV-III.sub.MAC (macaque isolate) are now known as SIV (for simian immunodeficiency virus).
A new human virus, designated HTLV-IV, has been isolated from apparently healthy individuals in West Africa (Kanki et al., Science (1986) 232:238-243. This virus, which produces retroviral type particles in infected cells, has growth characteristics and major viral proteins that are similar to those of HTLV-III/LAV and STLV-III. Serologic data indicated that HTLV-IV is more related to STLV-III.sub.AGM than to the prototype HTLV-III/LAV isolates from patients in Europe and the United States.
Recently, cases of AIDS were identified in West African patients. Although the individuals had classic symptoms of AIDS, no detectable titers of antibodies to known HIV antigens could be detected in patient sera. However, a retrovirus originally termed LAV-2 which is structurally and biolgically related to HIV was isolated from the West African patients (Clavel et al., Science (1986) 233: 343-346. The West African virus, which has now been isolated from a number of individuals with AIDS, ARC and no symptoms, is now known as HIV-2 to distinguish it from HIV (now HIV-1) isolates previously identified as the etiologic agent of AIDS in Europe, North America and Central Africa (Clavel et al., N. Eng. of Med. (1987) 316:1180-1185; Guyader et al. Nature (1987) 326:662-669).
Like HTLV-IV, HIV-2 is more related to SIV than to HIV-1. However, HIV-2 and HTLV-IV are not the same virus since HIV-2 kills human helper T cells infected in vitro whereas HTLV-IV does not.
The complete nucleotide sequence of HIV-2 which has recently been reported (Guyader et al., supra) indicates a genetic sequence homology with HIV-1 of only 42%. Significant differences occur in most viral protein but are most pronounced in the glycoproteins encoded by the HIV-1 and HIV-2 env genes. In fact, the HIV-2 envelope glycoproteins appear to be more closely related to those of SIV than to HIV-1.
The issue of serologic non cross-reactivity between HIV-1 and HIV-2 is of major importance in developing diagnostic tests for detection of and vaccines against HIV-2 infection. Studies have shown that the patients with HIV-2 infections were not identified by serologic tests which detect HIV-1. Any cross reactions which have been seen for the two viruses generally are mediated by antibodies which react with common epitopes on the major core proteins, p25 and p26, encoded by the gag gene of the two viruses. Antibodies to the viral envelope glycoproteins gp120 and gp41 and their precursor gp160 of HIV-1 do not cross-react with the envelope glycoproteins of HIV-2 (Clavel et al., Science (1986) 233:343-346; Clavel et al., N. Engl. J. Med. (1987) 316:1180-1185). Currently available tests for detection of HIV-1, which are mainly based on detection of antibodies to the HIV-1 glycoproteins, e.g., gp160/gp120/gp41, and portions thereof, cannot be used to detect antibodies to HIV-2 in samples for diagnostic and screening purposes. Thus specific HIV-2 antigens should be included with HIV-1 antigens in reagents for effective diagnostic and therapeutic use.
Methods being developed for detecting HIV-2 infection, in general, will measure exposure to the virus by detecting and quantifying antibodies to HIV-2 antigens in blood, sera, and blood-derived products. Such assays can be used to aid diagnosis of AIDS and ARC (AIDS-Related Complex) and to screen blood and blood products for previous exposure to HIV-2.
The current attempts to diagnose HIV-2 infections and screen blood for exposure to HIV-2 include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques to detect the presence of antibodies to immunogenic components of HIV-2 in a test sample. Other methods may utilize Western blotting techniques to detect HIV-2 specific antibodies in test samples. In general, almost any known immunoassay, such as radio-immunoassays, can be adapted, by use of specific reagents, for the detection of HIV-2 and antibodies thereto.
The source of antigens for these assays may include inter alia HIV-2 proteins obtained from HIV-2 infected T cell lines and antigens produced by recombinant DNA techniques. The use of antigens obtained from these sources, however, has significant drawbacks.
The production of HIV-2 per se in continuous cell lines must be performed in high risk (P3 containment) laboratories due to the danger to investigators who may become adversely exposed to the virus. In addition, since there have been false negative and false positive results reported with ELISA tests using whole virus HIV-1 antigens obtained from cell lines; it is likely that similarly unreliable results will be obtained with cell-derived HIV-2 antigens. Western blot analyses, for HIV-2 detection using electroblotted whole virus antigens, may provide greater specificity but are more laborious and time-consuming then ELISA tests. Furthermore, since HIV-2 producing cells are of human origin, viral antigen preparation obtained from these cell lines, unless exhaustively purified, may be contaminated with normal cellular antigens, such as HLA antigens, which could produce false positive reactions in an ELISA test.
Exhaustive purification of viral antigens from cell lines can also conceivably destroy immunogenicity of immunologically important proteins or otherwise inactivate antigens, thereby producing reagents that result in false negative reactions. In addition, false negative reactions using live-virus-derived antigens may occur because of steric hinderance whereby antibodies cannot react with their specific antigens because the reaction is blocked by the presence of other antigens and antibodies in the reaction mixture.
ELISA tests to detect HIV-2 infection may also employ immunologically important viral proteins produced by cloning portions of the HIV-2 genome in bacteria. The complete nucleotide sequence of HIV-2 has now been reported (Guyander et al., Nature (1987) 326: 662-669) with the genes coding for various HIV-2 proteins identified by comparison to homologous HIV-1 genes. The viral envelope glycoproteins and core proteins respectively encoded by the env and gag genes of HIV-2, are apparently the antigens recognized by antibodies in the sera of patients with HIV-2 infection.
Immunologically important HIV-2 antigens such as gp160 and its cleavage products gp120 and gp41, which are present in the viral envelope, may be prepared by cloning portions of the HIV-2 genome in various expression systems such as bacteria, yeast or vaccinia. Such recombinant antigens may be used in diagnosis and as potential vaccine compositions as has been done for HIV-1 proteins (See, e.g., Cabradilla et al., Biotechnology (1986)4: 128-133; Chang et al., Biotechnology (1985) 3: 905-909; Putney et al., Science (1986) 234: 1392-1395; Kieny et al. Biotechnology (1986) 4: 790-795). HIV-2 antigens produced by recombinant DNA methods, however, will still have to be exhaustively purified to avoid false positive reactions in the ELISA due to any antibody reactivity to antigens of the expression system which may contaminate the HIV-2 antigen preparation. Also, denaturation of HIV-2 antigens during purification may destroy important antigen activity.
While HIV-2 antigens produced by recombinant techniques may be an improvement over antigens obtained from virus-infected cell cultures, the recombinant proteins still may not provide reagents that give as accurate a diagnosis as possible. Because of the nature of the disease and the need for accurate results, other reagents must be developed to approach 100% accuracy in diagnosis of HIV-2.
Protein antigens contain a number of epitopes or antigenic determinants which are the regions of the proteins which comprise the binding sites for specific antibodies. In general, protein antigens contain between 5 to 10 epitopes, each of which contains a sequence of 6 to 8 amino acids. Epitopes can be either continuous, in which the 6 to 8 amino acids are present in linear sequence, or discontinuous, in which the amino acids that form the epitope are brought together by the three dimensional folding of the protein. Even though an epitope constitutes only a relatively few amino acids, its reactivity with an antibody is influenced by the amino acids in the protein which surround the epitope.
Studies aimed at mapping antigenic sites or epitopes of proteins have been aided by the use of synthetic peptides corresponding to various regions of the proteins of interest (See e.g., Lerner et al., in The Biology of Immunological Disease: A Hospital Practice Book, (1983) Dixon and Fisher, eds., pp. 331-338; Lerner, Adv. Immunol. (1984) 36: 1). In addition to their usefulness in epitope mapping studies, synthetic peptides, if encompassing major antigenic determinants of a protein, have potential as immunogenic compositions, including vaccines, and diagnostic reagents. Synthetic peptide antigens have several advantages in regard to specific antibody production and reactivity. The exact sequence of the synthesized peptide can be selected from the amino acid sequence as actually determined by amino acid sequencing of a protein or predicted from the DNA sequence coding for the protein. The use of specific synthetic peptides eliminate the need for using the full-length protein in the production of or assay for specific antibodies. Furthermore, the solid phase peptide synthetic techniques of Merrifield and coworkers allow for essentially unlimited quantities of the synthesized peptide of interest to be chemically produced. (See, e g., Erickson and Merrifield in The Proteins, 3rd Edit. (1976), Vol. 2, Academic Press, New York, Chapter 3). The availability of automated peptide synthesizers has further advanced such techniques.
Synthetic peptide antigens corresponding to regions of immunologically important proteins of HIV-2 would find immediate use in diagnostic methods and as potential vaccines for HIV-2. | {
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When emergencies occur or other assistance is needed, people will reach out to emergency services, such as 911, for help. More frequently, communication to 911 is being made from mobile wireless devices, rather than land based telephone lines. Because different sources for requesting emergency services may have different capabilities (e.g., text messaging), there is a need for emergency call centers to be able to move beyond ordinary PSTN telephone capabilities. For example, text messaging, e-mail, and various other features have become more common on mobile wireless devices. | {
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(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a two-component developer, a developing device, and an image forming apparatus.
(ii) Related Art
Image forming apparatuses (such as printers, copying machines, and facsimiles) to which an image recording system such as an electrostatic recording system or an electrophotographic system is applied includes a developing device that develops an electrostatic latent image, which is formed on a latent image carrier (such as a photoconductor member) that rotates, using developer. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates generally to methods and apparatus for improving the ability of a memory storage system to efficiently and effectively protect, store, and retrieve data stored in multiple storage locations. More specifically, this application relates to a Flash memory system having robust backup and restart features, and to in-circuit testing circuitry that supports those features.
2. Description of the Related Art
In certain memory storage systems, data to be stored in the system is provided to the memory system by an external host. That data is then typically processed by the memory storage system in some manner before it is written to the main storage medium. For example, in many Flash memory systems data to be stored in the system is provided to the system by a host device as part of a WRITE request, along with information relating to a location where the data is to be stored. In such systems, the data provided in the WRITE request may be processed by the system. For example the data may be used by itself or with other data to generate error correction data. The location information provided in the WRITE request may also be processed so that it is associated with a specific physical address within the physical Flash memory space to which the data provided with the WRITE request will be stored.
One shortcoming of conventional systems as described above relates to the operation of the system in the event of a power failure. If the power to such a system fails, or drops below the levels required for proper operation of the system, the processing that was in progress can be lost and, potentially, data that was in the process of being processed or stored can be corrupted. This loss or corruption of data can result in errors that are either not recoverable or that will take a significant amount of time to correct. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for managing interactions between computer applications and computer users. More specifically, the present invention relates to a user proxy server, which provides a mechanism through which computer-based applications can communicate with computer users.
2. Related Art
The application server architecture—which predominates today for delivering applications to mobile devices as well as the desktop—has been developed based on specific assumptions. In times past, an enterprise application may have been expected to be “stand-alone” and accessed from a dedicated terminal. In many cases, it made sense for user interfaces to be hand-built and hard-wired by an application vendor or integrator. Later, the web browser replaced the dedicated terminal as the preferred access method; this was well accommodated by “application servers,” which are Web servers fitted with a number of features to support such things as transactions, dynamic content, and programmatic extensions.
Like Web servers, which had been created to broadcast content, the application server architecture entangled the control of the details of the application user interface (the “presentation layer”) with the administration of the server. Consequently, certain assumptions were built into the application server architecture. In particular that, as with a dedicated terminal, user interfaces would be created once (or change infrequently) and shared by all users.
Due to a number of factors, these assumptions are no longer valid for many mission-critical applications. Such factors include: the continually increasing importance of computing to business processes; the growing complexity, heterogeneity, and variability of application environments; and especially the advent of multiple access devices (e.g. desktop, PDA, WAP, VXML) and web services. In the modern world, different industries, enterprises, business units, or individuals have different needs (i.e. mission-critical business tasks to perform) in certain application domains. Likewise, their needs now often involve using aspects of several software applications or web services in task-specific combinations on several devices. Furthermore, needs, devices, and applications change.
At present, the relatively few server administrators in an organization are too heavily burdened to provide customized integrated solutions for every evolving need. On the other hand, the only one-size-fits-all solution is a lowest-common-denominator solution, and that common denominator gets lower and lower as the network of users, devices, and services grows. Thus, if one attempts to create a unified user interface with an application server, one ends up with a result where general-purpose (rather than task-specific and personalized) resources or controls are exposed. The user must manually navigate through these resources or controls at runtime to manually extract desired data and must carry information from step to step (i.e. the user must browse).
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus that enables an application to interact with a user without suffering from the above-described problems. | {
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There is a variety of hair styling tools in the market. One particular type of such tools is known as cushion brush in which during use, bristles of the brush sink or rise together with a supporting layer in response to pressure applied thereon. However, conventional cushion brushes suffer from different problems. For example, under conditions of repeated reciprocating movement of the bristles and the supporting layer and/or fluctuating temperature they tend to be rather non-durable. Issues of comfort, ease and cost of manufacture, etc. are other problems that are to be addressed.
The present invention seeks to addresses these issues, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the public. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In high pressure and high temperature processing equipment a need exists to reduce the pressure after the processing and before output of the processed product. For this purpose various pressure reduction devices in the form of valves exist with properties making these resistant to the high pressure and temperatures. By the terms high pressure and high temperature it should be appreciated that the highest pressure will normally be above 150 Bar and the temperature will be above 250° C. The temperature of the processed product may be lower at the pressure reduction location due to a desire of recycling the heat to the early stages of the process.
When reducing the pressure in such processes extensive wear of valve parts, i.e. the valve and the seat, is observed due to the high velocities in the valve in order to provide the required pressure reduction. The wear is further increased when processing materials with a content of abrasive particles. Using more valves in order to allow lower velocities will dramatically increase the cost of the processing equipment and will not totally eliminate the problem of wear.
Hence, an improved pressure reduction device and a method would be advantageous, and in particular a pressure reduction device and a method that provide for a more efficient pressure reduction and/or are less prone to wear from high flow velocities of processed fluids with abrasive components. | {
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This invention relates in general to independent suspension systems for supporting a vehicle frame assembly on the wheels of a vehicle. In particular, this invention relates to an improved method for connecting a ball and socket joint to one or both of the upper and lower control arms in such an independent suspension system.
Virtually all land vehicles in common use, such as automobiles, vans, and trucks, include a frame assembly that is supported upon a plurality of ground-engaging wheels by a resilient suspension system. The structures of known vehicle frame assemblies can be divided into two general categories, namely, separate and unitized. In a typical separate vehicle frame assembly, the structural components of the body portion and the frame portion are separate and independent from one another. When assembled, the frame portion of the assembly is resiliently supported upon the vehicle wheels by the suspension system and serves as a platform upon which the body portion of the assembly and other components of the vehicle can be mounted. Separate vehicle frame assemblies of this general type are found in most older vehicles, but remain in common use today for many relatively large or specialized use modern vehicles, such as large vans, sport utility vehicles, and trucks. In a typical unitized vehicle frame assembly, the structural components of the body portion and the frame portion are combined into an integral unit which is resiliently supported upon the vehicle wheels by the suspension system. Unitized vehicle frame assemblies of this general type are found in many relatively small modern vehicles, such as automobiles and minivans.
In both separate and unitized types of vehicle frame assemblies, the suspension system resiliently supports the vehicle frame assembly on the rotatable wheels of the vehicle. One type of suspension system commonly used in both automobiles and trucks is an independent suspension system. In an independent suspension system, the vehicle frame assembly is supported individually upon each of the wheels of the vehicle such that each of the wheels can move upwardly and downwardly relative to the vehicle frame assembly independently of the other wheels. Thus, when a bump or a depression in the road upon which the vehicle is operated is encountered by one of the wheels, the other wheels are not moved upwardly and downwardly in response thereto. As a result, the independent suspension system provides a relatively smooth ride.
A typical structure for an independent suspension system includes a lower control arm and, in some instances, an upper control arm for each wheel of the vehicle. The upper and lower control arms are typically V-shaped, each having a pair of inner ends that are connected to the vehicle frame structure for pivoting movement in a generally vertical plane and an intermediate outer portion. The outer portions of the upper control arm and the lower control arm are connected through respective ball and socket joints to the upper and lower ends of a steering knuckle. A wheel spindle extends outwardly from the steering knuckle between the upper and lower ends thereof, and a hub and wheel assembly is mounted on the outer end of the wheel spindle. The pivoting connections of the upper and lower control arms to the vehicle frame assembly allow the wheels to move upwardly and downwardly, while maintaining the rotational axis of the wheel generally parallel with the road upon which the vehicle is operated. The two ball and socket joints permit rotational movement of the steering knuckle and wheel spindle relative to the vehicle frame assembly, while accommodating a limited amount of angular movement between the upper and lower ends of the steering knuckle and the respective upper and lower control arms connected thereto during the vertical pivoting movement.
As mentioned above, the outer portions of the upper and lower control arms are connected to respective ball and socket joints. Traditionally, this connection has been accomplished forming an aperture through the outer portion of the control arm and inserting the socket portion of the ball and socket joint through this aperture. A circumferential flange provided on the socket portion of the ball and socket joint abuts the control arm to properly position the ball and socket joint and to bear the load of the vehicle on the associated wheel. A number of methods are known in the art for retaining the socket portion of the ball and socket joint in the control arm aperture. In some instances, the socket portion is sized to be press fit within the aperture. In other instances, a plurality of rivets or other mechanical fasteners extend through respective apertures formed through the circumferential flange and the control arm.
Although known retaining methods have been effective, it has been found that in some instances, the control arm may be formed having a configuration that provides such a small physical space that the use of traditional rivets and other mechanical fasteners is difficult at best. Also, it has been found that the apertures formed through the control arm to accommodate such rivets and other mechanical fasteners may introduce undesirable weaknesses therein. Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved method for connecting a ball and socket joint to a control arm in a vehicle suspension system that avoids these problems. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Electronically controlled inverters are for example known from US-Z.: C. M. Penalver, et al “Microprocessor Control of DC/AC Static Converters”; IEEE Transactions on industrial Electronics, Vol. IE-32, No. 3, 1985, P. 186-191. They are used for example in solar power systems to transform the direct current created by the solar cells in such as way as to enable it to be fed into the public AC power network. Only in this way is a practically unrestricted use of solar-produced energy guaranteed.
One of the results of the plurality of applications for inverters has been the development of basic derivative types of step-up converters, step-up/step-down converters and step-down converters for specific applications. An article published in the periodical EDN dated 17 Oct. 2002 “Slave converters power auxiliary outputs”, Sanjaya Maniktala is cited here as an example in which different possible combinations of basic inverter types are described. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to charged particle beam systems and more particularly to a detector for detecting back scattered and secondary particles in such a system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electron beam lithography and inspection systems, scanning electron microscopes and other particle optics systems usually use a magnetic objective "lens" to focus a charged particle beam upon a substrate. Magnetic deflection systems are often used to position (deflect) these beams on the substrate. A static magnetic lens focus field and time varying magnetic deflection field are often superimposed and located as near as possible to the substrate in order to minimize axial lens aberrations and deflection distortions.
The same particle optics systems often include annular shaped detectors that detect secondary particles and x-rays coming from the substrate area irradiated by the primary beam. In conjunction with a raster or vector scanned particle beam, these secondary particles are used to form images or to identify the composition of the substrate. In the case of electron beam lithography, inspection or ion beam milling tools, secondary or backscattered electron or ion detected images are also used for registering the beam position with respect to the substrate. To maximize these detection signals, it is important for the detector to subtend a large solid angle when viewed from the substrate. Thus the detector as well as the lens and deflection coils should be close to the substrate.
Thus the region between an objective lens/deflection system and substrate must include lens, deflection, and detector elements. It is particularly desirable that the lens, deflection and detection functions are superimposed to minimize the space that they occupy.
Annular shaped solid state detectors are known in particle beam systems. Sometimes it is necessary to separately record signals from different azimuthal angles to gain more information about the substrate geometry, so such annular detectors with several individual detectors (active areas) on a single detector substrate are also used. Typically such a detectors consist of planar diode structures on a thin substrate of high purity doped silicon. Each detector segment (active area) is a thin doped layer covered with an even thinner conductive coating. A bias voltage is applied to the opposing back surface, creating a depletion layer in the silicon. High energy particles penetrate into a depletion region, forming many electron hole pairs that, when extracted, are an amplified version of the incident current signal. | {
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The invention relates to an arrangement for the generation of CO.sub.2 laser pulses of high power which, on the one hand, permit material processing tasks to be carried out that require the high power densities at the processing site, such as cutting, welding and engraving or defined material removal, especially in the case of metals with a high degree of reflection for the laser radiation, such as aluminum and copper, and, on the other, make possible the use of relatively small, compact CO.sub.2 lasers in applications, such as scribing and defined material removal in electronic and microelectronic technology.
Numerous applications of CO.sub.2 laser radiation require power densities which, even with optimal focussing, can only be realized by radiated power far in the kW range. To achieve these powers, the CO.sub.2 lasers generally are operated in the pulsed mode in such cases. Aside from generating adequate peak powers, the maximum conversion of the potentially available average power into radiation pulses is aimed for.
Various technical solutions are known for generating high-power CO.sub.2 laser pulses.
One possibility of generating CO.sub.2 laser radiation pulses is represented by the principle of the transversely excited high-pressure CO.sub.2 laser (TEA laser) which, because of the high pressure of the laser gas, permits the realization of exceptionally high pulsed peak powers. Achieving the frequently required high pulse repetition frequencies is, however, very problematical. Frequencies of even a few hundred hertz require an enormous technical effort.
The electrical excitation of pulses of the CO.sub.2 laser discharge is the method primarily used industrially to generate intensive radiation pulses for processing materials. This mechanism permits pulse repetition frequencies up to 2.5 kHz with low-pressure CO.sub.2 lasers. However, with electrically pulsed gas discharges, the achievable magnification of the peak pulse power relative to the cw (continuous-wave) power is limited to a factor of about 10, since the processes of the build-up of the population inversion by the gas discharge and the decay of the inversion by the oscillation build-up of the laser overlap in time.
This disadvantage is largely avoided by the various methods of Q-switching CO.sub.2 lasers, since with these methods a population inversion of maximum amplitude can develop to begin with, which is then converted by the sudden increase in the quality of the laser resonator into a radiation pulse of greatly magnified power. All conventional methods of Q-switching, however, have significant deficiencies with respect to material processing tasks. The main deficiencies are
an unfavorable duty ratio of laser on to laser off and thus a considerable loss of average power during active revolving-mirror Q-switching (cf. Flynn, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, vol. QE-2, 378 (1966));
a limitation to periodic pulse sequences or to a fixed pulse repetition frequency, for example, in the case of passive Q-switching (see, for example, Appl. Phys. Lett. 11, 88 (1967);
high costs, for example, when actively switching by means of electro-optical crystals (see, for example, IEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, vol. QE-2, 243 (1966)).
The arrangements, described in the German Offenlegungsschrift 2,610,652 and the German Offenlegungsschrift 2,913,270, represent attempts to combine the advantages of the pulsed supply of pumping energy with the active Q-switching of the laser. Both arrangements are, however, usable only on optically pumped lasers in the visible or near infrared region of the spectrum, where there is the possibility of using the advantageous properties of electrooptical crystals (in contrast to the CO.sub.2 laser spectral range of wavelengths between 9 .mu.m and 11 .mu.m). By synchronizing the pumped light pulses with the operation of the electro-optical Q-switch, it was possible to achieve advantageous parameters of the laser pulses generated. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cabling media employing a plurality of twisted wire pairs. More particularly, the present invention relates to a twisting scheme for the twisted wire pairs constituting the cabling media, which allows for a relatively higher bit rate transmission, and reduces the likelihood of transmission errors due to alien and internal crosstalk.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the greatly increased use of computers for homes and offices, there has developed a need for a cabling media, which may be used to connect peripheral equipment to computers and to connect plural computers and peripheral equipment into a common network. Today's computers and peripherals operate at ever increasing data transmission rates. Therefore, there is a continuing need to develop cabling media, which can operate substantially error-free at higher bit rates, but also satisfy numerous elevated operational performance criteria, such as a reduction in alien crosstalk when the cable is in a high cable density application.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,607, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a typical twisting scheme employed in common twisted pair cables. FIG. 1 shows four pairs of wires (a first pair A, a second pair B, a third pair C and a fourth pair D) housed inside of a common jacket, constituting a first common cable E. In FIG. 1, the jacket has been partially removed at the end of the cable and the wire pairs A, B, C, D have been separated, so that the twist scheme can be clearly seen. FIG. 1 also illustrates a second common cable J, which is separate from the first common cable E, but identical in construction to the first common cable E. The second common cable J also includes four pairs of wires (a fifth pair F, a sixth pair G, a seventh pair H and an eight pair I) housed inside of a common jacket.
Each of the wire pairs A, B, C, D has a fixed twist interval a, b, c, d, respectively. Since the first and second common cables E and J are identical in construction, each of the wire pairs F, G, H, I also has the same fixed twist interval a, b, c, d, respectively. Each of the twist intervals a, b, c, d is different from the twist interval of the other wire pairs. As is known in the art, such an arrangement assists in reducing crosstalk between the wire pairs within the first common cable E. Further, as is common in the art, each of the twisted wire pairs has a unique fixed twist interval of slightly more than, or less than, 0.500 inches. The table below summarizes the twist interval ranges for the first through eight pairs A, B, C, D, F, G, H, I:
Min. TwistMax. TwistPair No.Twist LengthLengthLengthA/F0.4400.4300.450B/G0.4100.4000.420C/H0.5960.5800.610D/I0.6700.6500.690
Cabling media with the twisting scheme outlined above, such as the cabling media disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,607, have enjoyed success in the industry. However, with the ever-increasing demand for faster data rate transmission speeds, it has become apparent, that the cabling media of the background art suffers drawbacks. Namely, the background art's cabling media exhibits unacceptable levels of Alien near end crosstalk (ANEXT), at higher data transmission rates. FIGS. 2-5, illustrate the ANEXT for the wire pairs A, B, C, D of the cabling media, in accordance with the background art.
To measure the ANEXT of the pairs, an industry standard testing technique making use of a vector network analyzer (VNA) was employed. Briefly, to obtain the data of FIG. 2, the output of the VNA is connected to pair F of a cable J while the input of the VNA is connected to pair A of cable E. The VNA is used to sweep over a band of frequencies from 0.500 MHz to 1000 MHz and the ratio of the signal strength detected on pair A over the signal strength applied to pair F is captured. This is the ANEXT contributed to pair A in cable E from pair F in cable J. Contributions to pair A in cable E from pairs G, H and I in cable J are acquired in the same manner. The power sum of contributions from pairs F, G, H, and I in cable J to pair A in cable E is the ANEXT contributed to pair A in cable E due to all the pairs in cable J and is displayed as trace t1 in FIG. 2 on a logarithmic scale.
To obtain the traces t2 through t4 in the graphs of FIGS. 3-5, the above procedure is repeated for the second, third and fourth twisted wire pairs B, C, D in cable E. The graphs of FIGS. 2-5 illustrate the ANEXT for frequencies between 0.500 MHz and 1000 MHz. A reference line REF, described by the function 44.3−15*log(f/100) dB where f is in the units of MHz, is included in FIGS. 2-5 and serves as a reference, above which potentially acceptable ANEXT performance is achieved. Such tests are commonly used to verify the suitability of cabling media to surpass minimum standards and qualify as a cabling media, such as CAT 5, CAT 5e, and/or CAT 6. As can be seen in FIGS. 2-5, the ANEXT for the cabling media of the background art becomes unacceptable in that it crosses the reference line F at higher frequencies between 10 MHz and 200 MHz.
The reference line REF of FIGS. 2-5 will also serve to demonstrate the improved ANEXT performance of the present invention, as compared to the background art. The reference line REF is logarithmic but appears linear when plotted on a logarithmic scale and is described by the function 44.3−15*log(f/100) dB. The same reference line REF will be set forth in the performance graphs characterizing the present invention, and will provide a standard so that the performance results of the background art can be compared to performance results of the present invention. | {
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Words and designs are frequently printed onto clothing and other textile materials, as well as other objects. Common means of applying such designs to objects include the use of silk screens, and mechanically bonded thermal transfers. The silk screen process is well known in the art, and an example of a mechanical thermal bonding process to textile materials is described in Hare, U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,358.
The use of digital computer technology allows a virtually instantaneous printing of images. For example, video cameras or scanning may be used to capture an image to a computer. The image may then be printed by a computer driven printer, including thermal, ink jet, and laser printers. Computer driven printers are readily available which will print in multiple colors. Heat activated, or sublimation, transfer dye solids change to a gas at about 400° F., and have a high affinity for polyester at the activation temperature. Once the gassification bonding takes place, the ink is permanently printed and highly resistant to change or fading caused by laundry products. While sublimation dyes yield excellent results when a polyester substrate is used, these dyes have a limited affinity for other materials, such as natural fabrics like cotton and wool. Accordingly, images produced by heat activated inks comprising sublimation dyes which are transferred onto textile materials having a cotton component do not yield the high quality images experienced when images formed by such inks are printed onto a polyester substrate. Images which are printed using sublimation dyes applied by heat and pressure onto substrates of cotton or cotton and polyester blends yield relatively poor results.
The natural tendency of the cotton fiber to absorb inks causes the image to lose its resolution and become distorted. Liquid inks other than sublimation inks wick, or are absorbed by cotton or other absorbent substrates, resulting in printed designs of inferior visual quality, since the printed colors are not properly registered on the substrate.
To improve the quality of images transferred onto substrates having a cotton component or other absorbent component, substrates are surface coated with materials such as the coatings described in DeVries, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,591. Application of polymer surface coating materials to the substrate allows the surface coating material to bond the ink layer to the substrate, reducing the absorbency of the ink by the cotton and improving the image quality.
Gross coverage of the substrate with the surface coating material does not match the coating with the image to be printed upon it. The surface coating material is applied to the substrate over the general area to which the image layer formed by the inks is to be applied, such as by spraying the material, or applying the material with heat and pressure from manufactured transfer sheets, which are usually rectangular in shape. To achieve full coverage of the surface coating, the area coated with the surface coating material is larger than the area covered by the ink layer. The surface coating extends from the margins of the image after the image is applied to the substrate, which can be seen with the naked eye. The excess surface coating reduces the aesthetic quality of the printed image on the substrate. Further, the surface coating tends to turn yellow with age, which is undesirable on white and other light colored substrates. Yellowing is accelerated with laundering and other exposure to heat, chemicals, or sunlight. A method described in Hale, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,877, involves printing the polymer surface coating material to eliminate the margins experienced when aerosol sprays or similar methods are used for gross application of the polymeric coating material.
A process of thermal transfers wherein the ink mechanically bonds to the substrate is described in Hare, U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,953. The resulting mechanical image, as transferred, is a surface bonded image with a raised, plastic like feel to the touch. Thermal transfer paper can transfer an image to a final substrate such as cotton, however, this method has several limitations. First, the entire sheet is transferred, not just the image. Second, such papers are heavily coated with polymeric material to bind the image onto the textile. This material makes the transfer area very stiff and has poor dimensional stability when stretched. Finally, the laundering durability is not improved to acceptable levels. The thermal transfer paper technology (cited Hare patent) only creates a temporary bond between the transfer materials and the final substrate. This bond is not durable to washing.
The use of reactive dyes for printing on cotton and other natural fibers is well known in the art. For example, Gutjahr, et. al. in “Textile Printing”, Second Edition, pp. 157-163 and Akerblom, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,030 describe methods for the use of reactive dyes in print pastes for direct printing onto cellulosic fabrics using traditional printing techniques, such as silk-screen printing. Mehl, et. al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,670 describes the use of a transfer sheet impregnated with a nitrogen-containing compound that is printed by offset, gravure, or other traditional techniques using a sparingly soluble, non-subliming dye and a binder. The image thus produced is then transferred to cellulose or polyamide fibers. Koller, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,229 describes the use of anthraquinone-type, sublimable, fiber-reactive disperse dyes that can be applied to a carrier sheet by spraying, coating, or printing, by such methods as flexogravure, silk-screen, or relief printing, and subsequently heat transferred to cellulose or polyamide fabrics. None of these processes are printed digitally and require pre- and post-treatments.
Digital printing processes using reactive dyes are known. For example, Yamamoto, et. al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,121 describes the use of a monochlorotriazine and/or vinyl sulfone reactive dye in an aqueous ink jet ink for printing directly onto pretreated cellulosic fabric. Von der Eltz, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,972 describes the use of an aqueous formulation including a reactive dye whose reactive group contains a cyanamide group and an alkaline agent. The inks are used to print onto paper as a final substrate.
Melt transfer printing has been used since the nineteenth century to transfer embroidery designs to fabric. A design is printed on paper using a waxy ink, then transferred with heat and pressure to a final substrate. The Star process, developed by Star Stampa Artistici di Milano, uses a paper that is coated with waxes and dispersing agents. The design is printed onto the coated paper by gravure printing using an oil and wax based ink. The print is then transferred to fabric by pressing the composite between heated calender rollers at high pressure. The ink melts onto the final substrate carrying the coloring materials with it. Fabrics printed in such a method using direct dyes are then nip-padded with a salt solution and steamed. Vat dyes can also be used in the ink, but the fabric must be impregnated with sodium hydroxide and hydros solution and steamed. The residual waxes from the transfer ink are removed during washing of the fabric. | {
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors. In particular the invention relates to a cartridge lock registered jack connector and method of use thereof.
2. Related Art
Registered jacks are widely used in telecommunication systems for facilitating connection of electrical communication components. Ease of installation and consistent termination of internal insulated wires of a communications cable are two important features of a registered jack. Ordinary jacks are designed to orient untwisted wires of a cable for termination with corresponding wire contact terminals according to common communication standards. Standard jack designs involve termination of the untwisted wires with contacts at a terminal location spaced away from where the wires are still bundled and twisted. Wire termination in ordinary jacks is often tedious because each wire must be individually aligned and positioned for termination. Moreover wire termination in common jacks can be faulty because the wires are not precisely located for termination with the jack during cable installation and because wires are often loosely oriented during installation instead of being firmly positioned into a proper termination location. In addition, movement of a cable, once installed, can cause strain that may dislodge the wires from proper termination with ordinary jack terminal contacts. Some known jacks also require use of special tools in order to consistently terminate the wires during installation of the cable to the jack. Accordingly a need exists for an improved registered jack and related method of use. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Bicycles are becoming a more prevalent mode of transportation due to automobile fuel costs, increased pollution and traffic congestion. This is especially true in urban areas where bicycles and automobiles are often forced to share the same road. Conflicts occur resulting in accidents, damage and injury. Accident analysis reveals that visibility of the cyclist and inappropriate behaviour of the cyclist, such as not signalling a lane change or a turn, are major contributing factors. Hand signals are often used by a cyclist to indicate a turn or a stop. However, this requires the cyclist to remove a hand from the handle bar and increases the risk of loss of control. Road junctions will remain a serious hazard for automobile drivers and bicycle riders if the rider cannot indicate her intention and the driver does not know where the rider is going.
There are a number of signal light indicators on the market today by a variety of manufacturers. Some mimic police and emergency vehicle lighting and so are over-engineered, expensive and draw too much power. Others are too dim to function as a reliable indicator. Still others require the rider to remove a hand from the handle bar to manipulate a centrally mounted turn signal control pad.
Therefore, there is a continued need for a bicycle turn signal and brake indicator that is visible, reliable, and easy to operate by touch, controls power consumption and is affordable. | {
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There has so far been known a technique of synthesizing the singing voice from given singing data by e.g. a computer.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) data are representative performance data and accepted as a de-facto standard in the related technical field. Typically, the MIDI data are used to generate the musical sound by controlling a digital sound source, termed a MIDI sound source, for example, a sound source actuated by MIDI data, such as computer sound source or a sound source of an electronic musical instrument. Lyric data may be introduced into a MIDI file, such as SMF (Standard MIDI file), so that the musical staff with the lyric may thereby be formulated automatically.
An attempt in using the MIDI data as representation by parameters (special data expression) of the singing voice or the phonemic segments making up the singing voice has been proposed in, for example the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication H-11-95798.
While these related techniques attempt to express the singing voice in the data forms of the MIDI data, such attempt is no more than a control with the sense of controlling a musical instrument.
It was also not possible with the conventional techniques to render the MIDI data, formulated for musical instruments, into songs without correcting the MIDI data.
On the other hand, the voice synthesizing software, for reading aloud an E-mail or a home page, is put for sale from many producers, including the present Assignee. However, the manner of reading is with the usual manner of reading aloud the text.
A mechanical apparatus for performing movements similar to those of a living organism, inclusive of the human being, using electrical or magnetic operations, is called a robot. The use of the robot in Japan dates back to the end of the sixties. Most of the robots used at the time were industrial robots, such as manipulators or transporting robots, aimed to automate the productive operations in a plant or to provide unmanned operations.
Recently, the development of a utility robot, adapted for supporting the human life as a partner for the human being, that is, for supporting human activities in variable aspects of our everyday life, is proceeding. In distinction from the industrial robot, the utility robot is endowed with the ability of learning how to adapt itself on its own to human operators different in personalities or to variable environments in variable aspects of our everyday life. A pet type robot, simulating the bodily mechanism or movements of quadrupeds, such as dogs or cats, or a humanoid robot, designed after the bodily mechanism or movements of the human being, walking on two legs in an erect style, as a model, is being put to practical application.
In distinction from the industrial robot, the utility robot apparatus are able to perform variable movements, centered about entertainment. For this reason, these utility robot apparatus are sometimes called the entertainment robots. Among the robot apparatus of this sort, there are those performing autonomous movements responsive to the information from outside or to inner states.
The artificial intelligence (AI), used for the autonomous robot apparatus, is artificial realization of intellectual functions, such as deduction or judgment. It is further attempted to artificially realize the functions, such as feeling or instinct. Among the expressing means by visual means or natural languages, for expressing the artificial intelligence to outside, there is a means by voice, as an example of the function of the expression employing the natural language.
The conventional synthesis of the singing voice uses data of a special style or, even if it uses MIDI data, the lyric data embedded therein cannot be used efficaciously, or MIDI data, prepared for musical instruments, cannot be sung. | {
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In today's business environment, an organization and/or business has to invest considerable resources in developing solutions, such as, an information technology solution. Functional and nonfunctional requirements necessary to develop a solution are identified and then implemented into a solution. Often defects in the requirements (requirement defects) are not detected until the testing and initial deployment phases, which results in higher costs, delays to schedules and low customer satisfaction. As such, there is a need to develop an efficient and effective way of developing solutions, so that any requirement defects can be detected earlier in the development stages of a solution and can provide a business with a cost-effective way of developing a solution that captures the necessary requirements. | {
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When a user executes applications on a desktop computer, multiple applications can typically execute simultaneously without adversely affecting performance. In a device that has limited resources multiple applications running at the same time can quickly deplete resources such as battery power. Often output from multiple applications cannot be displayed simultaneously because of a small display area. Consequently, on these types of devices, sometimes a first application is paused, ended, or is run in the background when the user switches to a second application. However, if the user switches back to the first application, prompt resumption of the first application is often expected. | {
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Buying consumer products and services in a market place full of choices can often be a tedious task. Often times a consumer may begin the process of shopping by soliciting recommendations from friends and family or other sources such as magazines and Internet web sites. Sometimes recommendations are for a final product while at other times they are merely starting points for a consumer to investigate further.
For example, a consumer may want to buy a digital camera and a friend suggests buying nothing less than a five megapixel camera but makes no suggestion as to which model or brand. At which point the consumer may then make a note regarding the five megapixel camera and begins the process of refining the search with a constraint of nothing less than five megapixels. This time a friend recommends Kodak as a brand but not a model and the consumer makes another notation. Additionally, other notations may be made while investigating other informative avenues, such as specific web sites which deal in the desired product (or service).
This notational shopping process may continue for multiple brands and models until enough data is collected that the consumer is comfortable making purchasing decision. Because this process is very tedious and time consuming, some consumers may quit shopping for the product or settle for a product that does not fulfill their needs or criteria. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the fields of wiring and wire management. More particularly, it concerns methods and apparatuses for placing wiring into split loom tubing.
2. Description of Related Art
As more equipment requires wiring to operate, the management of those wires becomes important. Having an excessive number of loose wires in an area is not only unsightly, but can also be dangerous. In particular, loose wires may present a tripping hazard. Additionally, loose wires may wrap around and tangle with other equipment, which may make it difficult if not impossible to operate that other equipment.
In view of at least the foregoing, several devices have been introduced for managing or organizing loose wires. One of the most popular and prevalent among these is split loom tubing. Generally speaking, split loom tubing is a tube that has a split running along its length. Wires may be placed within the tube by inserting them through the split. Once inserted, the tube holds the wires together in one place, reducing the mess (and hazards) associated with loose wires. Most typically, split loom tubing is made of flexible, corrugated plastic, similar in appearance to the tubing commonly found on vacuum cleaners and/or their attachments.
Although useful in managing loose wiring, split loom tubing is often difficult to xe2x80x9cload.xe2x80x9d Specifically, inserting wires into the tubing, through its split, may be problematic in its own rite. Depending upon the tightness of the split, the user may have to use two hands to load the wirexe2x80x94one hand to hold open the tubing while the other hand feeds the wire into the tubing. Further, many times the tubing may twist during loading, which forces the user again to use two handxe2x80x94one hand to keep the tubing straight (untwisting it) while the other hand feeds the wire. Still further, the act of manually inserting the wiring into the tubing may cut a user""s hands. Yet still further, the entire process of loading wires into the tubing may be very time consuming and, given the other problems listed above, frustrating.
In view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to have an apparatus to facilitate the loading of wiring into split loom tubing.
The referenced shortcomings listed above are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather are among many that tend to impair the effectiveness of previously known techniques concerning wire management. Other noteworthy problems may also exist; however, those mentioned here are sufficient to demonstrate that methodology appearing in the art have not been altogether satisfactory and that a need exists for the technology disclosed herein.
Shortcomings listed above are reduced or eliminated by the techniques disclosed herein. These techniques are applicable to a vast number of applications, including any application involving wires that require management.
In one embodiment, the invention is an apparatus for placing a wire into split loom tubing. The apparatus includes a partial enclosure, a longitudinal channel, and a flared wedge. The partial enclosure has a proximal end and a distal end. The longitudinal channel runs from the proximal end to the distal end, and the channel has a width sufficient to guide the wire as it is placed into the split loom tubing. The flared wedge is coupled to the proximal end, and the wedge has a width sufficient to stretch open an interior of the split loom tubing to facilitate transferring the wire from the channel into the split loom tubing.
In other embodiments, the partial enclosure may include a cylindrical tube. The partial enclosure may have a length of about 6 inches. The channel may have a width of about 0.25 inches. The flared wedge may have a shape of an arrow-head. The flared wedge may have a maximum width of about xe2x85x9e inches. The flared wedge may have a wedge angle of about 15 degrees. The flared wedge may be welded to the proximal end of the partial enclosure. The flared wedge may be integral with the proximal end of the partial enclosure.
In another embodiment, the invention is a wire enclosure system, including the apparatus described above along with split loom tubing.
In another embodiment, the invention is an apparatus for placing a wire into split loom tubing, including a cylindrical tube, a longitudinal channel, and a flared wedge. The cylindrical tube has a proximal end and a distal end. The longitudinal channel runs from the proximal end to the distal end, and the channel has a width between about {fraction (1/16)} inches and about 0.5 inches and is configured to guide the wire as it is placed into the split loom tubing. The flared wedge is coupled to the proximal end, and the wedge has a wedge angle between about 5 degrees and about 30 degrees and a maximum width between about ⅙ inches and about 1.5 inches. The flared wedge is configured to stretch open an interior of the split loom tubing to facilitate transferring of the wire from the channel into the split loom tubing.
In other embodiments, the cylindrical tube may have a length of about 6 inches. The flared wedge may have a shape of an arrow-head. The flared wedge may be integral with the proximal end of the cylindrical tube.
In another embodiment, the invention is a method for placing a wire into split loom tubing. An apparatus is obtained, which includes a partial enclosure, a longitudinal channel, and a flared wedge. The partial enclosure has a proximal end and a distal end. The longitudinal channel runs from the proximal end to the distal end, and the flared wedge is coupled to the proximal end. At least a portion of the wire is placed into the channel. The flared wedge is inserted into the split loom tubing to stretch open an interior of the split loom tubing. And, the flared wedge is moved along the length of the interior of the split loom tubing to guide the wire into the split loom tubing.
As used herein, xe2x80x9cwirexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cwiringxe2x80x9d shall be interpreted broadly to encompass cables, lines, leads, and the like. It should be noted that in this document (including the claims), the terms xe2x80x9ccomprisexe2x80x9d (and any form thereof, such as xe2x80x9ccomprisesxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ccomprisingxe2x80x9d), xe2x80x9chavexe2x80x9d (and any form thereof, such as xe2x80x9chasxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9chavingxe2x80x9d), and xe2x80x9cincludexe2x80x9d (and any form thereof, such as xe2x80x9cincludesxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cincludingxe2x80x9d) are open-ended transitional terms. Thus, a thing (such as a device or a system) that xe2x80x9ccomprises,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9chas,xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cincludesxe2x80x9d one or more elements possesses those one or more elements, but is not limited to only possessing those one or more elements. For example, claims directed to an apparatus for placing xe2x80x9caxe2x80x9d wire into split loom tubing encompass apparatuses in which more than one wire is placed into split loom tubing. | {
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Coke (often called petroleum coke or pet coke) is a carbonaceous solid produced in the oil refining process. Coking reactions follow free-radical mechanisms in which the breaking and formation of chemical bonds occur simultaneously. The most distinctive reactions are the dealkylation of aromatic compounds and the dehydrogenation of saturated compounds. Aromatization, dehydrogenative cyclization, and polymerization are also prevalent reactions.
The feedstock for coking processes is generally low economic value crude oil residue streams, such as vacuum residue or atmospheric residue. Although liquid product from the coking process needs further treatment steps, the simplicity of the coking process has attracted interest. Two major grades of coke are available in the market based on their quality: fuel grade coke, which contains a lot of impurities, such as sulfur and metals, and is often used in combustion applications to generate heat; and anode grade coke, which has fewer impurities than fuel-grade coke, and thus, is used in more applications, such as in the aluminum industry. Typical compositional properties of anode grade coke are shown in Table 1 as follows.
TABLE 1Component AmountSulfur <3.0 weight (wt) % Volatile matter <11.5 wt % Vanadium <250 wt parts permillion (ppm) Nickel <150 wt ppm Iron <200 wt ppm Calcium <100 wt ppm Sodium <100 wt ppm Silicon <150 wt ppm
For suitability in industrial applications, anode grade coke requires low metal content, low sulfur content, and high aromatic content. For these reasons, pre-treatment steps in upstream of delayed coker units and other coke production processes may be required. The pre-treatment methods can be classified into two groups: solvent extraction, and hydroprocessing.
In solvent extraction processes, for example, the ROSE® (Residuum Oil Supercritical Extraction) solvent extraction process developed by Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc a Solvent Deasphalting (SDA) process is utilized that separates a resin fraction from asphalthene. The resulting resin is directed to a delayed coker for generating high-end coke such as anode grade coke. While generating feedstock suitable for the production of high-end coke, the ROSE process demonstrates poor conversion of the vacuum residue and thereby is not an economically feasible anode coke producing process. Specifically, to reduce the metal content of the vacuum residue of Arabian heavy crude oil from 250 weight parts per million (wt ppm) to 9 wt ppm by the ROSE process, over 50% of vacuum residue is rejected as asphaltene pitch. Consequently, while the ROSE process can generate feedstock suitable for anode coke; the ROSE process is ineffective at producing upgraded petroleum, because it rejects so much of the vacuum residue and lacks chemical conversion function. | {
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Bows have been used for many years as a weapon for hunting and target shooting. More advanced bows include cams that increase the mechanical advantage associated with the draw of the bowstring. The cams are configured to yield a decrease in draw force near full draw. Such cams preferably use power cables that load the bow limbs. Power cables can also be used to synchronize rotation of the cams, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,305,979 (Yehle).
With conventional bows and crossbows the draw string is typically pulled away from the generally concave area between the limbs and away from the riser and limbs. This design limits the power stroke for bows and crossbows.
In order to increase the power stroke, the draw string can be positioned on the down-range side of the string guides so that the draw string unrolls between the string guides toward the user as the bow is drawn, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,836,871 (Kempf) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,328,693 (Kempf). One drawback of this configuration is that the power cables can limit the rotation of the cams to about 270 degrees. In order to increase the length of the power stroke, the diameter of the pulleys needs to be increased. Increasing the size of the pulleys results in a larger and less usable bow.
FIGS. 1-3 illustrate a string guide system for a bow that includes power cables 20A, 20B (“20”) attached to respective string guides 22A, 22B (“22”) at first attachment points 24A, 24B (“24”). The second ends 26A, 26B (“26”) of the power cables 20 are attached to the axles 28A, 28B (“28”) of the opposite string guides 22. Draw string 30 engages down-range edges 46A, 46B of string guides 22 and is attached at draw string attachment points 44A, 44B (“44”)
As the draw string 30 is moved from released configuration 32 of FIG. 1 to drawn configuration 34 of FIGS. 2 and 3, the string guides 22 counter-rotate toward each other about 270 degrees. The draw string 30 unwinds between the string guides 22 from opposing cam journals 48A, 48B (“48”) in what is referred to as a reverse draw configuration. As the first attachment points 24 rotate in direction 36, the power cables 20 are wrapped around respective power cable take-up journal of the string guides 22, which in turn bends the limbs toward each other to store the energy needed for the bow to fire the arrow.
Further rotation of the string guides 22 in the direction 36 causes the power cables 20 to contact the power cable take-up journal, stopping rotation of the cam. The first attachment points 24 may also contact the power cables 20 at the locations 38A, 38B (“38”), preventing further rotation in the direction 36. As a result, rotation of the string guides 22 is limited to about 270 degrees, reducing the length 40 of the power stroke. | {
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As discussed in the background of U.S. Pat. No. 6,654,690 to Rahmes et al. and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, topographical models of geographical areas may be used for many applications. For example, topographical models may be used in flight simulators and for planning military missions. Furthermore, topographical models of man-made structures (e.g., cities) may be extremely helpful in applications such as cellular antenna placement, urban planning, disaster preparedness and analysis, and mapping, for example.
Various types and methods for making topographical models are presently being used. One common topographical model is the digital elevation map (DEM). A DEM is a sampled matrix representation of a geographical area that may be generated in an automated fashion by a computer. In a DEM, co-ordinate points are made to correspond with a height value. DEMs are typically used for modeling terrain where the transitions between different elevations (e.g., valleys, mountains, etc.) are generally smooth from one to a next. That is, DEMs typically model terrain as a plurality of curved surfaces and any discontinuities therebetween are thus “smoothed” over. For this reason, DEMs generally are not well suited for modeling man-made structures, such as skyscrapers in a downtown area, with sufficient accuracy for many of the above applications.
Another approach to producing topographical models has been developed by the Harris Corporation, assignee of the present invention, and is commercially referred to as RealSite®. RealSite® provides a semi-automated process for making three-dimensional (3D) topographical models of geographical areas, including cities, that have accurate textures and structure boundaries. Moreover, RealSite® models are geospatially accurate. That is, the location of any given point within the model corresponds to an actual location in the geographical area with very high accuracy (e.g., within a few meters). The data used to generate RealSite® models may include aerial and satellite photography, electro-optical, infrared, and light detection and ranging (LIDAR).
RealSite® models not only provide enhanced accuracy over prior automated methods (such as automated DEM generation), but since they are produced using a semi-automated computer process they may be created much more rapidly than comparable manually rendered models. Yet, even though the RealSite® model generation process begins with actual data of a geographic location, some user delineation may be required to distinguish objects within an input data set before automated computer algorithms can render the final models. Thus, producing RealSite® models for large geometric areas of several kilometers, for example, may require a significant amount of time and labor.
Accordingly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,654,690 discloses a significant advance of an automated method for making a topographical model of an area including terrain and buildings thereon based upon randomly spaced data of elevation versus position. The method may include processing the randomly spaced data to generate gridded data conforming to a predetermined position grid, processing the gridded data to distinguish building data from terrain data, and performing polygon extraction to make the topographical model of the area including terrain and buildings thereon.
Change detection is an important part of many commercial Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-related applications. Moreover, given the recent explosion of available imagery data and the increasing number of areas-of-interest throughout the world, the trend is towards rapid, automated change detection algorithms. To make effective use of these imagery databases care should generally be taken that the newly collected imagery match the existing/reference imagery's characteristics such as coverage, field-of-view, color, and most notably, sensor location and viewpoint.
Unfortunately, this presents a difficulty since in many cases it is time-consuming, very difficult or even impossible to replicate the original collection scenario due to: sensor-scheduling (in the case of space-based), cost of re-flying the sensor (in the case of aerial-based), or that the sensor is no longer in use (both cases). Thus large amounts of collected imagery may go underutilized in regards to change detection.
The current state of the art in change detection involves either: (1) geo-registering two images (reference and new collect images) together so that the automated change detection algorithms will have a high rate of success, or (2) performing sophisticated pixel-correlation change detection algorithms that tend to be slow, iterative in nature, and manually intensive, since the algorithms often need to be tweaked between runs. The first case requires a high degree of correlation in the location and parameters of the sensor, or sensors, if they are different between the two collects. The second case does not require as high a degree of correlation although some is still needed, but it is neither automated nor fast. Neither approach is satisfactory.
An article by Walter entitled “Automated GIS Data Collection and Update,” pp. 267-280, 1999, examines data from different sensors regarding their potential for automatic change detection. Along these lines an article entitled “Automatic Change Detection of Urban Geospatial Databases Based on High Resolution Satellite Images Using AI Concepts” to Samadzadegan et al. discloses an automatic change detection approach for changes in topographic urban geospatial databases taking advantage of fusion of description and logical information represented on two levels. U.S. Pat. No. 6,904,159 discloses identifying moving objects in a video using volume growing and change detection masks. U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,483 discloses a mapping system for the integration and graphical display of pipeline information that enables automated pipeline surveillance.
Accordingly, although a growing body of geospatial scene model data exists, it has not yet been exploited in the area of automated change detection of sensor images. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Somatotropins are growth hormones which were originally discovered in pituitary gland extracts of various animals. Recombinant DNA technology has permitted the expression of somatotropins as heterologous proteins from various host cells. Such recombinant somatotropins, e.g., somatotropins produced in a microorganism such as E. coli bacteria that has been transformed using recombinant DNA, are typically produced by the host cell in a precipitated, denatured state having reduced or substantially no bioactivity. The absence of bioactivity is generally attributed to the conformation of the recombinant somatotropin molecule, which lacks the formation of disulfide bonds. Recombinant somatotropins are believed to be produced by the host cell in substantially reduced form (without disulfide linkages) due to the relatively high redox potential of host cells such as the E. coli cell. Most recombinant somatotropins, such as bovine (bST) and porcine somatotropin (pST), are packaged in the host cell as inclusion bodies, also referred to as refractile bodies, which are cytoplasmic aggregates containing the recombinant somatotropin and oligomers thereof.
In order to recover the recombinant somatotropin in a bioactive state, the somatotropin, e.g., in the form of inclusion bodies, is preferably but not necessarily isolated from the host cell, after which the somatotropin may be solubilized to form somatotropin monomers, which may then be naturated into a bioactive conformation. The naturated somatotropin may then be further purified to remove impurities such as other somatotropin species, e.g., oligomers such as dimers, and host cell proteins, for example, by ion exchange to precipitate the impurities (e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,369, which is incorporated herein by reference) or other suitable techniques.
For example, Bentle et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,630, which is incorporated herein by reference, refers to a method for solubilization and naturation of somatotropin protein from inclusion bodies using an aqueous solution of urea to solubilize the inclusion bodies containing the recombinant somatotropin. Bentle et al. reports using urea solutions having concentrations ranging from 2.5 to 7.5 M and a pH between about 9 and 12 for the solubilization step. Once solubilized, the somatotropin protein can be naturated according to the Bentle et al. method at an alkaline pH.
Other methods have used a detergent to solubilize and naturate a somatotropin. For example, European Patent Specification publication nos. 229,110 and 263,902 (The Upjohn Co.), which are incorporated herein by reference, disclose a method for converting an insoluble form of somatotropin from a transformed microorganism to the native disulphide bond conformation by solubilizing and oxidizing the somatotropin in the presence of a detergent. That method uses a detergent of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) or a detergent of the formula: EQU CH.sub.3 --(CH.sub.2).sub.n --CO--NR.sub.1 --CHR.sub.2 --COOH,
wherein n is 8 through 20 inclusive; R.sub.1 is methyl or ethyl; and R.sub.2 is hydrogen, ethyl, methyl, n-propyl or isopropyl. These specifications further disclose a particular method for solubilizing recombinant bST using an aqueous solution of N-lauroyl methyl glycine, which is represented by the formula: EQU CH.sub.3 --(CH.sub.2).sub.10 --CO--NR.sub.1 --CHR.sub.2 --COOH,
in a sodium borate buffer at 0.1 to 0.5 M and a pH of 8 to 10.5. After solubilization and naturation, European Patent Specification publication nos. 229,110 and 263,902 state that the detergent is removed by an anion exchange resin.
Other publications also disclose methods for the solubilization and naturation of recombinant somatotropins using various detergent and non-detergent compounds including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,677,196 and 4,766,224, which also use SDS; U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,323, which uses SDS in combination with a chaotropic agent such as urea or guanidine hydrochloride; U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,834, which uses sarkosyl (N-lauroyl sarcosine), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,529, which uses 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol. Each of these patents are incorporated herein by reference. Although SDS has been reported in several references for use in somatotropin solubilization and naturation methods, it is further acknowledged that SDS binds relatively tightly to the naturated somatotropin, thus making its complete removal from the somatotropin solution difficult.
There is a need in the art for more economical and efficient methods to obtain recombinant somatotropins with high yield and purity. In particular, there is a need for methods for the solubilization and naturation of recombinant somatotropin proteins to obtain the somatotropin molecules in a bioactive state, preferably using a low amount of detergent that is readily biodegradable. There is a further need for such methods that use a detergent that is easily removed from the naturated somatotropin. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a voice-activated navigation means and method for hypertext documents.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hypertext systems are rapidly gaining increasing significance in many areas of data and communications technology. The important examples that have already been realized are: Typical hypertext help systems and hypertext documentation for software applications (for example, under graphics operating systems for personal computers), wherein the user can usually navigate within single hypertext documents that are stored as data files on a single computer, as well as the World Wide Web (WWW), a worldwide hypertext network based on the Internet that makes it possible for the user to navigate through a plurality of hypertext documents linked to one another that cite one another (i.e., reference one another) and that are generally stored on a great number of computers in the network at a great distance from one another. Hypertext documents thereby generally contain information in the form of text, digital images or audio or video data or combinations thereof.
A significant, characteristic feature of all hypertext systems is the possibility of navigation. In addition to containing the actual text of the document, a hypertext document contains special character sequences that can also be a component part of the actual text and that are usually referred to as links or hyper-links and that serve the purpose of hypertext navigation. Normally, these character sequences are specially marked, for example by being displayed in a different color or are emphasized in some other way, to distinguish the special character sequences from the ordinary text of the document. When a user of a hypertext system selects such a link, usually with a short click with the mouse or other pointing device, the hypertext system reacts to this instruction in that it displays the part of the same hypertext document associate with this character sequence (or link) or the system displays a different hypertext document. Other possible reactions to the selection of the link are opening up a connection to a different computer, for example to an on line data bank, starting another application program, opening another data file, initiating a data processing process or a combination of such possible reactions.
In addition thereto, hypertext systems usually also execute other instructions that are not associated with the character sequences (links) in the hypertext documents such as, for example, paging through documents that are already displayed or through document parts (for example, pages of the document), storing hypertext pages in what are referred to as hot lists, retrieving or paging through pages stored in hot lists, reloading images, etc. These instructions are normally input in the way typical for graphic user interfaces, for example with the mouse or other pointed device.
There are a number of possible applications of hypertext-based systems wherein the traditional way of inputting instructions or of activating links is considered to be disturbing, undesirable or even impossible. This, for example, is the case when the user is impeded, his hands are busy with managing other jobs or when the ambient conditions forbid the employment of traditional input devices. Voice recognition is available here as a simple, natural type of input that assumes less expertise on the part of the user than other input means.
The integration of traditional, acoustic voice recognition systems, i.e. systems for recognizing spoken language, with hypertext systems, which are also known as “viewer” or “browser” systems, are opposed by technological difficulties. The voice recognition system, namely, must be in the position to recognize every word that can occur as a link in a hypertext document. Because practically every word in the text can also be a hyper-link, extremely large dictionaries would be required for this purpose, and these large dictionaries would reduce the processing speed and the recognition performance of this system to an unjustifiable extent. Even if the employment of 2 extremely large dictionaries were possible, the numerous coining of new words and proper names could not be recognized, these new words being so typical of many hypertext applications, specifically, however, for hypertext networks such as the World Wide Web. Probably for this reason, a hypertext navigation system to be controlled by voice recognition has not yet been disclosed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Measuring the true end-user interaction experience with applications operating within a distributed computing environment is a complicated task. As used herein, the interaction experience refers to the time between a display change on a host machine and updating a display to an end-user reflecting that change. There are several factors that contribute to the interaction experience: client performance, client load, network characteristics, network performance, server performance, and server load. Each of these factors may impact the interaction experience by varying amounts, and recommendations for optimizing the performance of each may vary. A method for providing users and developers with both information regarding performance data for the varying components in a client-host connection and with recommendations needed to improve the interaction experience would be desirable.
Furthermore, generating an interface for providing meaningful feedback to an end user creates additional complications. Conventional systems may provide rudimentary graphical displays, for example, two-dimensional graphs plotting usage as a function of time. Typical systems may display to a user a graphical history of computer usage or page file usage over a period of time, and may provide statistics such as a number of threads or processes executing in a period of time, or a percentage of network utilization over a period of time. However, these systems typically lack the ability to interactive provide information to users seeking to improve or optimize usage. Nor do these systems typically provide an analysis for the user of the delay introduced into a connection by particular components of a connection between the user and another network node. Methods and systems providing a user with interactive, dynamic displays and recommendations for connection optimization would be desirable. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
As platforms for accessing and utilizing secure data have become more distributed, there has been an associated evolution in secure gateway technologies. For example, in the era of early-generation terminal/server systems, terminal operators were conditionally allowed access to data through the employment of simple password gateways, operated using terminal keyboards and conventional computer terminal monitors. The gateways were relatively simple, as was the uniformity of user interface scenarios. With the ubiquity of a myriad of wireless networks and handheld computing devices, users are now attempting to access secure information through gateways all over the world, from platforms such as handheld PDAs and cellphones, along with more conventional devices, such as desktop personal computers. Many systems with graphical user interfaces now feature touchscreens, which are configured to receive inputs associated with a user's physical contact with such interface, and these touchscreens may be configured to behave as part of a gateway security chain. For example, referring to FIG. 1, a PDA (10) is depicted having a touchscreen interface (12) that is configured to present to a user a simple alphanumeric (14) security gateway. In the depicted case, the user may use his finger or other pointing instrument to enter a series of numbers with the touchscreen (they may, for example, be displayed as a series in the feedback field 16), followed by an election to process the entered series for access to data past the security gateway, by pressing a simulated “enter” button (18) on the touchscreen interface.
One of the challenges with such an interface is that it may not be optimized for ergonomic/user scenarios wherein a user is being interrupted, perhaps by other applications on the same device (e.g., by a phone call on the same PDA device), or wherein the user has limited ability to hold the device and/or accomplish certain fine motor skills, such as selecting simulated pushkeys (14) on a touchscreen (12), as required by the variation illustrated in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2A, an example of a device (10) having a touchscreen (12) presentation optimized for single-hand usage in switching visually-presented pages is depicted, wherein the device may be cradled by the four fingers (24) and selections to page forward or backward made with the thumb (22) of the same hand (20). As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, similar touchscreen devices may also be operated in other positions using the index finger (26) or a probe or instrument (28) as a pointer. Indeed, touchscreens are now featured on not only portable devices, such as the PDAs and cellphones depicted in FIGS. 1-2C, the car audio system (30) depicted in FIG. 3A, and the portable GPS navigation device (32) depicted in FIG. 3B, but also as gateways for accessing and controlling less portable systems, such as the copy machine (34) depicted in FIG. 3C. Notwithstanding the foregoing touchscreen user interface integrations into such systems, however, there continues to be a need for a further-optimized touchscreen-based security gateways that provide efficient, reliable utility to users in various operating scenarios such as single-hand operation and multitasking. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronics. More specifically, the present invention relates to analog to digital converters.
2. Description of the Related Art
The function of an analog to digital converter (ADC) is to accurately convert an analog input signal into a digital output represented by a coded array of binary bits. The output bits are generated by processing the analog input signal through a number of comparator steps. An N-bit digital output can be produced in one step with 2N-1 parallel comparators (flash ADCs) or, at the limit, by N sequential steps with a single comparator (successive approximation ADCs). Flash ADCs provide higher speed of conversion, but are limited by higher input capacitance, power consumption, and device yield constraints associated with the high number of comparators in the circuitry. At the other extreme, successive approximation ADCs are simple in structure, and may be very accurate, but they have very slow conversion times due to the serial nature of the conversion process.
Subranging ADCs provide an intermediate compromise between flash ADCs and successive approximation ADCs. Subranging ADCs typically use a low resolution flash quantizer during a first or coarse pass to convert the analog input signal into the most significant bits (MSB) of its digital value. A digital to analog converter (DAC) then generates an analog version of the MSB word, which is subtracted from the input signal at a summing node to produce a residue or residual signal. The residue signal is sent through one or more fine passes (through the same quantizer or additional low resolution quantizers) to produce the lower significant bits of the input signal. The lower significant bits and the MSB word are combined by digital error correcting circuitry to produce the desired digital output word.
There is a requirement to produce high dynamic range, low power ADC integrated circuits (IC) for the military communications market, as well as for commercial applications such as the cellular basestation market. Currently available ADCs do not meet the needs of the marketplace.
In particular, typical flash or subranging ADCs may utilize a flash quantizer for quantizing the analog signal. It is often preferable to use a differential signal path to improve system performance. Prior art differential quantizers typically include two equal resistor ladders that spread the positive and negative inputs of the differential analog input signal. Each resistor ladder includes a plurality of serially connected resistors and a single reference current source for maintaining a uniform current. A bank of comparators then compares signals tapped from both resistor ladders. In the prior art quantizer, the current sources are employed as current sinks, which loads down the hold amplifier driving the quantizer and requires too much power. Hence, there is a need in the art for an improved quantizer that requires less power than prior art quantizers.
In addition, subranging ADCs typically include a summing node circuit to generate the residue signal. Conventional summing node circuits include offset current sources and a DAC to generate an analog signal representing the coarse pass of the ADC, which is subtracted from the input signal by a summing amplifier to produce the residue signal. This design dissipates too much power, plus the offset current sources are noisy and bandlimited, which creates settling problems with the offset currents. Hence, there is a need in the art for an improved summing node design for subranging ADCs that requires less power than prior art approaches.
Furthermore, subranging ADCs may exhibit significant nonlinearity errors that tend to repeat in response to an analog input signal. The repetition produces spurs in the ADC's frequency response that distort the signal and reduce its spur free dynamic range. Because the spurs tend to lie very close to the signal frequency, it is difficult and expensive to remove them using conventional filtering techniques. New trim methodologies for reducing the static differential nonlinearity (DNL) and integral nonlinearity (INL) are required in order to achieve the desired performance. Hence, there is a need in the art for a system or method for trimming a subranging ADC. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for positioning vehicles, and more particularly to an improved apparatus which will indicate the location of the vehicle when it is parked in a predetermined position within a garage.
(2) Background of the Invention
Since the invention of the garage, it has been a problem to position a vehicle within the enclosure to provide adequate clearance in front, behind, and on the sides of the vehicle by positioning the vehicle properly within the structure. If the vehicle is located too far rearwardly, the garage door will not close. If the vehicle is located too close to a side of the enclosure, people will not be able to enter or exit the vehicle.
There have been many attempts to provide apparatus which will alert the driver to the appropriate location within the garage for the vehicle. One of the simplest and least expensive apparatus is the use of a ball suspended on a string from the ceiling of the garage. The driver enters the garage until a particular location on the windshield of the vehicle contacts the ball. The main problem with such a device is in the difficulty in positioning the device for a particular vehicle, as well as the difficulty in repositioning the device if a consumer replaces the vehicle. In addition, the suspension of objects from the ceiling can be unsitely in appearance, and can become entangled with structure on the vehicle.
Other attempts to provide apparatus for positioning a vehicle within a garage include U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,983 to Piper. This patent discloses an alarm device which will signal the desired parking position of a vehicle in a garage. The device utilizes a roof mounted antenna which contacts a depending arm when the vehicle reaches the desired position within a garage. Pivotal movement of the arm triggers an audio alarm to cause the driver to stop further movement of the vehicle. However, the Piper device suffers several problems. First, structure is required to project upwardly from the vehicle and downwardly from the garage ceiling. Such projecting structures may become entangled with projections on the vehicle, especially if a different vehicle is parked within the garage. In addition, the mechanical functioning of the apparatus includes many parts which may require repair or replacement, thereby increasing the cost of the apparatus.
Another apparatus known in the art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,378 to Heckethorn. The Heckethorn device eliminates much of the suspended structure disclosed in Piper, but becomes relatively expensive because of the required interconnection with an automatic garage door opener. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to solar cells, and more particularly to devices and methods which employ a single chamber process for fabricating photovoltaic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fabrication of amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells is performed in a multi-chamber cluster tool. Constituent active layers in such devices include a p-type layer (or p-layer), an intrinsic layer (or i-layer) and an n-type layer (or n-layer), collectively a p-i-n or pin stack. The p, i and n (e.g., a-Si:H) layers are deposited in separate chambers, which results in reduced manufacturing efficiency.
In some processes, a same chamber is reconfigured for the deposition of each new layer. Solar cell fabrication using the single chamber suffers from drawbacks. For example, when diborane is used for a p-type dopant source (e.g., boron), boron is left over in the chamber. This results in a higher probability of the p-i interface being contaminated, resulting in poor device performance.
In another example, when trimethylborane (TMB) is used for a p-type dopant source, less boron is left over. However, for materials, e.g., a-Ge:H, a-Si:H, etc., it is extremely difficult to provide boron to these films without contaminating reactants being present (the process is not flexible for all device materials). TMB is also an order of magnitude more expensive than diborane doping, and unintentional carbon doping often occurs resulting in poor doping activation. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Hematopoiesis is the process by which blood cells develop and differentiate from pluripotent stem cells in the bone marrow. This process involves a complex interplay of polypeptide growth factors (cytokines) acting via membrane-bound receptors on the target cells. Cytokine action results in cellular proliferation and differentiation, with a response to a particular cytokine often being lineage-specific and/or stage-specific. Development of a single cell type, such as a platelet, from a stem cell may require the coordinated action of a plurality of cytokines acting in the proper sequence.
The known cytokines include the interleukins, such as IL-1, IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, IL-8, etc.; and the colony stimulating factors, such as G-CSF, M-CSF, GM-CSF, erythropoietin (EPO), etc. In general, the interleukins act as mediators of immune and inflammatory responses. The colony stimulating factors stimulate the proliferation of marrow-derived cells, activate mature leukocytes, and otherwise form an integral part of the host's response to inflammatory, infectious, and immunologic challenges.
Various cytokines have been developed as therapeutic agents. For example, erythropoietin, which stimulates the development of erythrocytes, is used in the treatment of anemia arising from renal failure. Several of the colony stimulating factors have been used in conjunction with cancer chemotherapy to speed the recovery of patients' immune systems. Interleukin-2, .alpha.-interferon and .gamma.-interferon are used in the treatment of certain cancers. An activity that stimulates megakaryocytopoiesis and thrombocytopoiesis has been identified in body fluids of thrombocytopenic animals and is referred to in the literature as "thrombopoietin" (recently reviewed by McDonald, Exp. Hematol. 16:201-205, 1988 and McDonald, Am. J. Ped. Hematol. Oncol. 14:8-21, 1992).
Recently, several groups have identified and/or cloned a protein that binds to the cellular mpl receptor and stimulates megakaryocytopoiesis and thrombocytopoiesis. See, de Sauvage et al., Nature 369:533-538, 1994; Lok et al., Nature 369:565-568, 1994; Kaushansky et al., Nature 369:568-571, 1994; Wendling et al., Nature 369:571-574, 1994; and Bartley et al., Cell 77:1117-1124, 1994. It has been proposed that this protein be termed thrombopoietin (Kaushansky et al., ibid.).
Analysis of amino acid sequences indicates that the mature mouse TPO extends from amino acid residue 45 (Ser) to residue 379 (Thr) of SEQ ID NO: 2. The predicted amino terminus of the human protein corresponds precisely to the demonstrated mature amino terminus for recombinant murine TPO (Lok et al., ibid.), i.e. it is at Ser (22) of SEQ ID NO:4, with the protein extending to amino acid residue 353 of SEQ ID NO:4. TPO is subject to proteolysis and has been isolated in heterogeneous or degraded form (de Sauvage et al., Nature 369:533-538, 1994; Bartley et al., Cell 77:1117-1124, 1994). Molecular species as small as 25 kD have been found to be active in vitro (Bartley et al., ibid), and recombinant human TPO polypeptides of 153 (de Sauvage et al., ibid) and 174 amino acids (Bartley et al., ibid) have been reported as being active in vitro, as has the product of expression of the full-length human cDNA, which encodes a primary translation product of 353 amino acids (Bartley et al., ibid).
Thrombopoietin appears to be subject to proteolysis and was isolated in heterogeneous or degraded form (Bartley et al., ibid.; de Sauvage et al., ibid.). Preparations of thrombopoietin reported in the scientific literature are therefore not well characterized as to composition and the relative activities of the various molecular species, although at least some of the proteolytic products are biologically active. However, little work has been done to date on the large-scale production of thrombopoietin, and there remains a need in the art for methods of producing the protein in large amounts and in a cost-effective manner. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Crude oil is currently the source of most commodity and specialty organic chemicals. Many of these chemicals are employed in the manufacture of polymers and other materials. Examples include ethylene, propylene, styrene, bisphenol A, terephthalic acid, adipic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylene diamine, adiponitrile, caprolactone, acrylic acid, acrylonitrile, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,3-propanediol, and others. Crude oil is first refined into hydrocarbon intermediates such as ethylene, propylene, benzene, and cyclohexane. These hydrocarbon intermediates are then typically selectively oxidized using various processes to produce the desired chemical. For example, crude oil is refined into cyclohexane which is then selectively oxidized to “KA oil” which is then further oxidized for the production of adipic acid, an important industrial monomer used for the production of nylon 6,6. Many known processes are employed industrially to produce these petrochemicals from precursors found in crude oil. For example, see Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley 2009 (7th edition), which is incorporated herein by reference.
For many years there has been an interest in using biorenewable materials as a feedstock to replace or supplement crude oil. See, for example, Klass, Biomass for Renewable Energy, Fuels, and Chemicals, Academic Press, 1998, which is incorporated herein by reference. Moreover, there have been efforts to produce adipic acid from renewable resources using processes involving a combination of biocatalytic and chemocatalytic processes. See, for example, “Benzene-Free Synthesis of Adipic Acid”, Frost et al. Biotechnol. Prog. 2002, Vol. 18, pp. 201-211, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,400,468, and 5,487,987.
One of the major challenges for converting biorenewable resources such as carbohydrates (e.g. glucose derived from starch, cellulose or sucrose) to current commodity and specialty chemicals is the selective removal of oxygen atoms from the carbohydrate. Approaches are known for converting carbon-oxygen single bonds to carbon-hydrogen bonds. See, for example: U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,960; U.S. Patent App. Pub. US2007/0215484 and Japanese Patent No. 78,144,506. Each of these known approaches suffers from various limitations and we believe that, currently, none of such methods are used industrially for the manufacture of specialty or industrial chemicals.
Thus, there remains a need for new, industrially scalable methods for the selective and commercially-meaningful conversion of carbon-oxygen single bonds to carbon-hydrogen bonds, especially as applied in connection with the production of chemicals from polyhydroxyl-containing substrates (e.g., glucaric acid), and especially for the production of chemicals from polyhydroxyl-containing biorenewable materials (e.g., glucose derived from starch, cellulose or sucrose) to important chemical intermediates such as adipic acid. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Currently, the Viterbi algorithm is used to be implemented with either hard or soft decision decoder, which is stated hereinafter.
All the major wireless communication systems in use today use convolution channel codes. The Viterbi algorithm is the dominant method of decoding the convolution codes. The Viterbi algorithm is implemented using either hard or soft decision decoder. The soft-decision decoder is the recommended scheme to use with the Viterbi decoder because it provides a coding gain over hard decision Viterbi decoder. The Viterbi algorithm is a maximum likelihood rule which is optimum for an AWGN channel. For hard decision Viterbi decoder, the samples corresponding to a single bit of a codeword are quantized to two levels zero and one, a decision is made as whether each transmitted bit in a codeword is zero or one. The coding gain of the soft decision decoder with respect to hard decision increases to a little bit more than 2 dB for higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The soft-decision Viterbi decoder is implemented using soft decision demodulation. The path metrics in the Viterbi algorithm are calculated by weighting the square Hamming distance between the soft decision and the reference value. A four-level discrete symmetric channel model is used for the soft decision decoder. The receiver assigns one of four values to each received signal. The underlined zero and one indicate the reception of a strong signal, while the non-underlined pair denotes the reception of a weaker signal. The four-level soft-decision Viterbi decoder is almost exactly as shown for the hard-decision case, the only difference being the increased number of path metrics. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Internet web sites continue to become more sophisticated and offer a wider variety of media for a user to access. With this trend, users have become more demanding of quick, high quality Internet experiences. As such, to be able to keep up with user's demands, it has become increasingly important for the providers of Internet content to be able to monitor and troubleshoot Internet performance issues to both avoid degraded performance and provide improved performance.
Given this, systems have been developed for measuring relevant network parameters to evaluate network performance and help troubleshoot network issues which might degrade network performance. Generally, such systems utilize computer servers deployed on a network of interest to measure network performance parameters. Such computer servers are generally referred to as data collection agents. (DCAs). A DCA generally connects to a device in the network about which a measurement is desired and takes one or more measurements of one or more predetermined metrics. The DCA then typically stores the results of the measurement either locally or in a remote database. The stored measurements can then be called up and reviewed by a user who accesses the agent.
Such systems can typically measure metrics related to either Universal Resource Locator (URL) objects (such as a web page located on a server on the network) or streaming media objects. URL objects and streaming media objects are collectively referred to herein as network services. With respect to URL objects, such metrics can include, but are not limited to:
End-to-End Time (Seconds): The time taken from the moment a user clicks on a link to the instant the page is fully downloaded and displayed. It encompasses the collection of all objects making up a page including, but not limited to, third party content on off-site servers, graphics, frames, and redirections.
Throughput (KB/Sec): The amount of data streamed back to the user and how long it took (in kilobytes per second). The calculation is based on adding all data segments returned (for example, but not limited to, the body of Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) documents and images) and dividing that by the total time it took to return that part of the data. It is to be understood that browsers and servers are requesting objects in parallel so throughput does not represent the limit of a Web server in returning data.
DNS (Domain Name System) Lookup (Seconds): The time it takes for the browser to turn the text based hostname (e.g., “www.yahoo.com”) into an IP address (207.221.189.100).
Connect Time (Seconds): The time it takes to set up a network connection from the end-user's browser to a web site. A web page is transferred over this connection and many are setup for each page.
Request Time (Seconds): The time it takes to send a request from a user's browser to a server. This is a relevant amount of time if you are submitting a large form (e.g., a message on an email service), or uploading a file (e.g., an attachment to a message on a discussion board). It reflects the ability of a server to accept data.
Response Time (Seconds): The time it takes for a server to respond with content to the browser. Preferably, this measurement is taken by waiting until the first byte of content is returned to the browser.
Teardown Time (Seconds): The time it takes for the browser and server to disconnect from each other.
Download Time (Seconds): The time for the page download from the start of the first object to the end of the last object.
The unit in parenthesis following the name of the metric is the unit in which the measurement is generally taken and recorded.
With respect to Streaming media objects, such metrics include, but are not limited to:
DNS Lookup Time (seconds): This metric is generally the same as the DNS lookup time for URL type objects.
Quantity of Data Received (bytes or bits): The absolute amount of data gathered by the DCA if a stream had been rendered.
Packet Loss (number): The number of packets that are not received by the media monitor.
Percent Packet Loss (number): The percentage of total packets that are not received by the media monitor.
Packets Received (number): The total number of packets received by the media monitor.
Packets Late (number): The number of packets received too late to functionally render.
Packets Resend Requested (number): The number of packets that have been requested to be resent. This metric preferably applies to REALMEDIA® streams, i.e., streams according to protocols of Real Networks, Inc.
Packets Recovered (number): The number of packets for which some type of corrective action is taken. “Corrective action” typically means requesting that the missing or broken packets be resent. This metric preferably applies to REALMEDIA® streams, i.e., streams according to protocols of Real Networks, Inc.
Packets Resent (number): (Also known as packets resend received) the number of packets asked for again (the packets resend requested metric) and were received. This metric preferably applies to REALMEDIA® streams, i.e., streams according to protocols of Real Networks, Inc.
Packets Received Normally (number): The number of packets received by the media monitor from the streaming media server without incident.
Current Bandwidth (bytes/second): The rate at which data are received measured over a relatively small time frame.
Clip Bandwidth (bytes/second): The rate at which data are received measured over the length of the entire stream or over a relatively long predetermined timeframe.
Results of the above measurements can be used to help determine whether network services operating up to standard. In the context of the Internet, results of the above URL object measurements can, for instance, indicate whether a web page is downloading consistently, at a high enough speed, or completely. The results of measurements of the above streaming media parameters can help determine the same information with respect to a streaming media object.
However, while important diagnostic information can be collected about the current status of a particular web page or streaming media service by making individual or random measurements of one or more of the above noted network performance metrics, it can be difficult to use this testing method to fully diagnose performance. For example, using such techniques it can be difficult to determine the performance of a network over time or during certain times of the day, days of the week, or parts of the year. Thus, it can be difficult to detect, and predict, cycles in network operation, such as if a network operates more and less rapidly on a periodic basis. Such information could be useful in determining how other network parameters such as network traffic load, which likely varies over a day, week or year period, effects performance of network services.
Without such information, individual measurements may be misleading. For example, an unsatisfactory results of such measurements may be caused by high or low network traffic load, rather than a specific problem with a network device. Also, using the above described standard techniques, it can be difficult to provide any type of predictive event correlation. For example, what, if any is the effect of degradation of DNS lookup time on overall network service performance during specific time periods? Such predictive information can help providers of network services to set appropriate expectations of network performance for customers of such providers. Additionally, such predictive information can facilitate troubleshooting of root causes relating to network, application and third party content (e.g., banner ads on a web site) issues.
Further, in order to determine whether a particular network service is operating appropriately using the above described methods, a user must initiate measurement of one or more network performance metrics, retrieve and then analyze the result. That is, there is no way for a system that does no more than take measurements of network performance metrics to notify a user if a artwork is not operating correctly because there is no baseline or other reference available to the system to make such a determination.
What is needed is a system for measuring network performance metrics which allows a user to take into account network conditions, such a traffic load, when analyzing the measurement. Also, the system should allow a user to be able to make predictions about network performance at a given time. Additionally, such a system should be automated and should be able to analyze and present measurement results in a manner which is meaningful and straightforward to interpret. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a fin-shaped semiconductor layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor integrated circuits, in particular, integrated circuits that use MOS transistors, are becoming more and more highly integrated. As the circuits achieve higher integration, the size of MOS transistors used therein is reduced to a nanometer range. With smaller MOS transistors, it sometimes becomes difficult to suppress leak current and to decrease the area occupied by the circuit since a particular amount of current is required. Under these circumstances, a surrounding gate transistor (hereinafter referred to as SGT), which includes a source, a gate, and a drain arranged in perpendicular to a substrate, the gate surrounding a pillar-shaped semiconductor layer, has been proposed (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2-71556, 2-188966, and 3-145761).
Using a metal in the gate electrode instead of polysilicon helps suppress depletion and decrease the resistance of the gate electrode. However, this requires a production process that always takes into account metal contamination caused by the metal gate in the steps subsequent to formation of the metal gate.
To produce existing MOS transistors, a metal-gate-last process in which a metal gate is formed after a high temperature process is put into practice so as to avoid incompatibility between the metal gate process and the high temperature process (for example, refer to A 45 nm Logic Technology with High-k+Metal Gate Transistors, Strained Silicon, 9 Cu Interconnect Layers, 193 nm Dry Patterning, and 100% Pb-free Packaging, IEDM2007 K. Mistry et. al, pp 247-250).
That is, a MOS transistor has been made by forming a gate with polysilicon, depositing an interlayer insulating film on the polysilicon, exposing the polysilicon gate by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), etching the polysilicon gate, and depositing a metal. In order to avoid incompatibility between the metal gate process and the high temperature process, it is also necessary for producing a SGT to employ a metal-gate-last process with which a metal gate is formed after a high temperature process. Since the upper part of a pillar-shaped silicon layer of a SGT is located at a position higher than the gate, some adjustment must be made in employing the metal-gate-last process.
An existing MOS transistor uses a first insulating film in order to decrease the parasitic capacitance between the gate line and the substrate. For example, in making a FINFET (refer to High performance 22/20 nm FinFET CMOS devices with advanced high-K/metal gate scheme, IEDM2010, C C. Wu, et. al, 27.1.1-27.1.4, for example), a first insulating film is formed around one fin-shaped semiconductor layer and then etched back so as to expose the fin-shaped semiconductor layer and to decrease the parasitic capacitance between the gate line and the substrate. In making a SGT also, a first insulating film is needed to reduce the parasitic capacitance between the gate line and the substrate. Since a SGT includes not only a fin-shaped semiconductor layer but also a pillar-shaped semiconductor layer, some adjustment must be made in order to form a pillar-shaped semiconductor layer.
According to a known SGT manufacturing process, a contact hole for a pillar-shaped silicon layer is formed by etching through a mask and then contact holes for a gate line and a planar silicon layer are formed by etching through a mask (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-258780). That is, conventionally, two masks have been used for forming contacts. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a numerically-controlled machine tool (hereinafter referred to as "a machining center", when applicable) which has a tool magazine accommodating a plurality of tools which are automatically replaced by a tool exchanging arm, and can display the tool numbers assigned to the tools in the magazine.
In general, in the case where, in a machining center having a tool magazine accommodating tools, tools for which numbers assigned to the tool accommodating pots of the magazine are stored as tool numbers must be returned to the respective pots. Accordingly, in returning a tool, the tool magazine must be positioned during the standby period so that its own pot comes to the tool exchange position, and it is necessary to provide an auxiliary station for the machining center to grasp the next tool.
In the case where coded tool numbers are provided on the tools themselves, or tool numbers are stored in the memory device of a control unit in advance, the tools themselves have their own tool numbers, and therefore it is not always necessary to return the tools to the predetermined pots. However, a satisfactory display means for recognizing the tool numbers are not provided for the conventional machining center, and means for showing the change of all of the tool numbers due to tool displacement or exchange is not provided for the machining center. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
While numerous dispensing-type boxes have been devised for storing and dispensing particulate materials, many of these known boxes have utilized a dispensing structure having a flap which is a portion of the box and must be perforated from the box in order to form an opening. This type of structure has proven undesirable since the perforation of the flap so as to form the opening often results in tearing or damage to the box. Other known dispensing-type boxes have utilized a flap covering a preformed opening, which flap is secured to the box throughout the complete edge thereof. This structure has also proved undesirable since the flap can be released from the box only with some difficulty, and this difficulty often results in undesired tearing of either the flap or the box.
Another disadvantage of most known dispensing-type boxes is their inability to be manufactured in large sizes so as to be capable of holding a substantial quantity of material, specifically a heavy material. While some boxes have been provided with handle structures associated therewith, nevertheless most of these known handle structures have been extremely complex so that they accordingly result in the overall manufacturing time and cost of the box being substantially increased, or in the alternative they have been extremely flimsy so that they are subject to tearing or breakage. Further, many of the known handle structures have been rigid and have not permitted the compact shipping and storage of a large plurality of similar boxes.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved dispensing-type box which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages. Particularly, the dispensing-type box of the present invention provides, in combination, an improved dispensing and handle structure associated integrally with the box to permit the efficient pouring of particular material from the box.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing-type box, as aforesaid, which is particularly adaptable for manufacturing in large sizes to permit storage therein of a substantial quantity of a particular material, which box can be efficiently and safely handled to permit dispensing of material therefrom without fear of breakage or tearing of the box.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing-type box, as aforesaid, which is extremely economical to both manufacture and assemble, which when in a closed condition is of a block-like configuration to facilitate the compact shipping and storage of same and of a large plurality of similar boxes, and which can be easily and efficiently opened and utilized for dispensing material without causing damage to either the dispensing or handle structures.
Other objects and purposes of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, will be apparent to persons familiar with structures of this type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The term botnet refers to a group of compromised host computers (bots) that are controlled by a small number of commander hosts generally referred to as Command and Control (C&C) servers. Botnets have been widely used for sending large quantities of spam emails. By programming a large number of distributed bots, where each bot sends only a few emails, spammers can effectively transmit thousands of spam emails in a short duration. To date, detecting and blacklisting individual bots is difficult due to the transient nature of the attack and because each bot may send only a few spam emails. Furthermore, despite the increasing awareness of botnet infections and associated control processes, there is little understanding of the aggregated behavior of botnets from the perspective of email servers that have been targets of large scale botnet spamming attacks. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention is related in general to flashing warning lights, and, more particularly, to the provision of a high luminous intensity flashing warning light using superluminescent light emitting diodes for improved visibility and lower power consumption than conventional devices.
Flashing (i. e. intermittently or periodically illuminated) lights have long been used to provide visual warnings, and a considerable body of research has been compiled in the fields of physiology, psychology and engineering (and more recently in that hybrid field known as "human factors engineering") concerning human perception of flashing light (i. e. the ability of people to perceive and respond to flashing light). This field of study, which is inter-disciplinary, involves both the illumination art and the study of so-called psycho-visual or psycho-optical sensory phenomena.
From research and study in this field, a large number of factors have been identified and suggested as involved in the human perception of and reaction to flashing light, and although much knowledge on the subject is theoretically based and remains to be confirmed, there have been suggested certain factors which may be applied to the provision of a flashing warning light for improving the visibility of a flashing light, that is, for making a flashing light visible at a greater distance (i. e. "visibility"), and for enhancing the probability that people will not only perceive (i. e. see) the flashing light but will also react consciously thereto (i. e. "attention-getting").
It is suggested for example from the study of human factors that human visual perception of flashing light appears greatest when the light is flashed at a flash rate or frequency in the range of 3 to 10 flashes per second, with a flash duration of at least 0.05 seconds being recommended. Further, for the flashing of a light to be perceived as discrete flashes, the flash rate or frequency must be below the so-called "flicker-fusion" frequency, that is the frequency above which a flashing light appears as a steady light (i. e. due to the phenomenon of "persistence of vision"), this critical frequency being considered to be approximately 24-30 flashes per second.
For simplicity, hereinafter flash rate or frequency will be described in terms of "flashes-per-second" (fps).
Research has revealed other factors to be pertinent concerning perception of light in general, and flashing light in particular. For example, according to Fechner's Law the sensation of light as produced by the eye varies logarithmically with the intensity of the stimulus.
Luminance discrimination has also been experimentally studied, with regard to what psychosensory mechanisms are involved in discerning or seeing light flashes and in discriminating luminance differences between light flashes, in an attempt to establish psychometric curves for these functions. For example, it has been attempted to demonstrate that there are two discrete detection channels, one for long flashes and one for short flashes. Experiments have shown that different slopes are obtained for psychometric curves measured with short and long flashes. The explanation favored is that the visual system is not homogenous; there are at least two detection channels with inherently different slopes, and it is believed that these can be differentially tapped by varying test flash parameters. Results of some experiments tend to confirm this, and suggest that whereas the long flash detection channel is photometrically subtractive or subadditive, the short flash detection channel is photometrically additive and has a much steeper psychometric function slope than the long flash detection channel. It is further suggested that the psychometric function slopes of the different visual sensory channels vary differently as a function of wavelength, and it has been adduced that all three channels of the visual system do not have the same gain but rather differ in spectral sensitivity.
An interesting question concerns the relationship between the light detection and the flicker threshold. When flashes are supplied within a certain interval, they are perceived as being fused and are indistinguishable from continuously supplied light. It has been almost 150 years since it was shown that, under fused circumstances, the mean intensity over time is independent of the actual light-dark ratio. A further question concerns how many extra quanta of light must be added to flashes perceived as fused at the absolute threshold of vision to perceive a flickering light again, or more precisely, in order to see a regular high-frequency flickering light again (since fused light at threshold level is perceived as irregular flickering light). It is has been previously shown that the visual perception system's processing of quantal effects at low luminance levels is essentially nonlinear. Flicker can be detected either by the "on response" or by the "off response" of the visual system to a flash of light. In the case of the on response, extra light quanta have to be supplied so that the threshold set by the adaptational state induced by the previous stimuli is exceeded. A larger interval between flashes leads to a lowering of the adaptational state (because of a decrease of the flux) and thus to lower thresholds. In the case of the off response, the excitation state has to decrease by a certain amount in order to exceed the decrement threshold. If flashes last long enough for a stable adaptation level to be reached, then the threshold no longer depends on the actual flash duration. Experimental results have shown that after 100 msec this stable level can be reached and maintained by a constant intensity in the flashes.
With regard to critical fusion frequency as a function of mean intensity at low luminance levels, it is has been suggested that the critical fusion frequency increases from 6 to 25 Hz with increasing stimulus size. It has also been found that, at higher luminance levels, brief flashes need a longer interval to elicit flicker perception than do long-lasting flashes.
In summary, it may be concluded that simple flashes of light elicit a whole range of complex responses from the visual system relating to retinal potentials, subcortical potentials, primary-visual-cortex and associated area potentials, and generalized non-specific responses of the cortex.
Various different types of flashing lights have been known to be used for providing visual alert or warning lights, and have employed incandescent lamps, rare gas discharge lamps and, more recently, light emitting diodes as an illumination means, with some associated control circuitry. However, each of these previous types of illumination means has its disadvantages. Further, the design and operation of such previous types of flashing lights did not take into account the various factors such as flash rates and durations for optimizing the psychosensory perception of flashing light. Still further, the previous flashing light devices could not provide effective light output with low power consumption (i. e. efficiency) at desirable high flash rates, or could not do so without severely sacrificing device power consumption and reliability of the light source, and thus could not provide reliable low power operation and were thus not suitable for use in portable lightweight battery powered equipment.
For example, while incandescent light sources have commonly been used in flashing warning lights, there is the problem that, typically, incandescent light sources are not able to come to full brightness and to then cool off to extinction (i. e. turn on and off) within the higher optimum flash rate frequencies for attracting attention; the flashing character of tungsten-filament lamps is typically degraded significantly above flash rates of 9 fps. Furthermore, because of the inherent thermal inertia of incandescent light sources (once turned sufficiently on to emit light, there is a significant delay in extinction to the off state), such light sources cannot provide flashes of relatively short duration, nor can such light sources provide adequate on-off contrast when operated at higher flash rates. As a consequence, incandescent light sources are not suitable for use as warning lights at those flash rates and flash duration periods to which human visual perception is most sensitive but are constrained to use at lower frequencies and longer flash periods.
Still further, incandescent lamps are inefficient due to their emission of considerable energy at wavelengths outside the visual spectrum, and suffer inherent increased power loss, thermal inertia and filament degradation when operated at higher intensity and/or flash rates. An incandescent flashing light with adequate intensity for outdoor use usually requires larger size batteries to compensate for the excessive power loss in the form of heat, thus rendering it impractical for applications requiring reasonably small size and light weight necessary for portability. Durability of incandescent flashing lights is also degraded due to the thermal stress on the filament and mechanical shocks received by the filament.
Rare gas discharge lamps (e. g. Xenon, Argon flash tube lamps and strobes), while capable of operation at higher flash rates are, however, limited to extremely short flash durations which cannot be lengthened. Thus, such light sources are incapable of longer flash duty cycle operation. Furthermore, rare gas discharge lamps are relatively expensive and must necessarily be energized with high voltages and currents, and thus flashing warning lights of this type require complex charging and discharging circuits and consume considerable power. Furthermore, a large amount of energy is required to produce the flashing action of a rare-gas lamp; it tends to deplete ordinary batteries quickly if flashed at an optimal frequency of 3 to 12 Hz continuously such as that required by a warning light. Therefore, rare-gas discharge lights for extended flashing time are only feasible where a large power source is available, such as the utility power, or a power generator, but not in a portable application. Furthermore, being glass-encased, gas discharge flash tubes are susceptible to mechanical shock damage and to gas leakage rendering them inoperative.
Ordinary light emitting diodes (LEDS) are relatively durable mechanically and electrically (as long as their current supply is properly limited) and most readily lend themselves to low voltage-low current operation and electronic control for both flash rate frequency and duration. However such ordinary LEDs as have previously been used as light sources in flashing warning lights were of insufficiently low light intensity output. Hence the use of such low luminosity light emitting sources in visual warning devices has been of limited effectiveness, being restricted to subdued light environments such as for indoor activities, or where the ambient or background light level is quite low so that sufficient contrast can be obtained with the relatively dim illumination intensity of ordinary LEDs to render them visible against a background. Thus, ordinary LED flashers have only found wide application in toys, jewelry and other devices where visibility requirements are not critical. Examples of such prior devices are found disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,786,246 and 3,812,614 (flying disc type toys); U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,572 (clothing ornament); U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,036 (jewelry); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,244 (skate wheel).
In order to be both effective and practical, a portable warning light should satisfy at least the following five requirements:
1. Adequate visibility, and attention-getting quotient, which involve considerations of various factors such as the luminous intensity as well as the on-off contrast ratio of the light source, flash rate/frequency, and flash duration/period;
2. Controllability, which involves the relative ease of controlling the light source for effective flash rate frequency and flash duration;
3. Extended operating battery life, which is a critical factor and requires balancing the interdependent factors of the power available, the light output intensity, and the permissible weight of the device;
3. Durability, which concerns the reliability of the device;
4. Light weight and small size, which requirements constrain the use of large and/or heavy batteries and thus affects the available power, limiting permissible power consumption in order to achieve adequate operating life; and
5. Cost, which is often of paramount concern since complex devices not only adversely affect economy in manufacture, but also the applicability of such devices to use by consumers.
Unfortunately, although numerous prior flashing light devices are known, these prior devices have failed to meet or satisfy all of the above-noted requirements for use in a portable flashing warning light.
Various prior safety flasher light devices have been proposed. Exemplary of such prior devices are those safety lights disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,423,473 and 4,451,871. In these devices, a penlight battery power supply is coupled to an ordinary LED mounted within a lensed reflector housing by means of a position sensitive mercury switch, so that, when the device is worn or carried, the position sensitive switch will on account of sensing the wearer's movements connect power to the LED to cause intermittent bursts of light to be emitted thereby. It is described that because power is supplied only intermittently to the LED, the light source LED may be operated from a battery source which provides current to the light source LED in excess of its maximum current rating to provide light of greater intensity than is normally producible from such light source (i. e. an ordinary low luminosity LED). Such a device however does not produce flashes at any particular effective flash rate (apart from being responsive to the rhythm of the wearer's motions sensed thereby), nor of any particular flash duration and thus is not optimal for attracting attention, nor reliable since it regularly will subject the LED to an overcurrent condition which while perhaps brief risks damaging the LED junction nevertheless should the mercury switch connection remain on for too long. Another motion-switched intermittently flashed safety light device is disclosed from U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,392.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,258 there is disclosed a safety belt with flashing LEDs for joggers in which an array of LEDs arranged along a reflective belt are connected to a battery-powered oscillator circuit including two separate oscillators, one oscillating at <1 to 5 Hz, and another oscillating at 3 Hz. Sets or subsets of the LEDs in the array are alternately driven by connecting these oscillators to opposite nodes of the array, such that one oscillator forwardly biases the LEDs and the other oscillator reversely biases the LEDS, such that LEDs of different sets are driven only when forwardly biased and thus flash alternately. However, such a device is only suitable for low ambient light conditions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,135 there is shown a bicycle lighting device in which strings of LEDS are mounted along the frame tubes of a bicycle and flashed in sequence to provide a broadside flashing triangular slow moving vehicle signal to motorists. U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,230 shows a string of LEDs adapted to be secured to the spokes of a bicycle wheel.
Other portable safety flasher lights are known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,153,745; 3,840,853; and 4,323,879. Flashing or blinking signal light devices for bicycles and other vehicles are also known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,661,406; 3,764,976; 3,916,377; 3,974,369; 3,987,409; 4,019,171; 4,388,559; 4,550,305; 4,598,339; and 4,692,736.
The use of light emitting diodes instead of incandescent lamps in flasher lights offers advantages in longevity and lower power requirements. Devices using flashing LEDs are also known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,737,722; 4,228,484,; and 4,228,485. U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,408 discloses an array of LEDs mounted on a reflectorized substrate to form a colored light source, for use in signs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,629 discloses a vehicle marker light for end-of-train equipment use having arrays of LEDs which are driven to be flashed at prescribed or different flash repetition rates at night or during other low visibility conditions.
However, none of the known devices satisfactorily meet the myriad requirements for an effective portable safety warning flasher of high attention-getting visibility at low power consumption and light weight with low cost and high reliability, and thus there has remained a need for a device which can satisfy these requirements.
In copending prior U.S. patent application No. 07/420,068 there was disclosed a battery-powered flashing superluminescent light emitting diode warning flasher light directed to resolving the above stated requirements by taking advantage of the unique characteristics of recently commercially available so-called "Superluminescent" or "Superbright" lightemitting diodes (otherwise known simply as "superluminescent diodes" and abbreviated hereinafter for convenience as "SLDs"). SLDs are known for example from U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,928 and have semiconductor device constructions which provide relatively broad spectral width light output when operating at relatively high powers. Commercially available SLDs emit light at powers as high as 4-6 milliwatts or more in steady state, and are relatively inexpensive, not being very much more costly than ordinary low-luminosity LEDS. For example, the "Radio Shack" catalog lists as available a 5,000 mcd SLD (No. 276-086), and a 21000 mcd SLD rated at 20 milliamp at 1.85VDC (No. 276-087) as well as a blinking high intensity GaAlAs device with 1,200 mcd output and an 8 .degree. viewing angle and rated at approximately 40 milliamps at 1.7VDC (No. 276-020).
For purposes of the present description, a superluminescent light emitting diode (SLD) may be defined as one which has a light output (luminosity) of 1,000 millicandels or more per 20 milliAmperes supply current input when driven by a power signal current at 3 to 12 Hz with a variable duty ratio of 10 to 40%.
Furthermore, an SLD consumes only 20 milliamperes to generate its rated nominal light output (above 1,000 milliCandels). Since light emitted from an SLD is generated by the quantum release of light energy by excited electrons at the P-N junction of the diode (rather than by thermal radiation), its efficiency while less than that of other electroluminescent devices is still phenomenal especially when compared with conventional light sources since the light output spectrum of an SLD can be selected to fall completely within the visible range and the spectral bandwidth of the light output can be varied to increase with increasing optical output power. Higher operating power can be achieved in a pulse mode, and pulsed radiation output power of 50 mW has been obtained from SLDS. As a specific example, for one GaAlAs/GaAs red SLD device commercially available from Sharp Corporation of Japan under the model designation no. GL5R43, the manufacturer specifies an absolute maximum peak forward current rating of 300mA when the SLD is driven in a pulse mode with a pulse width of 1msec or less and a pulse duty cycle of 1/16 (approximately 6%), however under these rated conditions the actual pulse/flash frequency is approximately 60Hz which is well beyond the resolving response frequency limits of the human eye, so that such pulsing of the SLD is not discernible as discrete flashes.
The battery-powered flashing SLD safety warning light disclosed in copending prior U.S. application No. 07/420,068 uses a unique double oscillation circuit to effect the flashing of one or more SLDS. This type of drive arrangement takes advantage of the short rise and fall time of an SLD, typically in a fraction of a microsecond. The copending prior application also discloses a novel method of pulsing an SLD between the full on and full off states in the attention getting frequencies of 3 to 12 Hz. In accordance with the disclosed method of the copending application, the duty cycle of an SLD can be easily varied, preferably between 10 to 40%, to maintain a high on-off contrast ratio which further enhances the perceptibility of the light. In general, the double oscillator circuit allows a low frequency pulse drive signal (3 Hz to 12 Hz) to "gate" a high frequency (1 kHz to 5 kHz) drive pulse train (FIG. 2). By doing so, the emitted light appears to the human eye as 3 to 12 Hz flashes, while the SLD is actually being pulsed at the most efficient high frequency range (above 1 kHz) during the on-time of the low frequency period. Since the human eye cannot resolve pulsing light above 30 Hz, the high frequency pulsing above 1 kHz occurring during the "on time" period of the low frequency duration will appear only as a continuous illumination within each low frequency pulse period.
Battery-powered flashing superluminescent light emitting diode warning flasher lights have wide usefulness in applications in the field and on unpowered, horse-drawn and human-powered vehicles and where no other power source is available, for example as bicycle-mounted safety lights, bicyclist and jogger safety lights, road hazard flasher lights, breakdown warning lights, and as slow-moving vehicle warning lights. Other applications include electrically lighted ornaments, apparel ornaments, "electronic safety flares", helmet-mounted safety lights, emergency flasher lights, roadside construction site warning flasher lights, shoe lights, roller skate lights, hunter visibility safety lights, traffic control and warning lights, driveway lights, runway and helipad marker and landing "strobe" lights and traffic wands. The use of a small battery power source which is rechargeable by a solar energy converter (i. e. solar cell) make such applications even more advantageous by making battery replacement unnecessary or at least a less frequent necessity, an important consideration in remote locations.
The present invention can be used with multiple SLDS of a single emission color or with multiple SLDs of different emission colors. When groups of SLDs of different emission colors are used, these groups of differently colored SLDs can be turned on and off simultaneously to produce a color different from that of any of the SLDs' singly. Furthermore, groups of multiple color SLDs can be operated in such a way that each color group of SLDs are turned on and off simultaneously and sequentially in a manner that produces leading and trailing effects in combination with the chosen colors. In this way, even greater spectral width of the light output can be obtained, compensating for the spectral shift in the eye's response to light as may occur at twilight and dawn, and providing an enhanced visually perceptible effect for attracting the attention of observers.
Furthermore, because of the combination of high luminosity afforded by the utilization of SLDS, the novel drive technique implemented herein therefor and the tailoring of the flash rate and duration made possible by the present invention, the flashing light output signal from the present invention may be easily optimized for attracting attention in a manner offering a significant optical or visual effect enhancement over conventional warning lights, in accordance with psychosensory precepts, while providing a compact, simple low cost flashing safety warning light device having substantially improved reliability and long operating life with inexpensive low voltage battery power.
The present invention is amenable to various implementations for flashing safety warning lights, both portable and otherwise. As noted above, one possible implementation is as an "electronic flare", e. g. for disabled vehicles, while another possible implementation is as a substitute for the incandescent "blinker" lights as are commonly mounted on saw-horse stands for marking hazards and construction areas along roadways, with the benefit of extended operating life and reliability. The applicability of the present invention is not limited to warning indicators, however, as the brilliant flashing light produced by the present invention will also be useful anywhere a portable flashing light for getting attention might be desired, such as on advertising displays, wearing apparel, toys, campaign buttons, etc. And as noted above, portable safety flashers are also usable by pedestrians and joggers for alerting motorists to their presence on and alongside roadways. In general therefore, the applicability of a low cost battery-powered portable flashing SLD light is very wide, and the exemplary uses noted should be understood to be merely illustrative and not limitative, since the present invention is of wide applicability.
As noted above, the SLD drive circuit arrangement disclosed in copending prior application No. 07/420,068, in order to efficiently and effectively flash a SLD, utilizes dual oscillators for driving the flasher SLD, a high frequency oscillator (HFO) and a low frequency oscillator (LFO) which can be used to "gate,, the output of the HFO, and a power or output driver stage for supplying drive current to the SLD(s). While such a drive arrangement is both effective and efficient, the circuitry, requiring two oscillators and a power stage, remains relatively complex to implement. This complexity arises in part from the fact that while suitable integrated circuits are available for implementing the circuit functions, the cost and power consumption of suitable ICs for use in consumer devices limits their usefulness in such a circuit arrangement where battery life and manufacturing cost are important considerations, and thus makes the use of discrete component circuitry more practical.
Furthermore, the use of a dual oscillator-power driver circuit arrangement as in copending application No. 07/420,068 is, while most effective for flashing a SLD, relatively costly to manufacture and necessarily will consume more battery power in comparison to the use of a single oscillator circuit in the oscillator stage.
Thus, it remains desirable to provide a battery-powered flashing SLD safety warning light which is simple and economical to manufacture and which is able to deliver effective illumination levels with high on-off contrast for high visibility and attention-getting performance while still providing long battery life. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to repair of metal components.
2. Description of the Related Art
The manufacture, service and/or repair of metal components, such as gas turbine engines, oftentimes require localized heating of specified areas of the components. This can be done, for example, to allow for stress relief, metal forming and/or brazing applications. Localized heating is preferred when processing the entire component in an isothermal heat treatment oven could adversely affect the metallographic properties of the materials of the component, or for larger parts that might warp or otherwise deform during heat treatment.
In this regard, prior art localized heating methods include resistance and induction heating. Induction heating methods tend to be costly, afford little process control, and require extensive experience of an operator in order to match induction coils to both the induction generator and the component/cross sectional area being heated. In contrast, resistance heating is somewhat limited in that the power supplies are current matched to specific heating element designs. The necessity in the prior art of matching the power supplies and the heating elements has typically resulted in rather generic heating assemblies in the form of blankets that typically are much larger than the areas that require heating. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/336,317, filed on Jan. 20, 2006, currently under notice of allowance, which was a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/081,021, filed on Feb. 21, 2002, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,051,049, both of which were filed by Jonathan Samn. This invention relates to technologies and methods for managing personal contact information, and more particularly to management of online personal contact information for real-time online collaboration, conference and message facilities.
2. Background of the Invention
Online collaboration and messaging in real-time has become very popular in recent years. Programs and services such as America Online's (“AOL”) Instant Messenger (“IM”), Microsoft's NetMeeting, and Lotus' Sametime are well-known programs and services which allow real-time white board collaboration, chatting, conference sessions and instant messaging via a corporate intranet and/or the Internet.
Using programs and services such as these, a plurality of online users may participate in a joint conference involving text messaging, application program sharing, and real-time photo and video sharing. Many companies have begun to use these services in place of actual face-to-face meetings of personnel which are physically or geographically dispersed.
During these “virtual” meetings, often times one participant will supply other participants with drawings, presentation graphics, and text for discussion. The ensuing discussion between the participants may be logged to a file for later review, which is more convenient than the record keeping mechanisms of actual physical face-to-face meetings. As such, these online virtual meetings and conversations provide advantages over traditional face-to-face meetings, not the least of which are automatic record keeping, reduced travel costs and greater convenience.
Turning to FIG. 3, the arrangement of components of these types of real-time online collaboration systems is shown. A number of collaboration clients (32) are interconnected through a computer network (31). These collaboration clients typically comprise a personal computer equipped with software such as Netscape's Navigator[™], AOL's Instant Messenger[™], or Lotus' Sametime Connect[™]client product. These collaboration clients (32) may also include other computing platforms such as personal digital assistants (“PDA”) and advanced web-enabled wireless telephones.
The collaboration clients (32) may interface to the computer network (31) through a number of well-known technologies including, but not limited to, Transmission Control/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”), dial-up modems, cable modems, asymmetric digital subscriber line (“ADSL”), or other interface technologies such as wireless interfaces.
Typically, the collaboration client (32) maintains a local contact list (33), such as AOL Instant Messenger's “buddy list” or Netscape Navigators “address book.” These contact lists (33) may take the form of simple text files, or as advanced as database files. In some cases, the contact list are stored in proprietary formats.
When an online meeting or collaboration session is established, each new participant may supply the other participants with his or her email address as he or she logs into the session. The other participants may then chose to store that email address in their local contact list. In some cases, such as with the Instant Messenger product, there are other options for users to transmit their entire contact list to other meeting participants.
In general, however, these email addresses as well as any other participant contact information which is exchanged between participants is defined and by the participants themselves. This means that a participant logging in to a virtual meeting may supply accurate and complete information regarding his or her email address and other contact data, such as telephone and company location. However, a participant may choose not to supply some of this information, or may supply incorrect information.
Another method for exchanging personnel information and automatically storing it into such a contact list is called a “vCard”. A vCard is a data record that may be attached automatically to an email message, if an email user desires to share his or her vCard with recipients of his or her messages.
A vCard which may contain a number of personal information data items as defined by the sender or originator. This may include email address (e.g. “return email address”), personal or company physical address, telephone numbers, and other descriptive information as defined by the sender.
vCards are an industry standard format data developed by a consortium including Apple, ATT, IBM, and others. Responsibility for maintaining and evolving the vCard specification was assumed by the Internet Mail Consortium (“IMC”) in 1996.
By attaching vCards to an email message, a sender may enable the recipient to automatically store information into his or her contact list which is contained in the vCard. For example, a sender of an email message may wish to enable a recipient to automatically store the sender's name, email address, telephone number, position title, and company name into the recipient's address book without having to type it. Upon receipt, the recipient can select an automatic function in his or hers email client software which extracts the information from the attached vCard and stores it into his or her local address book. Later, the recipient may use that information in the address book to address new messages, export to other application programs such as word processors and contact managers, and to load into other databases.
As all of these currently available methods and systems rely on information which is defined and supplied by the sender or the originator of the information, such as a newly joined member of a virtual online conference, these methods and systems are subject to inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the data which may be stored into the recipient's or other participant's address books or contact lists.
For example, one participant in a online conference may supply a full set of information including his name, job title, telephone numbers, and company name. Another participant in the same conference may only supply his email address. When all of the participants in the conference store all of the information supplied by the other participants into their local contact lists, they may later find that their contact list has varying levels of degree of details in the information about each of those participants (and may contain errors).
Later, when one of the participants wants to contact another participant, such as by making a telephone call to that participant, he may or not be able to find that telephone number based upon the information which was or was not supplied by the participant during the online conference.
Therefore, as the vCard industry standard and as the proprietary information standards of the various online conferencing services and suppliers do not assure accuracy or enforce uniformity of detail of the information supplied by online conference participants, the very flexibility of the system becomes a disadvantage of the systems as well.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system and a method which allow participants of online conferences and collaboration sessions to automatically store reliable and accurate information regarding the participants of those sessions. There is also a need in the art for this system and method to provide a consistent level of detail of information about each participant so that the participants may rely upon the contents of their local contact list in the future. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic component assembly formed of an intermediate connector and a unit body, wherein the unit body including electronic components is connected to a circuit board through the intermediate connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic component assembly of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. 08-31532. As shown in FIG. 3, this conventional electronic component is assembly comprises, an intermediate connector 52 provided on a circuit board 51 and a unit body 53 connected to the intermediate connector 52.
The intermediate connector 52 comprises a plate-shaped housing 54 provided in parallel to the circuit board 51 and a plurality of terminals 55 arranged through the housing 54 in two dimensional directions. Each terminal 55 comprises a lower projecting portion 55A connected to a corresponding circuit of the circuit board 51 by soldering and an upper female receiving portion 55B projecting from the upper surface of the housing 54.
The unit body 53 comprises a connector member 56 and an electronic component 57, such as an IC, mounted on the connector member 56. The connector member 56 comprises a plate-shaped housing 56A provided in parallel to the intermediate connector 51 and having a size equal to that of intermediate connector 51, and pin-like terminals 58 provided through the housing 56A. The lower part of each terminal 58 projects from the lower face of the housing 56A and the upper part thereof is connected to the electronic component 57 by a soldering ball 59. The electronic component 57 and the connector member 56 are supported by a fixing jig 60 to make the unit body 53.
Recently, there is a demand for a small electronic component assembly, especially a thin electronic component assembly. It is desirable that the electronic component assembly contains many components and contacts with minimized height.
In FIG. 3, however, the connector member 56 of the unit body 53 has only one electronic component 57 on the upper face thereof. Such an electronic component assembly does not meet the requirements for mounting a plurality of components and diversitfying the function. If other components are mounted in the vicinity of the electronic component 57, a space for wiring many connection terminals of the components is required, thus increasing the size of the assembly. | {
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} |
A cutting board is found in almost all kitchens, residential and commercial. They are usually stored during non-use, typically in a cabinet or closet, and taken out when needed, although some people like the aesthetics of a cutting board visible in the kitchen.
Cutting boards are used as a surface on which to prepare various types of foods, including fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, etc. A cutting board provides a flat work surface to slice, dice, chop, pare, and otherwise process foods to their desired size, shape and/or consistency. A cutting board protects the surface on which it is placed from damage during this processing. For those cutting boards that include a perimeter groove or channel, such groove or channel helps collect liquids and juices and/or stops those liquids and juices from spilling over the edge of the cutting board. The mobility of a cutting board helps with the disposal of wastes. Wastes that collect on a cutting board are disposed of by carrying the waste containing cutting board to a waste bin and dumping the waste.
Most people wipe off or clean a cutting board between uses for different foods to avoid undesirable effects, such as, for example, altering the taste of the foods. Especially when preparing certain types of raw foods, e.g., fish, beef, pork, and poultry, it is very important to properly clean a cutting board to remove bacteria (e.g. salmonella, listeria, and escherichia coli) and avoid food contamination (cross-contamination) and food-borne diseases. Sometimes it is important to clean a used cutting board to protect people with food allergies. For example, people with Celiac's disease cannot have their food come in contact with other foods or utensils that have gluten which requires a thorough cleaning of a cutting board after use with certain foods. Finally, most commercial kitchens must be compliant with health and safety laws and regulations which typically require proper cleaning of a cutting board before use for another food.
Cutting boards can be rinsed or washed either by hand or by placing them inside a dishwasher for cleaning like most other kitchen utensils. Washing a cutting board, however, adds time to the food preparation process and requires at least some movement in the kitchen from the location where the cutting board is being used to the sink and/or the dishwasher. When hand washing a cutting board, or even when using a dishwasher, time is also lost drying the cutting board. There is also a chance for improper or inadequate cleaning of the cutting board due to the washer's negligence and/or spatial limitations (e.g., the cutting board is larger than the sink and does fit therein for cleaning. In some instances, particularly in a commercial kitchen where a clean cutting board is often needed, multiple cutting boards are purchased and stored to decrease the amount of lost time. In some instances, storage space and counter space is limited. Accordingly, many users do not have the luxury of having multiple cutting boards in their kitchens or the extra counter and/or table surface areas on which to use multiple cutting boards.
In a crowded and/or cramped kitchen such as in many restaurants, delis, motor homes, fishing boats, and ship galleys, maneuvering around the kitchen when using a cutting board may pose difficulties, particularly when multiple people are working in such small spaces.
Some currently available cutting boards are reversible, offering two work surfaces, one on either side of the board.
When a cutting board is used on top of a table, such as in a catering hall buffet line, the server is continually wiping the excess juices away with a towel or cloth and the waste (fat or unwanted parts of the food) needs to be disposed of in a nearby garbage or bin. The table cloth under the cutting board usually gets soiled and dirty, an undesirable appearance at a catering event.
There is a need for an improved cutting board device, one that allows a user to easily and readily dispose of waste without having to carry the cutting board to a waste bin. There is a need for a cutting board device that is easily stored and readily accessible when needed. There is a need for a cutting board device that can be stored alone and/or integrated into an existing countertop and easily exposed and usable when needed. There is a need for a cutting board device that can be easily cleaned when not in use. There is a need for a cutting board device that allows a user to simultaneously prepare foods on one surface of the cutting board device while another adjoining surface is simultaneously being sanitized. | {
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Ablation of body tissue, using multiple electrodes, is known in the art. The ablation is typically performed by applying alternating currents to the electrodes, at a sufficient power to cause the ablation. Typically, the electrodes are mounted on a distal tip of a catheter which is inserted into a lumen of a subject.
The distal tip may be tracked in a number of different ways known in the art, for example by measuring magnetic fields, generated by coils external to the subject, at the distal tip.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,835 to Mackey, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a radio frequency energy delivery system for multipolar electrode catheters. The disclosure states that the electrodes may be simultaneously energized in phase with each other to achieve a desired lesion pattern.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,828 to Chen, et al., whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes an ablation catheter having multiple electrodes and a close-loop control mechanism for each electrode with a temperature sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,468,062 to Oral, et al., whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes an atrial ablation catheter with an electrode array.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,500 to Buckles, et al., whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a catheter with a plurality of electrodes disposed adjacent to a distal end of the catheter. One of the electrodes is an ablation electrode.
U.S. Patent Application 2008/0058635 to Halperin, et al., whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a magnetic resonance imaging system including an invasive combined electrophysiology and imaging antenna catheter having diagnostic electrodes for receiving electrical potentials.
The description above is presented as a general overview of related art in this field and should not be construed as an admission that any of the information it contains constitutes prior art against the present patent application. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power rectifier arrangement comprising a transformer, at least one heat sink and at least one power rectifier which has a terminal at the floor of a housing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is known in the art, a power rectifier can exhibit a semiconductor element and structural parts such as current leads, a capsule to protect against mechanical and atmospheric influences, as well as a metallic housing floor having a contact surface and, for example, a threaded stud for fastening the power rectifier to a heat sink. The inputs of the power rectifier can be designed as terminal lugs which are secured to the upper side of the capsule. The threaded stud and housing floor can serve as an output. The threaded stud and the planar annular surface of the housing floor surrounding the stud can, in approximately equal parts, assume the dissipation of the heat arising in the power rectifier.
In case the inputs of the power rectifier are connected to a transformer which produces heat, the heat is dissipated to the terminal lugs of the power rectifier. The heat of the transformer, therefore, is dissipated over the power rectifier to the heat sink. The two heat sources, transformer and power rectifier, are therefore connected in series. This can lead to undesirable overheating of the tranformer and of the power rectifier. | {
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Zoom is used in digital cameras to crop out uninteresting parts of the view and to enlarge the interesting part of the view. Optical zoom genuinely enlarges the image and introduces new details and information to the image.
Digital zoom is also commonly included in digital cameras, either as a complement to the optical zoom or as the sole zooming method in low-end digital cameras. Digital zoom uses a primary image that is produced by camera optics and an imaging sensor as an input, and thus digital zoom does not introduce genuine new details to the image. Digital zoom either crops the input image and thus reduces the image resolution, or crops the input image and then interpolates, or in general, upscales the image to some higher resolution than the cropped resolution, for example, back to the original input resolution.
No information is lost from the ROI (Region of Interest) in the cropping but only the information outside the ROI. Similarly, no genuine new information is introduced in the inter-polation; new values are estimated into each location (x, y) of the output image according to certain neighborhood of pixels that correspond to location (x, y) in the cropped input image. For example, bilinear or bicubic interpolation are typically used in connection with this measure.
Typically the digital zoom in digital cameras operates in a following manner. The input primary image produced by the sensor and the optics is cropped according to the digital zoom factor and then the cropped image is interpolated back to the original resolution in order to produce the final output image. However, the activation of the digital zoom in the UI (User Interface) may vary.
Some manufacturers have a bit more sophisticated digital zoom methods. For example, Sony has a “SmartZoom” concept that is introduced in some devices [1]. The “SmartZoom” concept may operate in the following manner: 1) user selects output_resolution. This must be lower than the original_sensor_resolution. 2) The user enables SmartZoom. 3) The user uses zoom ring to zoom (i.e. optical zoom). 4) The system crops output_resolution_sized subimage from the original image. The resolution of that is original_sensor_resolution.
Thus, when using SmartZoom, the minimum zoom factor i.e. optical+digital is not ×1, but it is (original_sensor_resolution/output—resolution). This is bigger than ×1. The maximum zoom factor is increased to {optical_zoom_factor*(original_sensor_resolution/output_resolution)}.
SmartZoom does not deteriorate the image quality as much as the traditional digital zoom methods, which is due to use of simple cropping instead of interpolation+downscaling combination. However, the user cannot enable SmartZoom before he selects a lower resolution than original_sensor_resolution as the output_resolution.
Also, the HP PhotoSmart 935 digital camera [2] has at least the following digital zoom features 1) no interpolation is used, only cropping and 2) the actual pixel size that results from the digital zoom (cropping) is displayed on the viewfinder. According to quick tests, the JPEG compression factor seems to change from a fixed setting A into fixed setting B when a digital zoom operation is performed.
The aforementioned prior art solutions don't take into account further use applications. One of these further use applications is to produce a hard copy. Image quality problems arise due to the consecutive scaling measures that are performed in both directions (i.e. upscaling and downscaling). Problems may also arise due to the fact that scaling measures are performed as post-processing. This may cause the image, for example, to include artefacts. | {
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Generally, a washing machine is an apparatus that cleans laundry through softening by detergent, waterjet created as the washing tub or wings spin, and impacts by the washing wings, and proceeds with washing, rinsing, and/or dehydrating to rid contaminants of the clothes (or laundry) using the action between the detergent and water. A washing machine includes an outer tub retaining water and an inner tub rotatably provided in the outer tub and containing clothes (or laundry). The washing machine further includes a circulation flowpath for circulating discharged water and sending back to the inner tub and a nozzle for jetting the water from the circulation flowpath back to the inner tub. A circulation pump may also be provided to force the water to be sent along the circulation flowpath. | {
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Data mining has become a valuable tool for helping network service providers to analyze and understand their customers' service-related needs. For instance, information can be extracted from a data set (e.g., a set of packets exchanged between network endpoints) and transformed into a structure that can be analyzed for the occurrence of patterns, relationships, and other statistics that indicate how the customers are using the network. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic actuator by which a mover is driven in relation to a stator by energization to a coil, and to an active vibration damper and a fluid-filled active vibration damping device using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
From the past, an electromagnetic actuator has been known as one type of vibration damping actuator used for actively controlling the vibration damping characteristics of a vibration damping device by applying active oscillation force to a member subject to vibration damping. With the electromagnetic actuator, the mover is attached so as to be displaceable relative to the stator, and by energization to a coil member attached on one of either the stator or the mover, the mover is driven in relation to the stator.
However, as shown in Japanese Patent No. JP-B-4852030, with the electromagnetic actuator, the stator and the mover are linked to each other by a plate spring, and by elastic deformation of the plate spring in the thickness direction, displacement of the mover in relation to the stator is allowed, and the mover and stator are aligned to each other in the radial direction of the plate spring.
Also, with JP-B-4852030, so that sufficient displacement is allowed of the mover in the thickness direction of the plate spring, a plurality of lightening holes are formed on the plate spring, and the plate spring has a constitution with which a center attachment part attached to the mover and an outer circumference attachment part attached to the stator are integrally linked to each other by a plurality of connection arm parts. This connection arm part extends in the radial direction while being inclined in the circumferential direction, with one end being integrally connected to the center attachment part, and the other end being integrally connected to the outer circumference attachment part.
Furthermore, with the electromagnetic actuator, as with JP-B-4852030, there are cases when a plurality of plate springs are used overlapping. In this case, the plate spring material, thickness dimension and the like can be set individually according to the required spring characteristics or the like, so with a plurality of plate springs, there are cases when these will be different from each other.
However, when palate springs with different materials, thickness dimensions and the like are used overlapping, due to differences in deformation volume in relation to ambient temperature changes, there can be mutual differences in the shape of the plate springs with a thickness direction view (particularly the shape of the connection arm part), and by local stress concentration occurring at the connection arm part, there is the risk of a decrease in durability of the plate springs. | {
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Interfaces, such as application program interfaces (API's), are generally monitored for various reasons. For example, interfaces may be monitored for security purposes, for understanding a flow of applications, for tracking problems associated with applications, etc. Traditionally, security-related monitoring has involved examining return addresses passed to an interface by a caller that invokes the interface, for verifying that the call to the interface is valid (e.g. non-malicious, etc.). However, various techniques are available to callers which allow them to hide the actual return addresses or otherwise obfuscate their identify, thus allowing such callers to escape detection.
There is thus a need for overcoming these and/or other issues associated with the prior art. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to the field of measurement apparatus and methods. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to the apparatus and methods of scanning probe microscopy.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Prior art scanning probe microscopy apparatus and methods are known to those skilled in the art. For instance, a conventional scanning probe microscope is shown in FIG. 1. A sample 100 is placed on a mount and a cantilever sensor 101 with a sharp tip is brought close to the sample surface. Interactions between the sample surface and the sensor tip lead to flexural and torsional deflections of the cantilever, the magnitude of which can vary from sub-nanometer to hundred nanometer range depending on operation mode. A laser 102 is deflected off the top of the cantilever into a detector 103, which is connected to driving circuitry 104. Other realizations of deflection sensors based on piezoresistive, piezoelectric, capacitive, MOSFET, tuning fork, double tuning fork, and other position sensors are well known. Current flowing through the cantilever or cantilever-surface capacitance can be other modes of detection. Typically, the sample surface is scanned point by point to obtain the topography or functional properties of the surface. Alternatively, the response is measured in a single point as a function of probe-surface separation, probe bias, etc, constituting spectroscopic modes of operation.
A problem with this technology has been that methods existing to date are generally based on the detection of the signal under a constant excitation or at a periodic excitation at a single frequency. In the constant or static mode, static tip deflection (or other static parameter such as tip-surface dc current) is used to serve as a feedback signal to maintain constant tip-surface separation or property measurement. In the periodic excitation mode, the amplitude or phase of cantilever oscillations or other oscillatory response is selected using lock-in amplifier or similar circuit and used as a feedback or detection signal. In the frequency tracking modes, the cantilever or other sensor is kept at a corresponding mechanical resonance and changes in the dynamic characteristics of oscillation (e.g. resonant frequency or amplitude at the resonance) are detected and used as feedback or detected signals. All these modes severely limit the amount of information obtainable by the scanning probe microscope. Therefore, what is required is a solution that provides maximum information about the tip-surface interactions.
A number of SPM techniques (e.g. Force Volume Imaging, Pulsed Force Mode and Molecular Recognition Mode) are based on the specially designed large-amplitude waveforms that probe different parts of the force-distance curve to distinguish short-and long range interactions. These methods also have similar limitations, since either static force (force-distance measurements per se) or response at single frequency is measured at different positions of the probe tip with respect to the surface.
The fundamental problem with this technology has been that the resonance frequency, amplitude and quality factor (Q-factor) of the cantilever vibrating in contact with the surface under constant mechanical excitation, the three parameters that provide the complete description of the system in the simple-harmonic oscillator approximation, cannot be unambiguously separated. Therefore, what is also required is a solution that allows separation of these parameters.
One unsatisfactory approach, in an attempt to solve the above-discussed problems involves sweeping the excitation frequency at each sample point. However, a disadvantage of this approach is the significant time (1-10 s) per point, leading to unreasonable data acquisition times. A 100×100 pixel requires a time on the order of tens of hours.
Heretofore, the requirements of maximizing information about tip-surface interactions and obtaining (a) independent amplitude, resonant frequency and Q-factor parameters and (b) characterization of the complete behavior of the system referred to above have not been fully met. What is needed is a solution that solves all of these problems, preferably simultaneously. | {
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1. Field:
The invention relates to small, single action revolvers and more particularly to improved means for releasably locking the rotatable cylinders within the frames of such revolvers.
2. State of the Art:
Revolvers of various sizes and shapes are well known in the art. In almost all these revolvers means are provided for removably securing the rotatable cylinder in proper position in the frame of the revolver. With conventional, large size hand guns, the cylinder lock can be rather easily accommodated and various cams or levers can be used to releasably lock the cylinder axis pin in engagement with the frame of the revolver cylinder in proper sequence during cocking of the hammer. An example of cylinder lock for such conventional revolvers is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,733,529, issued to William B. Ruger on Feb. 6, 1956.
In smaller sized revolvers it is much more difficult to properly position all the actuating components, and the size of the components must often be greatly reduced. The reduced size of the components often results in a weakening thereof which may cause early failure of the revolver.
Objectives:
The principal objective of the present invention is to provide an improved compact means for releasably locking the cylinder of a small sized revolver in rotatable position within the frame of the revolver.
Another objective is to provide a simplified locking mechanism that is of inherently durable construction. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates generally to the treatment of diseased or traumatized intervertebral discs, and more particularly, to the use of engineered disc tissues and endplate materials in conjunction with such treatment.
Intervertebral discs provide mobility and a cushion between the vertebrae. At the center of each disc is the nucleus pulposus which, in the adult human, is composed of cells and an insoluble extracellular matrix which is produced by the nucleus itself. The extracellular matrix is composed of collagen, proteoglycans, water, and noncollagenous proteins.
The cells of the nucleus pulposus have chondrocyte-like features. Blood vessels do not course into the nucleus pulposus. Rather, the cells of the nucleus pulposus of the adult human obtain nutrients and eliminate waste by diffusion through blood vessels in the endplates of the vertebrae adjacent to the disc.
The nucleus pulposus is surrounded by the annulus fibrosis, which is composed of cells (fibrocyte-like and chondrocyte-like), collagen fibers, and non-fibrillar extracellular matrix. The components of the annulus are arranged in 15-25 lamellae around the nucleus pulposus.
To date, the treatment of degenerative disc disease has relied for the most part on eliminating the defective disc or disc function. This may be accomplished by fusing the vertebra on either side of the disc. In terms of replacement, most prior-art techniques use synthetic materials to replace the entire disc or a portion thereof. My pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/415,382 discloses disc replacement methods and apparatus using synthetic materials.
Prosthetic disc devices replace nucleus pulposus and/or annulus fibrosis function. Nucleus replacing devices rely on the patient""s annulus fibrosis to retain the device and perform annulus functions. Unfortunately, injuries to the annulus often accompany nucleus degeneration or trauma. In addition, the degenerated annulus fibrosis may produce pain in patients with nucleus replacement.
Devices that replace nucleus and annulus functions (total disc replacement) also exhibit certain weaknesses. Total disc replacements rely on attachment of the prosthetic disc to the vertebral endplates. Various methods of attachment have been described including the use of screws, spikes, and porous ingrowth material. The total disc/vertebral interface can loosen. The problems with prosthesis loosening and the revision surgery of the same are well known in prosthetic knee and hip surgery.
The future of treating degenerative disc disease therefore lies in treatments which preserve disc function. If disc function could be restored with biologic replacement or augmentation, the risk of premature wear out would be minimized, if not eliminated.
This invention resides in a method of treating a diseased or traumatized intervertebral disc located between adjacent vertebrae. According to the method, a disc unit is harvested from a recently deceased human or animal donor. As defined herein, this donor disc unit preferably includes not only an intervertebral disc having an extracellular matrix, but also a portion of the vertebrae on either side of the disc, including the endplates.
An affected disc is surgically removing from a patient, including the vertebral endplates and a portion of the vertebra on either side of the disc, thereby creating a void to be filled, and the donor disc unit is positioned within the surgically created void. The spine may be temporarily locally immobilized following placement of the donor disc unit into the surgically created void.
In the preferred embodiment, the donor disc unit is processed to kills living cells therewithin, while preserve the extracellular matrix. Nucleus pulposus and/or annulus fibrosis cells are harvested from a healthy intervertebral disc, cultured and transplanted into the donor disc unit. Precursors, or cells which differentiate into cells which provide nucleus pulposus and/or annulus fibrosis cell function may alternatively be used. The harvested cells are preferably kept viable until placed into the disc unit.
The method of the invention may further include the step of adding one or more therapeutic substances to the donor disc unit, the transplanted cells, or both prior to transplantation. Such therapeutic substances could include culture media, growth factors, differentiation factors, hydrogels, polymers, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications, immunosuppressive medications, or any useful combination thereof. | {
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The subject matter of this invention relates generally to circuit breakers and to circuit breakers with an anti-pumping feature specifically.
The utilization of anti-pumping apparatus in circuit breakers is well known. Such apparatus is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,644,790 issued Feb. 22, 1972 to J. M. Kozlovic et al. and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Generally, a source of power is interconnected by way of a power switch with three parallel connected circuit each of which provide a different function. A first of the parallel connected circuits includes a spring charging motor connected in series circuit relationship with contacts which open when the spring is fully charged and which closes when the spring is not fully charged. The spring is utilized to close the separable main contacts of the circuit breaker. The second of the parallel circuits includes the trip coil for the circuit breaker. When energized, the trip coil allows mechanical energy to be applied to the separable main contacts of the circuit breaker to open those contacts. The circuit breaker usually includes main contacts and auxiliary contacts which duplicate the status of the main contacts. Said in another way, the auxiliary contacts are closed when the main contacts are closed and are open when the main contacts are open. These auxiliary contacts are generally designated as "a" contacts. The trip coil, the trip switch, and the lattermentioned auxiliary contacts are connected together in series circuit relationship such that if the trip switch is closed while the separable main contacts are closed, the trip coil will be energized to cause the separable main contacts to open. The last of the parallel circuits in the prior art includes a closing switch connected in series circuit relationship with two parallel circuits. The first parallel branch or combination includes an auxiliary coil sometimes known as a "Y" coil. The auxiliary coil is connected in parallel circuit relationship with the series combination of a set of complementary contacts for the separable main contacts and with the normally closed contact of the Y coil. The complementary contacts for the separable main contacts are always in a disposition which is opposite to the disposition of the separable main contacts. Said in another way, this means that when the separable main contacts are closed, the complementary contacts are opened and vice versa. The latter-mentioned parallel subcombination of the Y coil, the Y contacts and the complementary auxiliary contacts are connected in series circuit relationship with the second parallel subcombination which includes: a resistive element connected in parallel with the series combination of a spring release coil and a complementary spring status contact. The complementary spring status contact is always closed when the spring is fully charged and open when the spring is not fully charged. This arrangement is shown in FIG. 2 of the previously-mentioned prior art patent to Kozlovic. In general, if the circuit breaker is open and the spring is charged, actuation of the closing switch will cause energization of the spring release coil thus releasing the spring to close the separable main contacts. At this point, the spring will immediately begin to charge again by actuation of the spring charging motor. Once the spring has again become fully charged, it will remain that way until the circuit breaker contacts open in which case the spring can be utilized to quickly reclose the circuit breaker main contacts once again. However, in the event that the circuit breaker is closed on a fault such that it opens again immediately, it is not desired to perform the wasted and even dangerous function of continuously closing the circuit breaker on the same fault. Consequently, most circuit breaker apparatus have an anti-pumping feature whereby reclosure of the circuit breaker will not occur until the closing switch has been deenergized and subsequently reenergized. This prior art anti-pump feature is desired in all circuit breaker control systems and is implemented in most. One of the disadvantages of the prior art control system, however, is the requirement that the complementary auxiliary contacts for the separable main contacts be operable. The complementary contacts in question are generally designated as the b contacts. These contacts have the characteristic of being open when the separable main contacts are closed and vice versa as was described previously. If for some reason, these contacts do not open when the separable main contacts close, the anti-pumping feature of the prior art circuit breaker will be defeated and catastrophic results may follow. Generally, in order for the closing of the separable main contacts to occur, it is necessary for the circuit breaker closing spring to discharge thus actuating a mechanism which eventually closes the separable main contacts and opens the auxiliary contacts. If the spring discharges in an appropriate manner, but something happens with the remaining portion of the linkage to prevent the auxiliary contacts from opening, the anti-pump feature will be defeated and circuit breaker pumping may occur. Another disadvantage with the prior art circuit breaker system lies in the fact that it is essentially a voltage divider type control system. It has generally been found that voltage divider type control systems require rather precise adjustment and balancing among the appropriate portions thereof. As an example, in the prior art system, resistance coordination is required between the intrinsic resistance of the Y coil, the spring release coil, and the main resistor R. It would be advantageous, therefore, if an anti-pumping circuit breaker could be found which eliminates the need for critical resistance coordination between components thereof and which performed the anti-pumping function effectively. An electronic circuit for utilization in controlling an alternating current line generator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,735,039, issued Feb. 14, 1956 by N. F. Schuh, Jr. and entitled "Overvoltage Protection for Alternating Current Generators". This circuit is essentially a latching circuit rather than an anti-pumping circuit. It is significantly distinguished from the present invention by the fact that the utilization or need for an anti-pumping operation is manifestly not envisioned. This is clear from the fact that the switch arrangement which includes the wiper or blade 22 and the contacts 23 and 24 render a pumping action impossible by its mere construction. It is easy to envision that it is not possible to attempt to reset and trip the circuit at the same time because of the interarrangement of the elements. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cellular polyurethanes and polyisocyanurates and to intermediates therefor, especially novel fluorocarbon compatibilized, homogeneous polyol blends, resin precursor blends incorporating such polyol blends, and their usage in processes for making such cellular products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cellular polyurethanes and polyisocyanurates are well known in the art for use in thermal insulating applications. Minor amounts of certain polyols are commonly added to the foam forming composition to modify foam properties. When a fluorocarbon blowing agent is employed, a problem in compatibility between the polyol (especially aromatic polyester polyols) and such fluorocarbon may arise in resin precursor blends.
As those skilled in the art appreciate, the preparation of polyol blends and resin precursor blends (which typically commercially comprise such polyol blends, blowing agent, cell stabilizing surfactant, and trimerization catalyst) in the isocyanate polymerization art can involve multi-component mixtures. While sometimes a blend of different polyols present in a resin precursor blend can overcome fluorocarbon compatibility problems, characteristically when aromatic polyester polyols are used, such compatibility problems are believed to be difficult to overcome without using a compatibility agent. Aromatic polyester polyols are desirable for use in such blends because they have a relatively low cost yet can produce product foams of good physical characteristics.
Aromatic polyester polyols, however, apparently cannot be blended directly with usable amounts of fluorocarbon blowing agents because of mutual insolubility characteristics. Compatibility agents can be employed in polyol blends and resin precursor blends to produce miscibility between the fluorocarbons and the polyols. However, compatibility agents, especially when employed at the relatively high levels needed to achieve a desired level of compatibilization, can adversely interfere with the characteristics desired in a foam produced from a blend incorporating such.
A class of amide diols is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,246,364 as being useful compatibility agents for such polyols and fluorocarbon blowing agents when material of such class is employed at the relatively high rate of from about 20 to 70 weight percent apparently on a 100 weight percent total polyol weight basis. Certain types of poly diols, such as aromatic ester diols produced from reacting aromatic esters with low molecular weight aliphatic polyols, appear to be so incompatible with fluorocarbon blowing agents that, in a polyol blend containing such aromatic polyester polyols in relatively high percentages, large amounts of such an amide diol appear to be needed to achieve compatibility with fluorocarbon blowing agents. When such a large quantity of amide diol is employed, the cost of foam manufacture increases (because of the cost of the amide diol).
One class of aromatic polyester polyols which has heretofore been successfully employed in this art, and which is relatively incompatible with fluorocarbon blowing agents, but which is compatibilizable therewith by using an amide diol of the above referenced Koehler et al '364 U.S. Patent, comprises polyester polyol reaction products of a low molecular weight polyether polyol, such as diethylene glycol, with poly(carbomethoxy-substituted) diphenyls and/or benzyl esters. Such product polyols are available commercially under the trademark "Terate" from ICI Americas, Inc. and "Urol" from UCT, Inc. Such diethylene glycol diphenyl and benzyl esters are typically commercially used at rates apparently ranging up to about 70 to 90 weight percent of a total polyol blend in making polyisocyanurate foam products. As a class, such "Terate" type polyol compositions are characteristically primarily based on diphenyl esters, while another type of such aromatic ester polyol, the phthalate polyester polyols, are primarily based essentially on single aromatic substituted monophenyl ring structures.
Certain monofunctional hydroxyl terminated nonionic surfactants, such as, for example, polyethoxylated alkyl phenol nonionics that contain not more than about 15 moles of condensed ethylene oxide per molecule, and thus have molecular weights substantially below about 900, are believed to have been heretofore used as compatibility agents for polyol/fluorocarbon blowing agent resin precursor systems (see Hughes, J. M. & Clinton, J. L. "Development Of Lower Cost Polyurethane Modified Polyisocyanurate And Polyurethane Rigid Foams" paper given at (SPI 25th Annual Urethane Technical Conference 10/29/79). These prior art nonionic compatibility agents contain substantially no propylene oxide. Particularly when formulating blends of phthalate ester polyols with fluorocarbon blowing agents, it appears to be necessary, in order to achieve the desired blend homogeneity, to use significantly high concentrations of such prior art nonionic surfactants for specified respective amounts of specified aromatic polyester polyols and fluorocarbon blowing agents which is undesirable not only from a cost standpoint, but also from a standpoint of degrading product foam properties, such as compressive strength. The foam property degradation can be so great as to make the product foams unusable and unsuitable for many conventional commercial foam applications. This property deterioration is attributed in theory (and there is no intent to be bound herein by theory) to the circumstance that the monohydroxyl funtionality of such surfactants makes them react as chain terminating components in the polyurethane and/or polyisocyanurate polymerization reaction, thereby producing excessive amounts of low molecular weight urethane and/or isocyanurate polymer which may result in such losses in desirable product properties.
Previously, I discovered that a mixture of, for example, an amide diol of the above referenced Koehler et al '364 U.S. Patent with a certain type of block ethoxylate propoxylate compound was useful even at relatively high concentration levels for comptabilizing fluorocarbon blowing agents with aromatic polyester polyols; see my aforereferenced application U.S. Ser. No. 622,670. The present application relates to my further discovery that certain ethoxylate propoxylate compounds are usable is desired by themselves at relatively low concentration levels as compatibility agents for such aromatic polyester polyols.
There remains a need in the art for new and improved compatibility agents which will permit one to compatibilize polyols, especially aromatic polyester polyols, with fluorocarbon blowing agents and thereby achieve complete blend homogeneity and solubilization without causing any substantial deterioration in product foam properties. | {
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A. Technical Field
The present invention pertains generally to camera or vision systems; and relates more particularly to generating novel views of a scene.
B. Background
Novel view interpolation (NVI) deals with trying to interpolate or synthesize a new, or novel, image view from other views. There are a wide range of approaches to synthesize new views, which may be classified into three general categories: NVI without geometry, NVI with explicit geometry, and NVI with implicit geometry.
Light field rendering belongs to the first category. It makes no assumption of the scene geometry, but a large number of cameras are used to capture the input images, which limits its application.
The methods in the second category produce a virtual view by projecting pixels from all of the reference images. Therefore, the methods of this category require accurate geometry to synthesize the novel view. The typical methods of this category include view-dependent texture-mapping, 3D warping, layered-depth images, and wide-baseline stereo. These methods generally adopt stereo matching to obtain the accurate geometry, which is a significant challenge in the field of stereo vision.
NVI with implicit geometry tries to find a trade-off between the first and second categories, demanding less images and requiring less accurate geometry. The novel view and its depth are simultaneously estimated in the methods of this category. Methods of this category model NVI as a maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) problem. Because it is poorly constrained, a powerful prior is needed to obtain a good solution. For example, a texture dictionary has been used as the prior in a Markov Random Field (MRF) model. This work has been extended by using different priors, field of experts, and pairwise dictionaries. These methods have the disadvantage of the independent assumption over the observed data. Conditional Random Field (CRF)-based NVI methods have been suggested to remove this limitation. These methods appear to yield good results, but the input images are always of high quality. Current algorithms of this category tend to focus on the occlusion problem, with some attention on the effect of large view changes on NVI. No research work has been explored in the other complex scenes, for example, radiometric variation, textureless, and non-Lambertian surfaces.
Although there are several novel view interpolation algorithms that attempt to extract information from other views in order to generate a novel view, the several challenges presented by complex scenes have traditionally been a barrier to good novel view interpolation. These challenges include but are not limited to, ill-positioned pose, transparency within the scene, occlusion, deformation, lighting, and large view changes. Furthermore, novel view interpolation in complex scenes can suffer from several other issues, include by way of example, radiometric variation, textureless and non-Lambertian surfaces, and complicated structures (e.g., hair, trees, etc.). These difficult scenarios cannot provide reliable information for point correspondences, and typically generate a large number of false positive matches. While these specialized methods for NVI may be used to address one or two of these difficult scenarios, their inherent weaknesses make them unsuitable in other scenarios.
Because scenes can contain or suffer from one or more of these challenges, it is difficult to correctly interpolate a new view of a scene. Accordingly, what is needed is a more robust system that can generate a novel view of a scene. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Developments in speech synthesis and computer animation enable the real-time synthesis of faces that look and sound like actual people. With recent advances in speech recognition, natural language interpretation and speech synthesis, conversational interfaces are finding wider acceptance. Collectively, these technologies can be used to produce human-like or animated interactive avatars. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet recording apparatus for jetting an ink or inks from nozzles.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an ink-jet printer described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-61078, runners or rollers, which are rotatably supported by shafts extending in a direction perpendicular to a scanning direction, are arranged respectively at both end portions in relation to the scanning direction of a carriage which is reciprocatively movable in the scanning direction and on which a printing head is carried. The recording paper is pressed downwardly by the rollers. Accordingly, the recording paper is prevented from causing the floating-up which would be otherwise caused, for example, by the swelling brought about by the landing of the ink during the printing. Owing to the prevention of the floating-up of the recording paper, the recording paper is prevented, for example, from being brought in contact with an ink jetting surface of the printing head. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to cable bushings for offsetting electrical cables. Electrical cables passing through openings in structural members such as framing panels, or walls must be protected from abrasive contact with the edges of the openings. Offset bushings prevent direct contact between the electrical cable and these edges.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cable bushings have been used for protecting electrical conduits passing through openings in structural members from abrasion. This has required that the bushings prevent contact of the electrical conduit with exposed edges of the opening and that they be anchored at the opening. Where the knock out opening has been of uniform and regular shape, it has been possible to provide matching-contour insertable bushings, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,912,712 and 4,520,976.
A major limitation to this approach has arisen in cases where the opening or knock-out in the structural member is of an irregular configuration such as keyhole-shaped and the provision of a geometrically conforming bushing would entail the fabrication of a geometrically and structurally complex part at substantial expense. Another major limitation of the prior art approach has been the inability of the matching-contour insertable bushings to accommodate nonuniformities in the dimensions of the opening. Yet another major limitation has arisen where a variety of geometric-shape openings in structural members must be provided with conforming bushings, necessitating that supplies of a variety of bushings be provided. Thus, the cable bushings of the prior art have not proven fully satisfactory. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ink for ink jet recording, an ink cartridge, an ink jet recording device, an image forming method, and an image recorded medium.
2. Description of the Background Art
Ink jet recording methods are advantageous in comparison with other recording methods in that the process is simple, full colorization is easy, and quality images can be obtained using a relatively simple mechanical configuration.
Dye-based ink, in which various aqueous soluble dyes are dissolved in water or a mixture of water and an organic solvent, is used as the ink for ink jet recording. Such a dye is excellent for forming vivid color images but tends to fade with prolonged exposure to light.
On the other hand, pigment-based ink, in which carbon black and various organic pigments are dispersed, has been actively researched and developed because it has excellent light resistance relative to the dye-based ink described above, although it tends to clog the printer nozzles. In general, pigment-based inks are prepared by preliminarily dispersing a pigment and a dispersing agent in an aqueous medium such as water and alcohols, conducting dispersion by a media-type dispersing machine such as a sand mill to a certain degree to prepare a liquid dispersion of the pigment, and diluting the liquid dispersion to a predetermined concentration by addition of other materials such as additives. A surface active agent or a water-soluble resin is generally used to disperse the pigment, which is hydrophobic. However, the quality of obtained images is extremely poor.
Adding resin particulates having a film-forming property to ink is known to improve image quality. However, it is difficult to stably disperse multiple particulate components for a long period of time, which leads to an increase of the amount of a dispersing agent such as a surface active agent for stable dispersion. This causes problems such as occurrence of bubbles in an ink tank and an ink head and deterioration of image quality.
In addition, to improve the dispersion property, a method of changing the pigment surface to have a hydrophilic group and a method of using a resin having a hydrophilic group have been studied. These involve a problem that, although they are separately stable, dispersion becomes unstable when different kinds of pigments or resins are mixed, which results in poor stability.
Unexamined Japanese patent application publication no. S56-147871 (JP-S56-147871-A) describes use of polymers. But with advances in contemporary ink jet printers, the ink head, etc. tends to clog with pigments having a particle diameter of from several μm to several hundred μm as described in this application publication, and image quality easily becomes unsatisfactory. In addition, stability is also poor.
JP-H8-283633-A describes a usage of a water-soluble polymer having a molecular weight of from 2,000 to 1,000,000 and JP-2009-241586 describes a usage of resin particles having a molecular weight of from 8,000 to 100,000.
JP-H10-298469-A describes a recording liquid using a polymer agglomerating agent generally having a molecular weight of from about several millions to about ten and several millions with a sole specific example of a methylchloride quaternary salt homopolymer of a methacrylate in Examples. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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A key problem with a precision resistor is that the resistance values tend to change over time as a function of temperature. This variation in resistance hinders circuits which rely on precise control of the resistance value for their functionality. Current methods rely on material innovations to limit the thermal coefficient of resistance (TCR) of the resistor and on tolerances built into integrated circuit (IC) designs. However, these approaches do not achieve the high precision required as device dimensions continue to shrink.
A need therefore exists for methodology enabling control of the resistance of a precision resistor. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Not applicable.
The present invention relates to computer systems for the management of information distributed across a plurality of electronic system devices. More particularly, the invention relates to a system which includes a plurality of network servers, interface terminals, remote data collecting devices and other smart devices to facilitate information collection, approval, editing and storage such that the network server storage location of specific information can be specified using a remote collecting device. The invention also relates to record verification methods.
As an initial matter, in the interest of simplifying this explanation and unless indicated otherwise, the description which follows describes the invention in the context of a medical facility. However, it should be recognized that the invention should not be so limited and clearly has applications which are outside a medical facility, only some of which are specifically discussed hereinafter.
In many industries a need exists for remote information collection and information storage which facilitates easy subsequent information retrieval. For example, in medical facilities there is a need, for purposes of patient protection, quality control, record keeping, billing, and forensics, to monitor, control, and record access to medicine dispensation, medicine administration, IVs, blood transfusions, and other treatments as well as the collection, administration, and testing of blood and tissue samples. These events have traditionally been controlled and monitored manually by doctors, nurses and other facility personnel (hereinafter xe2x80x9cphysiciansxe2x80x9d generally).
Unfortunately the increasing specialization and complexity of medical care has vastly increased both the types and amount of routine record keeping that is required to track all events which occur in a facility. Advantageously, rapid growth of computer technologies has provided tools which can be used to store and retrieve specific information from a vast quantity of medical records. In particular, Internet technology is now routinely used to create hospital Intranets, link discrete hospital databases and make their data, images, and audio video records commonly accessible.
Most medical facility Intranet systems include a plurality of network servers disposed in either one central information systems department or at various locations throughout the facility, a plurality of computer terminals located throughout the facility and a data bus which links all of the servers and computers together. Software is loaded onto each computer to facilitate information entry and specify server addresses for information retrieval and storage.
The first Intranet systems were used for only very few applications and therefore were not extremely complex. However, over time, as Intranet applications became more numerous and their use as information management tools became more widely recognized, single server systems could no longer meet the information management needs of even a single medical facility. This information management capacity problem has been exacerbated by prolific mergers and acquisitions among medical groups such that many medical groups now have several locations and vast amounts of information to manage.
To facilitate information management on such a huge scale Intranet systems have evolved over time. In most cases, so as to increase management capability without wasting existing capability (i.e. without completely replacing existing servers and computers), instead of replacing entire Intranet systems, additional servers and computers are simply added to an existing Intranet network.
While this piecemeal approach to Intranet enhancement minimizes hardware costs, this approach results in an extremely complex system wherein it is often relatively difficult to direct information to known electronic memory locations (i.e. server storage addresses) which are later easily accessible. While such storage addresses could be manually provided, providing such addresses manually is particularly cumbersome as many addresses are complex and difficult to specify. This is because a single facility or related facilities may employ many different servers and each server may have access to several different memory devices. Addressing schemes have been further exacerbated by the Internet where there may be several thousand servers and it would be impractical for a user to attempt to manually enter every server address used for storage.
To overcome the addressing problem most Intranet servers are equipped to automatically assign server addresses to specific types of user provided information. To this end, a browser is typically loaded onto each Intranet capable computer which communicates with system servers. When a user contacts a server to interact therewith (i.e. to provide information thereto or receive information therefrom), the server sends instructions to the browser indicating what should be displayed on the computer screen. Typically the screen indicates the server which originated the browser instructions, includes hyperlinks to various related server addresses, includes some instructions on how to use the server via the browser and provides blanks for entering information which is to be returned to the server for storage or processing.
In addition the server provides addresses to displayed hyperlinks and for information which is to be entered by a user. Typically the server provided addresses are held in computer memory and not displayed. After the physician indicates that information has been entered or selects a hyperlink, the browser software transmits the information to the server or contacts the server indicated by the hyperlink address.
Where information is sent to a server, when the server receives information the server may do any of a number of different things including storing the information at a server address or some type of processing and sending additional instructions to the browser. Where a user selects a hyperlink the server indicated by the hyperlink address responds to the selection by providing a different set of browser instructions for configuring the browser screen.
For example, in the hospital environment a first browser screen might display several user selectable hyperlinks for entering different types of information into the system and no blanks for entering information. For instance, a first hyperlink may be to a pharmacy server to request a screen presentation to enter pharmacy information, a second link may be to a billing server, a third link may be to a patient history server and a fourth link might be to a prescription server. In this case, to enter information the user first has to select one of the hyperlinks.
When a hyperlink is selected, the server indicated by the hyperlink address provides instructions to the browser for configuring the browser screen. For example, a server used by a pharmacy may provide instructions to configure a screen including, along with instructions for filling in blanks, a first blank for entry of a patient""s name, a second blank for entry of a physician""s name, a third blank for entry of a dispensed drug and a quantity indicator and a fourth blank for entry of the dispensing date and time.
After a physician indicates that required information has been provided, the browser transmits the information to the pharmacy server. When the server receives the information the server stores or processes the information and then typically returns a message indicating that the information has been stored or processed.
After a pharmacy record has been stored, when a pharmacist reviews records on the pharmacy server the pharmacist can verify, among other things, that a specific prescription was dispensed, the date and time of dispensing, which patient received the prescription and which physician dispensed the prescription.
To enter some other type of information such as billing information, using the first screen, a physician might select a second billing server hyperlink. When the second hyperlink is selected, the billing server provides screen configuration instructions and a return target address for information to be returned to the server for storage. The browser displays the billing input screen and waits for the physician to indicate that information has been provided. Thereafter the provided information is transmitted to the server at the target address and is either stored or processed. In this manner all information addressing and control is facilitated by the servers, not the system user.
While such information receiving and addressing systems can meet the information gathering needs of some facilities, such systems have a number of shortcomings. First, information gathering and entry into such a system is extremely time consuming and therefore is often thought of as an onerous task which is to be avoided. For example, in a medical facility, when a physician makes her rounds, the physician may visit with twenty or more patients, performing examinations and procedures, diagnosing illnesses and prescribing and administering drugs. Each visit requires information gathering related to symptoms, diagnosis, prescription, procedures and examinations performed and drugs prescribed and administered. When this information is gathered via a pen and clip board, the information must later be entered into the system and stored at a specific and accessible location.
Most physicians are not particularly adept at data entry. In addition, most physicians are extremely busy and therefore do not have the time to personally enter written information into a system via a browser. For these reasons either information is never entered into a system or a person specifically earmarked for data entry is required. While a data entry person may be expensive, the alternative (i.e. not entering the information into a searchable form) is not acceptable as information must be properly archived.
Second, even where a data entry person is provided, under the press of time many physician""s have developed their own, personalized shorthand to expedite note taking during patient visits. In addition, often physician""s writing styles are very different making it difficult at best to decipher hand written records during data entry. Shorthand and sloppy or varying writing styles make data entry by someone other than a physician extremely difficult.
Third, when information is entered into a system manually by someone other than a physician, the likelihood of mistakes is extremely high due to imperfect translation of handwritten notes, the fact that entry personnel typically are not trained in medical terminology and the fact that many medical terms are very similar, thereby increasing the likelihood that one term may be substituted for another.
Fourth, because tolerance for errors in medical records is extremely low, there should be some way to force physicians to check the accuracy of system records prior to allowing permanent storage. The present server/browser systems do not require physician approval of records prior to storage. In other words, in many cases a data entry person may enter a physician""s notes and the physician may never check the notes for accuracy.
Fifth, even when someone other than a physician enters information into a system and a physician intends to revisit the information prior to permanent storage to check accuracy, despite the importance of record review, because of the press of time, record review by physicians is typically low on a physician""s priority list. Where a physician allows even a few days to pass prior to reviewing information for approval, a physician""s recollection of what transpired during a patient visit may not be accurate and information errors may result.
Sixth, even where a physician takes on the task of entering all information into a system to ensure quality control, the task of moving about from one browser screen to another to input information which is directed to correct server storage locations is onerous where many different records have to be entered and stored. For example, a physician may collect twenty different records while making rounds. Five of the records may have to be stored in patient record""s on a patient history server, five records may have to be stored on a pharmacy server, five records may have to be stored on a billing server and the remaining five records may have to be stored on an inventory server. In this case, the physician would have to jump from one browser screen to another during data entry to enter the twenty records into the system. While this simple task might not be objectionable where there are only a few records, clearly, as the number of records which a physician is expected to make increase, the task of jumping among different browser screens becomes more taxing.
Seventh, in many cases some information may have to be provided to many different servers and therefore might have to be entered by a physician or a data entry person more than once. For example, where a drug is prescribed for a patient drug dispensation and administration information may have to be provided to many different servers for different purposes. A pharmacy server may require an administration record to ensure that a drug has been delivered, a billing server may require a record of dispensation for billing purposes, a patient record server may have to be updated to indicate that the drug was received, when the drug was received, the quantity of the drug received, the physician who administered the drug and so on, an inventory server may require an administration record to update an inventory list and automatically order drugs to meet anticipated requirements, etc. To provide all of these records to all of the servers, a physician would have to access four different browser screens, a separate browser screen for each server, and duplicative information would have to be entered to be delivered to each server.
Eighth, typical systems do not make any record of who approved information entered into a system and therefore there is no way to determine if an authorized physician approved a record or some clerical personnel accidentally approved a record before storage.
Various electronic devices have been developed to aid in the information gathering task. One handy information gathering device is the dictation device (DD) which can be used to record a physician""s audio (i.e. voice) notes during a patient visit. To this end, a typical DD includes a processor, a memory (typically an electronic memory), a microphone, a speaker and some type of activation button. To take audio notes a physician positions the activation button in a record position and speaks into the microphone, the processor recording all voice notes in the memory. DDs often also allow audio review of oral notes and re-recording features to correct mistakes.
In facilities where physicians regularly use DDs, recorded notes are provided to data entry personnel who manually type audio records into an Intranet computer terminal for storage on a server. In the alternative, recently some software has been developed which can automatically convert audio records into text files for digital storage.
While DDs are preferred by some physicians, DDs do not overcome many of the shortcomings of manual (i.e. pen and paper) record keeping which are discussed above. For example, unless a system includes voice recognition software, data entry personnel are still required, physician shorthand causes transcription problems for both a data entry person and transcription software, mistakes may be made during transcription due to imperfect dictation and complex medical terminology, there is no procedure to ensure that information accuracy is checked or to indicate who approved information prior to permanent storage and it takes a large amount of time to enter information into the system.
Another handy information gathering device is a hand held device (HHD) which streamlines the information gathering process and the process of entering information into an Intranet system. To this end, a typical HHD may include a keyboard or the like, a processor, a memory and a transmitter. The board takes the place of a conventional clip board and is used to manually and remotely enter information which the processor stores in the memory. After information has been entered via an HHD, to provide the information to the system, the HHD transmitter is positioned in close proximity to a computer input device and the information is transmitted to the input device via a message including a series of signals.
To intelligibly receive a transmitted message and provide information contained therein to a browser for ultimate delivery to a server for storage or processing, a message receiving computer must be capable of translating the transmitted message into the language used by the server which is typically the hypertext markup language (HTML). This task is accomplished in one of two ways. First, the input device may include special dedicated hardware which converts the message into HTML, the hardware resembling a disk drive in the way it interacts with a browser. Second, the input device may simply provide the received message to the computer processor and software loaded onto the processor might be designed to translate the message into HTML.
Thus, HHDs can be used to eliminate physician""s hand written notes thereby streamlining the data gathering/entry process. In addition, as a physician enters information into an HHD, the physician can approve entered information immediately eliminating the need to later revisit the information for approval.
While HHD technology goes a long way to solving many of the problems associated with remote information gathering, problems still exist. First, it is likely that physicians will object to having to manually enter information into an HHD for the same reasons that physicians object to entering information into regular computer terminals. In addition, with an HHD information entry is even more objectionable because most HHD keyboards are relatively small.
Second, patient""s will likely object when they perceive that a physician""s time during a visit is split between the patient and an HHD for information entry. This is particularly true in the case where it might be difficult to enter information into the HHD thereby requiring additional data entry time.
Third, even if there were some quick way to enter information into an HHD, transmission of the information from the HHD to a browser and ultimately to a server for storage or processing is a relatively complex task. For example, assuming five records are stored in an HHD for transmission to a browser and that each of the five records is different such that each record ultimately has to be stored on a different server. In this case, prior to transmitting each record to the browser, the physician would have to select the proper browser screen for data transmission. For example, if the first record is to be stored on a pharmacy server, the physician has to select the pharmacy browser screen prior to transmitting the first record. After the first record is transmitted to the browser the browser then provides the record to the pharmacy server which is associated with the screen. Next, assuming the second record is to be stored on the a billing server, the physician has to select the billing browser screen prior to transmitting the second record. After the second record is transmitted the browser provides the record to the billing server. Not only is this process cumbersome, but the HHD would have to have some mechanism which indicated to the physician which record is queued up for transmission so that the physician could select the proper browser screen and associated server address.
Fourth, conventional HHDs do not indicate who approved a record for ultimate storage.
Fifth, again, where duplicative information must be provided to several different servers, a physician has to separately select a browser screen associated with each server and transmit the information to be stored once for each server which is to receive the information. This is time consuming and therefore objectionable.
Some HHDs have been designed to facilitate a pseudo-addressing scheme whereby an ultimate server target address can be selected for some specific types of HHD information. For example, some HHDs allow a user to enter an E-mail address for a message to be delivered via an Intranet or Internet system.
At first blush an HHD which specifies a pseudo-address appears to overcome many of the problems associated with transferring information from an HHD to a server for ultimate storage. Thus, if server addresses can be specified, a single generic browser screen can be used as an intermediary between an HHD and servers, the HHD, not the servers, specifying where HHD information should ultimately be delivered for storage or processing.
Unfortunately, instead of simplifying the information management task, pseudo-address specifying HHDs add a new wrinkle of complexity to a browser system. To this end, while existing address specifying HHDs can provide both information (i.e. a message in the case of E-mail) and an ultimate target address, a dedicated xe2x80x9cclearing housexe2x80x9d server is required for a number of purposes. First, because the HHD cannot specify configuration of a browser screen, a clearing house server is required for screen configuration.
Second, because Intranet addresses are often extremely complex and difficult to manually specify, to simplify address specification, HHD provided addresses usually take a short hand form which in and of itself cannot be used by a browser to direct information to a specific server. The short hand address is provided to the clearing house server via the browser. Thereafter, the clearing house server uses the short hand address to formulate a more detailed target address specifying a different server for message delivery. Thus, the clearing house server must have some clearing house software for processing received information.
Third, in addition to providing browser screen configuration information, the clearing house server also has to specify the clearing house server address so that HHD information and the short hand target address are provided to the clearing house server for further distribution.
In short, even where an HHD can provide a pseudo-address for targeting information, a dedicated clearing house server with special processing software is required.
To appreciate the added wrinkle of complexity in systems which facilitate pseudo-address specification, consider an exemplary system including HHDs which can specify E-mail messages and associated pseudo-addresses. In this case, to provide an E-mail message to an Intranet, an HHD user must first select an E-mail browser screen via a computer. When the E-mail screen is selected, the computer communicates with an associated E-mail server which provides information to the browser including screen configuration information and the E-mail server address. The browser thereafter displays a properly configured screen for receiving information from the HHD.
Next, the HHD user positions the HHD in close proximity to a computer input device and transmits the E-mail message, including E-mail address, to the browser. The device provides the message and E-mail address to the browser which in turn transmits the message and E-mail address to the E-mail server specified by the server address associated with the screen. When the E-mail server receives the message and E-mail address, the E-mail server uses the E-mail address to form a relatively more complex address specifying the target for the E-mail message and then transmits the E-mail message to the more complex address and intended recipient. Clearly this system is more complex than a typical Intranet system as a dedicated clearing house server is required for both screen configuration and additional processing.
One advantage of conventional paper type reporting systems is that original documents can be authenticated simply via a personal signature. Thus, to determine authenticity an original document can be located and a signature examined.
Unfortunately, often original documents cannot be located for authentication. Because copies are easy to manipulate (e.g. signature cut and paste and general information modification), document copies usually cannot be relied upon for verification of their content. Usually, the only reason copies are relied upon is because original documents cannot be retrieved.
Document authentication problems are further exacerbated in the digital realm as document modification and signature picture cutting and pasting is relatively easy using standard computer functions. Thus, for example, where a document is transmitted from one computer to another and includes some type of signature picture, it would be advantageous to have some way to authenticate the content of the received document.
One solution to this authentication problem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,567 (the ""xe2x80x9c567 patentxe2x80x9d) which is entitled xe2x80x9cElectronic Signature Method and Apparatus,xe2x80x9d which issued on Nov. 18, 1997. In the ""567 patent, to enable document authentication of a digitally stored document which is subsequently accessed, prior to storing the document, a digital signature picture is encrypted as a function of the document content and is further encrypted as a function of a private (i.e. secret) key. The encrypted signature picture and document are stored.
Thereafter, when the document is reaccessed, the signature picture is decrypted using a public key and as a function of the document content thereby generating the document including a signature picture. Where the document is authentic, the resulting signature picture matches the original signature picture. Authentication is performed by visually comparing the resulting signature picture to the original signature picture.
While the ""567 patent invention is useful, the ""567 invention has a number of shortcomings. First, after a document is retrieved and decrypted, often it will be useful to store the document in a more accessible form such as in the form of a conventional word processor document, spread sheet, etc. In this case, after the initial decryption, there is essentially no way to subsequently authenticate a document. Thus, for instance, after a word processor document is generated and stored in decrypted or plain text form, the document may not again be accessed for a long time (e.g. years). The next time the document is accessed, because of the passage of time, it may be desirable to re-authenticate. The ""567 reference does not facilitate re-authentication.
Second, it is often advantageous to generate a hard copy (i.e. paper) of a digital document for more conventional storage or conveyance to another party. Again, the ""567 patent facilitates a first authentication by visual comparison but thereafter authentication is impossible. For example, after a paper document with a digital signature picture is generated, the paper document may be stored in a conventional binder-type file for a long time (e.g. 5 years). Thereafter, the paper document may be retrieved for review. When retrieved there is no way to authenticate the document. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that many documents are copied and copies of documents are copied and, as with an original paper document which is digitally signed there is no way to authenticate a copy.
Thus, it would be advantageous to have an information gathering system for remotely gathering information, reviewing and approving information, identifying who generated information and identifying who approved information prior to storing the information. In addition, it would be advantageous if such a system facilitated easy downloading of the information from an information gathering device to a browser for ultimate transmission to a server for storage or processing. Moreover, it would be advantageous if such a system could be used with a conventional Intranet and did not require a dedicated clearing house server or specialized server software. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to have a system which can authenticate either a hard copy or a digitally stored document by simply analyzing information provided on the document.
The present invention relates to an information gathering system wherein an information collecting device (ICD) is equipped to remotely, automatically and electronically collect a large portion of the information that a physician may be required to provide during each of several different patient visits, information related to each visit forming a separate information unit. The ICD includes a processor, a transceiver and a memory. The ICD is to be used with other xe2x80x9csmartxe2x80x9d devices in a medical facility to collect information which describes facility events.
For example, one smart device may be an IV pump which includes a processor, a memory and a transmitter. During a patient""s stay in a facility, if the IV pump is connected to the patient, the pump processor monitors all pump activity including type and amount of fluid dispensed and time of administration. Information collected by the pump is assembled into an information segment. When a physician visits the patient, the pump processor transmits the information segment to the physician""s ICD.
Another smart device may include a medical container which includes an electronically locking lid, the lid includes a processor, a memory and a transceiver. In one example, a drug may be dispensed by a facility pharmacy into the container. A pharmacy computer provides administration information including the type and amount of drug dispensed, the patient for whom the drug is dispensed, the time period in which the drug should be administered and perhaps the physicians who are authorized to administer the drug. All of the administration information is stored in the container memory. When the container is opened, the container identifies the time and date. The administration information and opening time and date are assembled into an information segment. Then, after drug administration, the physician causes the container processor to transmit the information segment to the ICD processor for storage in the processor memory.
Yet another smart device may include a patient identification bracelet which includes a processor, a memory and a transmitter. Patient identifying information is stored in the bracelet memory as an information segment. When a physician visits a patient, the physician causes the identification bracelet to transmit the information segment which identifies the patient. The transmitted information segment is received by the ICD and stored as part of a collected information unit.
When several different information segments are received by the ICD during a single patient visit, the ICD may assemble one or several different information units from the segments, each information unit including at least one and possibly several information segments.
One object of the invention is to reduce the amount of manual data entry and simplify information management. To this end the inventive ICD facilitates automatic electronic retrieval of data gathered by smart devices including diagnostic and monitoring devices, electronic lock-lid containers, IVs, blood samples, etc. Moreover, the ICD may also facilitate automatic patient identification. Furthermore, the ICD processor may provide a time and date stamp indicating when an event which is related to an information segment occurred.
In addition, the ICD processor may also provide other information in information segment form which is appended to other information segments to form information units. For example, in a preferred embodiment the ICD also includes physician identifying information in its memory which an ICD appends as an additional information segment to information units. This feature further reduces the amount of manual record keeping required.
When an information unit is assembled by the ICD processor, the ICD processor provides a complete target server address for the information unit which is appended thereto to form an information packet. The information packets are transferred to an Intranet system for review, approval, modification and eventual storage at the specified target addresses.
An Intranet system which is suitable for use with the inventive ICD includes at least one and preferably several computer terminals, a plurality of network devices (i.e. memory storage devices or servers) and a network of information busses which links the computers to the network devices. An Intranet browser is loaded onto each of the computers. In addition, each computer includes a processor, a memory and some type of input device for receiving information packets from ICDs.
The computer processor receives information packets via the input device from the ICD, identifies the separate packet sections including the information units and associated target addresses, and stores associated units and addresses together in the computer memory for subsequent retrieval. Thereafter, the browser allows a physician to review and approve each information unit for delivery to a server identified by the target address. The browser may also allow a physician to edit information units or reject information units.
When a physician elects to approve an information unit, the browser sends the approved information unit to the associated target address (i.e. the target address specified by the ICD).
Another object of the invention is to provide an ICD which provides server addresses for information units. To this end the inventive ICD can generate server target addresses in any of several different ways. First, the ICD processor may receive the target address from a smart device via the ICD transceiver. For example, in addition to indicating the information indicated above, a smart medical container may also indicate a target address for associated information segments. For instance, the target address may indicate a pharmacy server address. When the ICD receives the target address the ICD appends the target address as a target address segment to the information unit in the information packet which is thereafter transferred to the browser.
Second, the ICD may receive a command from a user indicating a target address. To this end, while target server addresses are generally too long to manually enter into an ICD, where a facility only routinely uses a handful of servers, the ICD may be programmed so that each distinct server address is related to a separate address specifying task identifier in the form of an ICD button. For example, where a facility only uses five servers including a pharmacy server, a billing server, a patient records server, a inventory server and a physician records server, an ICD may be designed to have five separate buttons, each of which are uniquely earmarked to correspond to a server unique address (i.e. button 1 corresponds to the pharmacy server address, button 2 corresponds to the billing server address, and so on). Then, when an ICD receives an information unit, a physician can select one of the five buttons to indicate a desired server to receive the information unit. When a button is selected the associated server address is specified by the processor as the target address for a constructed information unit, the target address forms a target address segment and the target address segment is appended to the information unit forming the information packet to be provided to the browser.
Third, the ICD may be able to formulate a target address based on information received during information collection. To this end, when an information segment is collected, the ICD may be equipped to identify the general nature of the collected segment from which a proper target address can be surmised. For example, all information segments received from medical containers may have to be provided to a pharmacy server for review by a pharmacist. In this case, when an ICD receives an information segment from a medical container, the ICD can recognize the received information and identify the pharmacy server address as the target address. Thereafter, the ICD forms an information unit including the information segment from the container and perhaps other information (i.e. information from other received segments or information generated by the ICD) and assembles the information unit and target address into an information packet for transfer to the browser.
As another example, an ICD may be equipped to receive dictation when an activation button is pressed. In this case, the ICD may automatically identify received audio dictation as information to be provided to a transcription pool. Thus, the ICD automatically specifies a transcription pool server address so that digitally recorded dictation can be directed to a transcription server when downloaded to the Intranet.
In addition to providing a complete server address to a browser, the inventive ICD also provides complete browser screen configuration information which is required to configure a browser screen for displaying information unit information. The configuration information is provided in a configuration segment which is appended to the information unit and the target address. Hereinafter, unless specified otherwise, an information unit will refer to all information in an information packet except the target address segment and configuration segment.
Having an ICD which provides specific target server addresses and browser configuration information is advantageous for a number of reasons. First, an address and configuration specifying ICD facilitates easy information transmission from the ICD to a browser and ultimately to desired servers for storage. Because the inventive ICD provides server addresses and browser screen configuration information, a generic browser can be employed to receive any information which is to be transmitted to any server. In other words, no information from a server or server processing is required to transmit ICD information units to target addresses (e.g. no clearing house server is required). Thus, any ICD information packet can be provided to a generic browser, the browser configuring the screen in accordance with the configuration segment information, displaying information unit information and storing the address specified by the target address segment for ultimate delivery of the information unit after approval. In effect, the ICD performs all of the front end tasks (i.e. tasks prior to permanent information storage) which are typically reserved for a browser and eliminates the need for clearing house processing.
Second, target address specification can be used to facilitate quality control. For example, when a drug is dispensed into a smart medical container as described above, the administration information can be provided by a pharmacy server (i.e. a specifier apparatus) upon dispensation. Among other things, the administration information can specify a target address on the pharmacy server for a subsequent information packet describing the administration event including time, date, patient, physician administering, amount and so on. When the container is opened, the container transmits the administration information in the form of an information segment to the ICD which assembles an information packet including the target address in the target address segment. Subsequently the packet is transmitted to the browser and, after approval, the information unit is transmitted to the target address which specifies the pharmacy server.
Advantages related to this loop closure possibility include the ability to track drug administration. Because the administration information originated with the pharmacy server and the information unit was returned to the pharmacy server, the pharmacy server can determine if all prescribed drugs and the proper doses have been administered at the right times to the right patients by authorized physicians.
Another advantage from loop closure is the ability to provide servers which automatically generate quality control reports. Servers which can close an information loop can be programmed to indicate all successful administrations, administrations which were not precisely as prescribed (i.e. were not during prescribed times, included other than a prescribed dose or other than a prescribed drug, were administered by other than an authorized physician, etc.) and administrations which were missed.
According to another aspect of the invention is an ICD may be programmed to provide more than one target address for a specific information unit. For example, where an information unit includes drug administration information, the unit may be required by each of a pharmacy, a billing department and an inventory department. In this case, whenever an information unit includes drug administration information, the ICD provides three target addresses including addresses specifying each of a pharmacy server, a billing server and an inventory server.
Thus, another object of the invention is to simplify the process of providing duplicative information to several different servers by enabling specification of several servers at one time.
In all cases the present invention contemplates that, prior to transmitting information packets to a browser, a physician must first log onto a computer via some procedure which identifies the physician and verifies that the physician is authorized to enter information packets into the browser or is authorized to approve information units prior to permanent storage. This log on procedure may be as simple as, in the case where the physician""s ICD includes physician identifying information, transmitting the physician identifying information to a computer terminal via the computer input device, the computer processor thereafter performing a verification process. In cases where a physician""s ICD does not include physician identifying information, a more traditional log-on procedure may be required wherein the physician enters a password which identifies the physician. In any case, the invention also contemplates a system wherein, when a physician logs onto a computer and transmits information packets to the computer browser for review, editing and approval, after approval, the computer includes what amounts to a digital signature in the information unit prior to storage at the target address. The digital signature is generated from the log-on information and identifies the physician who edited and approved the information.
Thus, another object of the invention is to provide a system wherein, prior to storing an information unit on a server, a physician reviews the information unit to affirmatively determine the accuracy of the unit and assures accuracy through her digital signature.
While a digital signature may be relatively simple, taking the form of a graphical representation of the physician""s scripted signature (hereinafter xe2x80x9csignature picturexe2x80x9d) which is appended to a document, the present invention also contemplates a xe2x80x9cwatermarkedxe2x80x9d signature picture wherein the watermark varies as a function of the content of the document to which the signature picture is appended. This type of watermarked signature picture facilitates subsequent signature picture authentication as well as document authentication. For example, after a document is generated, to check authenticity the watermark may be examined to, in effect, recreate the document content to determine if the signature picture was authentic.
One other object of the invention is to facilitate secure digital signatures which cannot be electronically copied from one document to another without detection. This is accomplished by providing document specific watermarked signatures.
Another aspect of the invention allows a browser to store information units on a dedicated server or on a computer hard drive for later review and approval. In this case, after an information unit is stored, at some later time, a physician may reaccess the information unit for editing and approval.
Thus, another object is to facilitate semi-permanent information unit storage for a reasonable amount of time so that a physician can approve or edit information units when convenient.
A related object of the claimed invention is to minimize the amount of training necessary to implement a comprehensive data collection, data security, and data management system for hospital and patient records. The inventive ICD and associated system is extremely simple to use for both information collection and review. In its simplest form collection amounts to causing smart devices to transmit collected information. Transfer to a browser for review amounts to causing an ICD to transmit all assembled information packets. Review amounts to using a single browser screen and a few commands to edit and then approve of information units after which units are automatically stored.
Yet another object is to, where possible, minimize time between data collection and data approval to cut down on errors attributable to faulty memory. Even a few days between data collection and approval can cause information errors. To this end, because the inventive ICD system is simple to use and information downloading is extremely easy, the review and approval procedure is appreciably short circuited.
Another object is to, where possible, provide information in a standard format so that virtually all commonly trained physicians can glean identical information from gathered information. To this end, information provided by smart devices is always provided in a specific format and is stored in a similarly specific format.
According to another aspect of the invention the ICD may be provided with some other type of input device so that a physician can specify non-standard information for recordation. For example, a physician may identify a new and unexpected symptom which should be recorded and which is not indicated by a smart device. In this case, the ICD may include either a small keyboard or a dictation means for entering other information to be recorded.
Thus, another object of the invention is to, while providing a system which automatically generates much of the information required to be collected by a physician, allows the physician to record other information which should be recorded but is not automatically provided by the system.
One other problem with conventional information systems used in hospitals and other facilities which require large amounts of remote data gathering is that, besides a simple password interrogation system, in most cases nothing else stops an unscrupulous person from accessing a facility computer system to examine, add or modify information stored on the system. In fact, where an authorized person logs onto a terminal and leaves the terminal momentarily, another person could easily access the terminal and system information via the terminal under the guise of the authorized person.
The present invention overcomes this terminal security problem in several different ways including an identification system which ensures that a person who logs onto a system is authorized. To this end, in one embodiment, a person""s ICD includes some type of body indicia identifier which can be used to identify an ICD user. For example, the indicia identifier may be a finger print reader which compares a users print to an ICD owners print. Where the ICD recognizes a user, the ICD participates in an interrogation by a proximate terminal to gain access to the terminal. Where the ICD fails to recognize the user, the ICD does not participate in an interrogation and therefore access to the network is blocked.
This indicia identifier concept has many applications outside the ICD art. For example, such an identifier could be placed on a credit card. In this case, when a user is identified, the card could enable a single charge to be made via the card. Thereafter, to make another charge the user would again have to present the user""s print to the identifier to authenticate the user.
The inventive identifier has several advantages over prior art indicia identification systems. First, because the inventive identifier is personal to a single user, the identifier""s memory need only store finger print characteristics for a single user. For this reason minimal memory is required. In addition because only one print has to be interrogated, a relatively simple processor can be used to interrogate a finger print and identify a user.
Second, the inventive identifier keeps personal information secret while still facilitating user identification. In many conventional person interrogating systems which identify body indicia a person""s body indicia has to be xe2x80x9cgiven upxe2x80x9d to an interrogation system which is not controlled by the person. For example, to enter a building, an interrogation system may require a person to place her thumb on a finger print reader which identifies her print characteristic and then compares her characteristic to characteristics of prints associated with all people who are authorized to enter the facility. In this case the person""s print would have previously had to have been provided to the system so that a comparison could be made. Providing personal indicia is viewed as intrusive by many persons and therefore is objectionable.
With one embodiment of the inventive indicia identifier, all indicia identification occurs on a device (i.e. ICD, credit card) which is controlled by the device owner at all times and therefore control of personal indicia is never forfeited. With another embodiment of the invention a person""s indicia is provided to an external interrogation system only for interrogation purposes and is thereafter erased from the systems memory. According to this embodiment, for example, a person""s fingerprint characteristics may be stored in an ICD memory, smart card or the like. To gain access to a computer network via terminal an interrogation must occur. To this end, an interrogation system includes a processor which can receive information from the ICD or smart card and which is linked to a print reader. During an interrogating process the person first enables print characteristic transfer from the ICD or card to the processor. Next the person places her thumb on the print reader which provides print characteristics to the processor. Thereafter the processor compares the prints (i.e. from the reader and the ICD or card) and allows access where the prints are identical but blocks access where the prints are different. Then the processor erases the prints from memory and may indicate so for the user""s peace of mind.
The invention also includes a method and apparatus for checking authenticity of a digital or hardcopy document using only content provided on the document. To this end, assuming a document exists in a computer memory and can be displayed for approval on a computer display. A user may examine the document and, if the user approves the document, the user may indicate approval (e.g. via a key or icon selection). When approval is given, the computer performs two tasks. First, the computer provides some form of user or personal identifier to the document in a designated approval field or space. The identifier may take any of several different forms but preferably is a signature picture of the person who approved the document. This first task results in a xe2x80x9csignedxe2x80x9d document. Second, the computer uses the signed document content (i.e. the original document plus the signature picture) and uses a personal key which belongs to the approver to compute encryption codes, hash code, etc. The encryption code is then used to modify a standard water mark resulting in a watermark which is indicative of the signed document content. The watermark is appended to the signed document. When the document is stored or printed out the watermark is included therewith.
Subsequently, to authenticate the content and signature of the document, the watermark can be read from the document and decrypted using a public key which belongs to the person whose signature appears on the document (supposedly the original approver). At the end of the decryption process, the resulting document should match the signed document and can be compared either visually or automatically to authenticate the signature and the document content.
These and other objects, advantages and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention and reference is made therefor, to the claims herein for interpreting the scope of the invention. | {
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Various types of drip irrigation apparatus are known in the patent literature and in the marketplace. A particularly successful type of drip irrigation apparatus is described and claimed in Israel Pat. No. 45211 which discloses a drip irrigator comprising a continuous uninterrupted drip irrigation hose which is extruded around drip irrigation elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,546, which is assigned to the present assignee, describes a differential pressure responsive, volume-controlled drip irrigation apparatus which also employs a continuous uninterrupted drip irrigation hose.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,287 also described differential pressure responsive, volume-controlled drip irrigation apparatus employing a continuous outer hose. The apparatus described in the Mehoudar patent has the disadvantage that it is susceptible to blockage when water of at least a predetermined pressure is supplied thereto. In the apparatus described in the Mehoudar patent, the predetermined pressure at which blockage occurs decreases as the size of the outlet aperture is increased. However, a decrease in the size of the outlet aperture increases its susceptibility to clogging.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,745 described drip irrigation apparatus including flexible tubular outlet means in the form of flaps which protrude into the water flow stream and cause a pressure drop thereacross. The structure described therein is intended to provide flushing upon initial flow through the drip line and volume control thereafter, as the result of bending of the tubular outlet means.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,631 to Rainbird proposes drip irrigation apparatus having a narrowed outlet region underlying a flexible membrane, which is intended to prevent the membrane from completely blocking the outlet at high pressure. Other than this feature, the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,631 is similar to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,223 to the same assignee as U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,631. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cMOCVDxe2x80x9d) apparatus and to a deposition method. More particularly, the present invention relates to an MOCVD apparatus useful to deposit high dielectric thin film on a semiconductor substrate and to a deposition method using the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For the next generation DRAMs which are at least 1 Giga in memory size, conventional thin films not supply enough capacitance. As semiconductor devices scale down, three-dimensional capacitor structures, such as fin and cylinder type structures, are more difficult to construct because the scaling-down is accomplished at the sacrifice of cell area reduction.
In addition, reduction in the thickness of the thin film gives rise to an increase in leakage current at a source/drain region, an impurity region of a semiconductor device, and causes a soft error, a phenomenon wherein the information stored in a capacitor is changed or lost by xcex1-particles. So, a reliable capacitor is difficult to obtain. Further, if a capacitor is formed into a complex three-dimensional structure, subsequent processes are hard to perform.
Recently, active research has been directed to a high dielectric thin film deposition apparatus in order to apply high dielectric materials, such as BST (BaSrTiO3) and SrTiO3, for the thin film of a capacitor.
To construct high dielectric thin films, many methods are used, including a sputtering method, a sol-gel method, a laser ablation method, an MOCVD method, etc. Of them the MOCVD method guarantees a uniform thin film as well as allows the composition of the thin film to be easily controlled. Accordingly, the high dielectric thin film deposition apparatuses which utilize the MOCVD method are now being actively researched.
In order to better understand the background of the invention, a description will be given of a conventional MOCVD apparatus and its operation procedure, in conjugation with FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, a typical MOCVD apparatus comprises a reactant source ampule 10, a liquid micro pump 20 for delivering the reactants, a vaporizer 30, a reactor 70, a trap 60 and a vacuum pump. The reactants contained in the source ampule 10 are dissolved in a solvent. The liquid micro-pump 20 is used to transfer the resulting liquid to the vaporizer 30 in which the liquid is heated or vaporized with the aid of another energy source. Using a carrier gas, such as argon or nitrogen, the vapor is transferred the rector 70 and the vapor is deposited on a semiconductor substrate loaded in the reactor 70, to form a thin film. Here, pressure rising gas which is needed for the transfer of the reactants, is also argon or nitrogen.
During the transfer of the reactants dissolved in the solvent to the reactor, however, since the vaporization temperature of the solvent is much lower than that of the reactants, the solvent, although no heat is applied to the vaporizer, is separated faster than the reactants, recondensing the reactants. Accordingly, the recondensed reactants block the thin film transfer line between the vaporizer and the reactor and thus, are not constantly fed to the reactor. As a consequence, a deposited thin film is formed poor in properties.
Even when heat is applied to the vaporizer in order to constantly maintain the vapor pressure of the reactants necessary for the thin film deposition, the solvent is faster vaporized than the reactants, resulting in the decomposition of the reactants. Likely, the reactants cannot be constantly fed to the reactor since the decomposed reactants block the thin film transfer line between the vaporizer and the reactor. So, it is difficult to form a thin film reliable and excellent in electrical properties.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the above problems encountered in the prior arts and to provide an MOCVD apparatus in which the reactants are prevented from being recondensed and decomposed in the vaporizer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for forming a high dielectric thin film by using the apparatus.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an MOCVD apparatus for forming a high dielectric thin film, comprising a source ampule containing reactants in a solvent, a liquid micro-pump for delivering the dissolved reactants, a vaporizer for vaporizing the dissolved reactants delivered by the micro-pump and a reactor for depositing the vaporized reactants on a semiconductor substrate loaded therein, said vaporized reactant being fed to said reactor by a carrier gas, wherein said vaporizer is additionally provided with a solvent supply means for feeding an additional amount of the solvent to said vaporizer, in order to prevent the reactants from being recondensed in the vaporizer and the recondensed reactants, if may be present, from blocking a transfer line between the vaporizer and the reactor.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an MOCVD method for forming a high dielectric thin film on a semiconductor substrate, comprising the steps of: feeding a reactant dissolved in a solvent to a vaporizer which is additionally provided with the solvent via a separate supply means; vaporizing the reactant in the vaporizer; and transferring the vaporized reactant to a reactor by carrier gas, in which the reactant is deposited on the semiconductor substrate. | {
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The platelet was discovered in 1842 by Donne [C. R. Acad. Sci.(paris), 14, 336-368, 1842], and has long been regarded as a component of blood necessary for hemostasis. It is now known that the platelet plays not only a main role in the hemostatic system, but also multifunctional roles, for example, a clinically notable generation of arteriosclerosis, circulatory diseases including thrombotic diseases, metastasis of cancer, inflammation, rejection after grafting, participation in immune reaction, or the like.
At present, revascularization by pharmacological or physical methods is carried out to treat thrombotic diseases and ischemic diseases. However, it has been recently found that the activation, adhesion, and/or aggregation of the platelets is promoted by a collapse of blood vessel tissue including an endothelial cell after revascularization, or a collapse of a fibrinolysis-coagulation balance caused by a medicament per se, which becomes a clinical problem. For example, it is known that, after revascularization by a thrombolytic therapy using t-PA or the like, the fibrinolytic activity and/or coagulative activity are activated, and then the systemic fibrinolysis-coagulation balance collapses. Clinically, this causes re-occlusion, and becomes a critical problem therapeutically (J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 12, 616-623, 1988).
In addition, the PTCA (Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty) therapy has quickly become widely used, and has achieved good results in the treatment of diseases based on aortostenosis or coronary stenosis such as angina, myocardial infarction, or the like. However, the therapy injures blood vessel tissue including an endothelial cell, and acute coronary obstruction, and restenosis, which is observed in approximately 30% of cases, become a problem.
The platelet plays an important role in these various thrombotic disorders (such as re-occlusion or the like) after the revascularization therapy. Therefore, an antiplatelet agent is desired as an agent for treating or preventing these thrombotic disorders.
In this connection, adenosine 5′-diphosphate (ADP) is known as an important factor which induces or promotes the activation, adhesion, and aggregation of the platelets. ADP is released from platelets activated by collagen, thrombin, or the like, or from hemocytes, vascular endothelial cells, or organs injured by revascularization or the like. It is considered that ADP activates the platelets via a G protein-coupled ADP receptor P2T located in the platelet membrane (Biochem. J., 336, 513-523, 1998).
It has been suggested that a platelet ADP receptor P2TPLC which is coupled to Gq, one of the G proteins, and increases an intracellular Ca2+ concentration via phospholipase C (PLC), and a platelet ADP receptor P2TAC which is coupled to Gi, one of the G proteins, and suppresses an activity of adenylate cyclase (AC) are present as platelet ADP receptors. At present, the platelet ADP receptor P2TPLC has been identified as the receptor known as platelet ADP receptor P2Y1, but the entity of platelet ADP receptor P2TAC is not identified (Kunapuli, S. P. et al., Trends Pharmacol. Sci., 19, 391-394, 1998).
It is considered that Ticlopidine or Clopidogrel used as an antiplatelet agent functions by inhibiting the ADP receptor P2TAC via its metabolite in a body (Savi, P. J., Pharmaclo. Exp. Ther., 269, 772-777, 1994). Further, ARL67085, which is synthesized as a derivative of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is an ADP receptor antagonist in a body, exhibits an activity of suppressing a platelet aggregation by the antagonist activity against the platelet ADP receptor P2TAC, and the effectiveness thereof is proven by using a thrombosis model (Mills, D. C., Thromb. Hemost., 76, 835-856, 1996; and Humphries, R. G., Trends Pharmacol. Sci., 16, 179-181, 1995). Further, a derivative of Ap4A [P1,P4-di(adenosine-5′)tetraphosphate] exhibits an activity suppressing the platelet aggregation by ADP, by the antagonist activity against the platelet ADP receptor P2TAC, and the effectiveness thereof is proven by using a thrombosis model (Kim, B. K., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89, 2370-2373, 1992).
From the above information, an antagonist against the platelet ADP receptor P2TAC is desired as a strong antiplatelet agent. However, Ticlopidine or Clopidogrel exhibits a weak antiplatelet activity, and has problems such as a strong side effect or the like. Further, ARL67085 or derivatives thereof (ATP analogues), derivatives of Ap4A, or the like, which is studied as the ADP receptor antagonist, is a derivative of nucleotide, and then an oral bioavailability is not sufficient, and further problems arise such as a weak activity of suppressing the platelet aggregation. Therefore, an ADP receptor antagonist having a strong oral bioavailability is intensely desired (CAPRIE STEERING COMMITTEE, Lancet, 348, 1329-1339, 1996).
However, the ADP receptor P2TAC protein has not been identified as yet. Therefore, it is difficult to construct a convenient system for screening such a compound, and farther, the development of the ADP receptor P2TAC antagonist has not progressed.
In this connection, with regard to a DNA encoding a polypeptide consisting of the same amino acid sequence as that of a human ADP receptor P2TAC protein, which may be used in the present invention, and an amino acid sequence deduced from the DNA, there are several reports (WO00/22131, WO00/31258, WO00/28028, and WO98/50549 pamphlets). However, ligands are not elucidated in the reports, and no reports disclose that the protein is an ADP receptor located in the platelet. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to oxidative desulfurization and more particularly to a process and system for integrated oxidative desulfurization and fluid catalytic cracking of liquid hydrocarbon feedstocks.
2. Description of Related Art
In conventional oil refinery operations, various processes occur in discrete units and/or steps. This is generally due to the complexity of naturally occurring whole crude oil mixtures, and the fact that crude oil feedstocks processed at refineries often differ based on the location and age of the production well, pre-processing activities at the production well, and the means used to transport the crude oil to the refinery plant.
Two very important and conventionally separate refining processes include desulfurization to reduce the organosulfur compounds present and fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) for converting heavy hydrocarbon, including gasoils and residues into lighter hydrocarbon fractions.
Desulfurization is a vital step in refining hydrocarbons into transportation and heating fuel. The discharge into the atmosphere of sulfur compounds during processing and end-use of the petroleum products derived from sulfur-containing sour crude oil poses health and environmental problems. Stringent reduced-sulfur specifications applicable to transportation and other fuel products have impacted the refining industry, and it is necessary for refiners to make capital investments to greatly reduce the sulfur content in gas oils to 10 parts per million by weight (ppmw) or less. In the industrialized nations such as the United States, Japan and the countries of the European Union, refineries have already been required to produce environmentally clean transportation fuels. For instance, in 2007 the United States Environmental Protection Agency required the sulfur content of highway diesel fuel to be reduced 97%, from 500 ppmw (low sulfur diesel) to 15 ppmw (ultra-low sulfur diesel). The European Union has enacted even more stringent standards, requiring diesel and gasoline fuels sold in 2009 to contain less than 10 ppmw of sulfur. Other countries are following in the footsteps of the United States and the European Union and are moving forward with regulations that will require refineries to produce transportation fuels with ultra-low sulfur levels.
To keep pace with recent trends toward production of ultra-low sulfur fuels, refiners must choose among the processes or crude oils that provide flexibility that ensures future specifications are met with minimum additional capital investment, in many instances by utilizing existing equipment. Conventional technologies such as hydrocracking and two-stage hydrotreating offer solutions to refiners for the production of clean transportation fuels. These technologies are available and can be applied as new grassroots production facilities are constructed. However, many existing hydroprocessing facilities, such as those using relatively low pressure hydrotreaters, represent a substantial prior investment and were constructed before these more stringent sulfur reduction requirements were enacted.
With the increasing prevalence of more stringent environmental sulfur specifications in transportation fuels mentioned above, the maximum allowable sulfur levels are being reduced to no greater than 15 ppmw, and in some cases no greater than 10 ppmw. This ultra-low level of sulfur in the end product typically requires either construction of new high pressure hydrotreating units, or a substantial retrofitting of existing facilities, e.g., by incorporating gas purification systems, reengineering the internal configuration and components of reactors, and/or deployment of more active catalyst compositions.
Sulfur-containing compounds that are typically present in hydrocarbon fuels include aliphatic molecules such as sulfides, disulfides and mercaptans as well as aromatic molecules such as thiophene, benzothiophene and its long chain alkylated derivatives, and dibenzothiophene and its alkyl derivatives such as 4,6-dimethyl-dibenzothiophene.
Aliphatic sulfur-containing compounds are more easily desulfurized (labile) using conventional hydrodesulfurization methods. However, certain highly branched aliphatic molecules can hinder the sulfur atom removal and are moderately more difficult to desulfurize (refractory) using conventional hydrodesulfurization methods.
Among the sulfur-containing aromatic compounds, thiophenes and benzothiophenes are relatively easy to hydrodesulfurize. The addition of alkyl groups to the ring compounds increases the difficulty of hydrodesulfurization. Dibenzothiophenes resulting from addition of another ring to the benzothiophene family are even more difficult to desulfurize, and the difficulty varies greatly according to their alkyl substitution, with di-beta substitution being the most difficult to desulfurize, thus justifying their “refractory” appellation. These beta substituents hinder exposure of the heteroatom to the active site on the catalyst.
Conventional hydrodesulfurization processes can be used to remove a major portion of the sulfur from petroleum distillates for the blending of refinery transportation fuels. However, most hydrodesulfurization processing units cannot be operated efficiently for removal of sulfur from compounds where the sulfur atom is sterically hindered as in multi-ring aromatic sulfur compounds. This is especially true where the sulfur heteroatom is hindered by two alkyl groups (e.g., 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene). These hindered dibenzothiophenes predominate at low sulfur levels such as 50 to 100 ppm. Severe operating conditions, including higher hydrogen partial pressure, higher temperature, and higher catalyst volume, are conventionally applied to remove the sulfur from these sterically hindered compounds. The increase of hydrogen partial pressure can only be done by increasing the recycle gas purity, or by design and construction of new grassroots hydrodesulfurization units, which is a very costly option. Furthermore, the use of severe operating conditions results in yield loss, reduced catalyst cycle time and product quality deterioration.
The economical removal of refractory sulfur-containing compounds is therefore exceedingly difficult to achieve, and accordingly removal of sulfur-containing compounds in hydrocarbon fuels to an ultra-low sulfur level is very costly by current hydrotreating techniques. When previous regulations permitted sulfur levels up to 500 ppmw, there was little need or incentive to desulfurize beyond the capabilities of conventional hydrodesulfurization, and hence the refractory sulfur-containing compounds were not targeted. However, in order to meet the more stringent sulfur specifications, these refractory sulfur-containing compounds must be substantially removed from hydrocarbon fuels streams.
The development of alternative desulfurization routes has been widely studied and applied with varying degree of success, including the oxidative route where sulfur-containing compounds are oxidized. In oxidative desulfurization processes, sulfur-containing hydrocarbon compounds are converted to their respective oxides, i.e., sulfoxides and/or sulfones. The oxidized sulfur compounds are subsequently removed typically by extraction or adsorption.
Oxidative desulfurization of residual hydrocarbons boiling above 370° C. is a developing technology, and there remains little literature teaching effective processes. This is due to the nature of heavier hydrocarbon fractions, which contain elemental sulfur above 2 weight % (W %). The organic sulfur level is much higher because sulfur is in the hydrocarbon structure, and can be above 12 W % depending upon the molecular weight of the hydrocarbons in a particular fraction. Accordingly, oxidation of organic sulfur compounds followed by separation of the oxidized compounds can result in undesirable removal of large portion of the valuable hydrocarbon component. Hydrocarbons in these separated oxidized sulfur compounds must subsequently be recovered, e.g., by breakage of the carbon-sulfur bonds, in order to increase the overall hydrocarbon yield.
Another very important and ubiquitous operation in hydrocarbon refinery operations relates to catalytic conversion. There are two basic modes for catalytic conversion of hydrocarbon feedstocks. The first mode is catalytic conversion of hydrocarbons without the addition of hydrogen to the conversion zone, which is typically conducted at temperatures in the range of from about 480° C. to about 550° C. using a circulating stream of catalyst. The second mode is the catalytic conversion of hydrocarbon feedstock with added hydrogen at reaction conversion temperatures less than about 540° C. with the reaction zone comprising a fixed bed of catalyst.
This first mode, commonly referred to as fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), has the advantage of being performed without the added expense of in influent hydrogen stream, and is conducted at relatively low pressure, i.e., about 3 kg/cm2 to about 4 kg/cm2 or less. However, this mode is incapable of upgrading the hydrocarbon product by hydrogenation, and requires relatively high reaction temperatures which accelerate conversion of hydrocarbons into coke thereby decreasing the potentially greater volumetric yield of the normally liquid hydrocarbon product. This coke forms on the catalyst, therefore FCC processes require catalyst regeneration to burn off the coke and allow the catalyst to be recycled.
The second mode, commonly known as fixed bed hydrocracking processes, has achieved commercial acceptance by petroleum refiners, this process has several disadvantages. In order to attempt to achieve long runs and high on-stream reliability, fixed bed hydrocrackers require a high inventory of catalyst and a relatively high pressure reaction zone which is generally operated at 150 kg/cm2 or greater to achieve catalyst stability. In addition, two phase flow of reactants over a fixed bed of catalyst often creates uneven distribution within the reaction zone, resulting in inefficient utilization of catalyst and incomplete conversion of the reactants. Further, momentary misoperation or electrical power failure can cause severe catalyst coking which may require the process to be shut down for offline catalyst regeneration or replacement.
In conventional refinery operations, desulfurization and cracking of hydrocarbons are carried-out in separate unit operations, e.g., a fluid catalytic cracking unit to break the carbon-carbon bond to convert the high boiling point hydrocarbons into low boiling point hydrocarbons, and either hydrotreating to break the carbon-sulfur bond and convert sulfur into hydrogen sulfide or oxidative desulfurization processes where sulfur is oxidized into sulfoxides and/or sulfones and then removed from hydrocarbon streams.
Therefore, it would be desirable to increase the efficacy of the conventional cracking and desulfurization processes. | {
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In the high pressure-high temperature oxidation-leaching of chalcopyrite ore concentrates the oxidation of the sulfides results in the formation of sulfuric acid, the dissolution of the water-soluble and acid-soluble metals, and the generation of heat due to the exothermic nature of the oxidation reactions. The oxidation reactions proceed according to the following equations: EQU 1. CuFeS.sub.2 + 4O.sub.2 .sup.H.sbsp.2.sup.SO.sbsp.4 CuSO.sub.4 + FeSO.sub.4 + Heat EQU 2. 2FeSO.sub.4 + H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 + 1/20.sub.2 .fwdarw. Fe.sub.2 (SO.sub.4).sub.3 + H.sub.2 O EQU 3. fe.sub.2 (SO.sub.4).sub.3 + 3H.sub.2 O .revreaction. Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 .dwnarw. + 3H.sub.2 SO.sub.4
Frequently, lime (CaO) or limestone (CaCO.sub.3) is fed to the leaching autoclave to neutralize a portion of the acidity in order to precipitate arsenic or iron, or simply to reduce the acidity and adjust the pH as desired for subsequent steps of the process. Where lime is used, neutralization proceeds according to the equation: EQU 4. CaO + H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 .fwdarw. CaSO.sub.4 + H.sub.2 O
where limestone is used as the neutralizer, the reaction proceeds as follows: EQU 5. CaCO.sub.3 + H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 .fwdarw. CaSO.sub.4 + H.sub.2 O + CO.sub.2
in accomplishing neutralization the extremely important economic consideration of operation at optimal metal extraction rates may well be overlooked or defeated by maintenance of acidity levels which are not commensurate with high extraction rates. In similar vein various means are resorted to for removal of the heat generated in order to avoid buildup of excessive internal pressures, etc. Here again the extent to which heat is removed in order to minimize pressure buildup will very likely not necessarily result in optimal temperatures for maximum copper extraction.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method of oxidation-leaching of chalcopyrite and other similar copper sulfide concentrates employing oxygen-containing gases which results in a maximum rate of copper extraction from the concentrate while extracting a maximum percentage of copper from the concentrate and at the same time retaining a minimum amount of dissolved iron in the resulting solution.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method of oxidation-leaching which simultaneously allows the maximum rate and percentage of copper extraction with minimum iron in solution and optimal composition of the precipitates produced for efficient liquid-solids separation at a later stage in the copper recovery process. | {
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Internal combustion engines are well known and widely used throughout the world. Virtually all modern work machines, and many power generation systems depend upon internal combustion engines as either a primary power source, or indirectly to provide electricity for operation. Over the many decades of internal combustion engine development, engineers have devised means for operating such engines in virtually every conceivable environment. While sophisticated control and operating systems allow most modern internal combustion engines to operate under extremes of temperature, inherent sensitivities within the engine hardware can still place limitations on operation, particularly with respect to initiating operation under cold conditions.
In certain fuel injected internal combustion engines, inherent difficulty in accurately controlling the quantities of fuel injected in very small injection events can actually make cold starting easier. In some systems, an inherent uncertain sluggishness exists in admission valve opening and closing during a cold start. As a result, fuel may begin injecting relatively more slowly than actually commanded by the control system. Under cold starting conditions, the initially sluggish start of injection can actually make cold starting easier, as the slower initial rate of injection of cold fuel actually tends to facilitate ignition once autoignition conditions are reached in the cylinder. In certain other systems, for example, some high pressure common rail designs, the start of injection tends to be quite abrupt. By removing the inherent sluggishness in fuel injection, engineers have in some cases made engines more difficult to cold start.
One operating approach that addresses cold starting concerns in a common rail design includes the use of relatively small, closely timed pre-jets of fuel injected in an engine cycle prior to a main injection. The pre-jets can induce an activated condition in an engine cylinder that facilitates ignition of a main shot in situations where main shot ignition would otherwise be difficult or impossible. One challenge to such an approach, however, relates to the tendency for injection of overly large pre-jets to absorb too much heat from the cylinder charge air. In other words, heat absorption by the relatively cold fuel of the pre-jets appears to reduce the temperature of the charge air to a point where ignition of the main injection is undermined. Thus, rather than facilitating cold starts, the use of pre-jets can inhibit, or at least fail to improve, ignition of the main fuel injection, in certain instances.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,962 to Osuka et al. is directed to one method and control system for enhancing diesel engine starting ability under certain conditions. Osuka et al. utilize one or more pre-jets of fuel injected prior to a main jet of fuel during an engine cycle. The pre-jet is stated to develop an easily ignitable, activated condition in the cylinder conducive to ignition of the main jet of fuel. While Osuka et al. appear to recognize one approach to addressing starting problems in diesel engines, there is always room for improvement.
The present disclosure is directed to one or more of the problems or shortcomings set forth above. | {
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Structures and techniques have been proposed to enhance the performance of semiconductor devices, such as by enhancing the mobility of the charge carriers. For example, U.S. patent application No. 2003/0057416 to Currie et al. discloses strained material layers of silicon, silicon-germanium, and relaxed silicon and also including impurity-free zones that would otherwise cause performance degradation. The resulting biaxial strain in the upper silicon layer alters the carrier mobilities enabling higher speed and/or lower power devices. Published U.S. patent application No. 2003/0034529 to Fitzgerald et al. discloses a CMOS inverter also based upon similar strained silicon technology.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,472,685 B2 to Takagi discloses a semiconductor device including a silicon and carbon layer sandwiched between silicon layers so that the conduction band and valence band of the second silicon layer receive a tensile strain. Electrons having a smaller effective mass, and which have been induced by an electric field applied to the gate electrode, are confined in the second silicon layer; thus, an n-channel MOSFET is asserted to have a higher mobility.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,204 to Ishibashi et al. discloses a superlattice in which a plurality of layers, less than eight monolayers, and containing a fraction or a binary compound semiconductor layers, are alternately and epitaxially grown. The direction of main current flow is perpendicular to the layers of the superlattice.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,119 to Wang et al. discloses a Si—Ge short period superlattice with higher mobility achieved by reducing alloy scattering in the superlattice. Along these lines, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,934 to Candelaria discloses an enhanced mobility MOSFET including a channel layer comprising an alloy of silicon and a second material substitutionally present in the silicon lattice at a percentage that places the channel layer under tensile stress.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,262 to Tsu discloses a quantum well structure comprising two barrier regions and a thin epitaxially grown semiconductor layer sandwiched between the barriers. Each barrier region consists of alternate layers of SiO2/Si with a thickness generally in a range of two to six monolayers. A much thicker section of silicon is sandwiched between the barriers.
An article entitled “Phenomena in silicon nanostructure devices” also to Tsu and published online Sep. 6, 2000 by Applied Physics and Materials Science & Processing, pp. 391-402 discloses a semiconductor-atomic superlattice (SAS) of silicon and oxygen. The Si/O superlattice is disclosed as useful in a silicon quantum and light-emitting devices. In particular, a green electromuminescence diode structure was constructed and tested. Current flow in the diode structure is vertical, that is, perpendicular to the layers of the SAS. The disclosed SAS may include semiconductor layers separated by adsorbed species such as oxygen atoms, and CO molecules. The silicon growth beyond the adsorbed monolayer of oxygen is described as epitaxial with a fairly low defect density. One SAS structure included a 1.1 nm thick silicon portion that is about eight atomic layers of silicon, and another structure had twice this thickness of silicon. An article to Luo et al. entitled “Chemical Design of Direct-Gap Light-Emitting Silicon” published in Physical Review Letters, Vol. 89, No. 7 (Aug. 12, 2002) further discusses the light emitting SAS structures of Tsu.
Published International Application WO 02/103,767 A1 to Wang, Tsu and Lofgren, discloses a barrier building block of thin silicon and oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, antimony, arsenic or hydrogen to thereby reduce current flowing vertically through the lattice more than four orders of magnitude. The insulating layer/barrier layer allows for low defect epitaxial silicon to be deposited next to the insulating layer.
Published Great Britain Patent Application 2,347,520 to Mears et al. discloses that principles of Aperiodic Photonic Band-Gap (APBG) structures may be adapted for electronic bandgap engineering. In particular, the application discloses that material parameters, for example, the location of band minima, effective mass, etc, can be tailored to yield new aperiodic materials with desirable band-structure characteristics. Other parameters, such as electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and dielectric permittivity or magnetic permeability are disclosed as also possible to be designed into the material.
Despite considerable efforts at materials engineering to increase the mobility of charge carriers in semiconductor devices, there is still a need for greater improvements. Greater mobility may increase device speed and/or reduce device power consumption. With greater mobility, device performance can also be maintained despite the continued shift to smaller device features. | {
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This invention relates to a method of producing a glass gob to be subjected to press molding, a method of producing a glass molded product by pressing the glass gob, and an apparatus for producing the glass gob.
In order to produce an optical glass component, use has widely been made of a technique of press-molding a glass by the use of a die or a mold. Such technique includes a direct press method of directly pressing a molten glass gob and a reheating/pressing (RP) method of reheating and pressing a preform which has a shape approximate to that of a final or an end product.
Traditionally, the above-mentioned preform is prepared in the following manner. The molten glass is made to flow down from an outlet pipe and cut by a cutting tool such as a shear blade to obtain a molten glass gob having a predetermined weight. The molten glass gob is cooled into a glass gob to be directly used as the preform. Alternatively, the glass gob thus obtained is subjected to polishing before it is used as the preform. In the existing method of obtaining the glass gob by flowing down the molten glass from the outlet pipe, the weight of the glass gob is controlled by changing the diameter of a nozzle attached to an end of the outlet pipe. This means that the nozzle must be exchanged to another nozzle in order to produce the glass gob having a different weight. Furthermore, in order to reuse the nozzle once removed, a residual glass cooled and solidified in the nozzle must be eliminated.
In order to overcome the above-mentioned problem, the present applicant has already developed a method of blowing a gas to the molten glass before spontaneous falling of the molten glass from the nozzle, thereby forcibly drop down, as a molten glass drop, the molten glass having a particular weight as a dropping weight (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H10-194752 (JP 10-194752 A, which will hereinafter be referred to as an earlier publication). In this method, the dropping weight of the molten glass drop is controlled by adjusting the timing of blowing the gas. By changing the timing, it is possible to continuously change the dropping weight from one to another. For example, if the gas is blown at a shorter time interval, the weight of the glass gob to be obtained is reduced. In the above-mentioned method, it is unnecessary to exchange the nozzle every time when a desirable dropping weight of the molten glass is changed from one to another. Upon press molding a video camera lens, a compact disk pickup lens, and so on, a small glass gob to be used as a preform is required. Such a small glass gob can be produced by this method.
The method disclosed in the earlier publication is excellent and useful as mentioned above. However, it is difficult to produce an extremely small or minute glass gob, which is further smaller in weight, with high weight accuracy. In the method disclosed in the earlier publication, the gas blown to the molten glass is guided to a nozzle portion by an air blow pipe. The air blow pipe is extended from an exterior of a heater through a lower opening of the heater to a nozzle end within the heater. Therefore, the gas blown to the molten glass has a temperature extremely lower than that of the molten glass.
The gas is intermittently blown to the molten glass at a predetermined timing corresponding to the dropping weight. Alternatively, in order to prevent the molten glass from wicking or wetting upwards along an outer peripheral surface of the nozzle (due to a capillary phenomenon or a flowing up movement caused by a gas flow), the gas is continuously blown relatively weakly at a relatively low pressure and, at a desired drop timing, the gas is blown relatively intensely at a relatively high pressure to forcibly drop the molten glass. In either event, the molten glass is dropped by relatively intensely blowing the gas at a controlled timing.
The present inventors have found out that, in order to obtain a glass gob having an extremely small weight with high weight accuracy by dropping the molten glass, it is important to keep a constant flow rate of the gas blown to the molten glass and to continuously flow the gas in a laminar flow condition. It has also been found out that, even upon occurrence of some fluctuation in flow rate of the gas, the influence of the fluctuation upon the weight accuracy of the glass gob is minimized under a particular condition. Furthermore, the present inventors have found out a method of setting the particular condition.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method of producing a glass gob with high weight accuracy.
It is a specific object of this invention to provide a method of producing an extremely small glass gob with high weight accuracy.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method of producing a glass molded product by the use of the above-mentioned glass gob.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an apparatus for producing the above-mentioned glass gob.
According to a first aspect of this invention, there is provided a method of producing a glass gob by successively dropping or dripping as molten glass drops a molten glass from a nozzle in a dropping direction, the method comprising the step of generating a gas flow continuously flowing in the dropping direction along an outer peripheral surface of the nozzle at a predetermined flow rate to apply a wind pressure or a blow/flow pressure upon the molten glass appearing from an end of the nozzle, thereby dropping the molten glass.
According to a second aspect of this invention, there is provided a method of producing a glass molded product, the method comprising the steps of preparing a glass gob by the use of the above-mentioned method in the first aspect, reheating the glass gob, and press-molding the glass gob to obtain the glass molded product.
According to a third aspect of this invention, there is provided an apparatus for producing a glass gob by dropping a molten glass as a molten glass drop, receiving the molten glass drop in a molding die, and molding the molten glass drop to produce the glass gob, the apparatus comprising a nozzle for flowing out the molten glass, a molding die for receiving the molten glass drop dropping down from the nozzle and molding the molten glass drop into the glass gob, a nozzle cover covering and surrounding an outer periphery of the nozzle to define a gas flow path between the nozzle cover and the nozzle and to define a nozzle cover opening between a nozzle cover end of the nozzle cover and a nozzle end of the nozzle, and gas supplying means for continuously supplying a gas of a predetermined flow rate or a predetermined quantity into the interior of the nozzle cover. The gas supplied into the interior of the nozzle cover passes through the gas flow path defined between the nozzle and the nozzle cover to be blown out through the nozzle cover opening towards the nozzle end so that a wind pressure of the gas blown out through the nozzle cover opening is applied to the molten glass appearing from the nozzle end protruding from the nozzle cover opening, thereby dropping the molten glass. | {
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Generally, an organic light-emitting display device may include a driver and a plurality of pixels, and each pixel may correspond to one pixel circuit, wherein the driver may generate a drive signal, and the drive signal may be transmitted in a plurality of pixel circuits. Each pixel circuit is scanned and data is written into each pixel circuit so that the light-emitting diodes in the pixel circuit emit light, and the entire display device emits light.
However, in practical applications, when the drive signal is transmitted from one pixel circuit to another, the drive signal may inevitably have a delay due to the resistance and the capacitance of a signal line in the pixel circuit. As the resolution of the organic light-emitting display device continues to increase, effective time for scanning each pixel by the drive signal is continuously shortened. Thus, in the case where the drive signal is delayed, the writing of data into the pixel is seriously affected, thereby affecting normal display of the entire display device. | {
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The invention relates to a telecommunication system comprising a transmission medium simultaneously accessible to at least three terminals, each terminal comprising a send oscillator coupled to the transmission medium via send means and, means for modulating the output signal of the send means. The transmission medium is also coupled to an input of receive means in each terminal, the output of the receive means being coupled to demodulation means for obtaining a demodulated signal from an input signal to the receive means.
Such a telecommunication system is known from the conference lecture "TBOSS--A transparent optical subscriber system with full duplex multi-access provided by tunable coherent single laser transceivers", Proc. OFC., Feb. 18-22, 1991, San Diego, p. 183, paper ThN3.
For realizing telecommunication systems which make communication among a plurality of terminals possible and which require little or no switching equipment, a transmission medium can be utilized that is simultaneously accessible to all the terminals.
Examples of such a transmission medium are a coaxial cable, a radio channel and a so-called reflective optical star network. Such a transmission medium has a given number of ports. If a signal generated by a send oscillator is sent through one of these ports, this signal is distributed over all the ports of the transmission medium. A signal supplied to the transmission medium by a terminal can thus be received by all the other terminals. The send oscillator may be an electrical oscillator or an optical oscillator such as, for example, a LED or a laser.
For transporting a baseband signal through such a transmission medium, the signal from a send oscillator is amplitude, frequency or phase modulated by the baseband signal with the aid of the modulation means before the oscillator signal is fed to the transmission medium.
In order to permit more than two terminals to use the transmission medium simultaneously, measures are necessary for avoiding mutual interference. A method of achieving this is to define time slots in which, alternately, only one of the terminals supplies a signal to the network.
A disadvantage of this method is that the network is not always used as efficiently as possible. For example, if only one terminal is supplying a message to the network, the channel is not utilized during the time slots reserved to the other terminals.
In such a case it is better to make the transmission medium fully available to that single terminal. A problem is then that with the known telecommunication system a terminal receiving information from another terminal cannot receive any information from a further terminal. However, this is often desired for sending urgent messages to the receiving terminal. Neither is it possible in the known telecommunication system for a terminal to send simultaneously two or more different messages to one or more terminals.
It is an object of the invention to provide a telecommunication system as described above, in which simultaneous communication between any particular terminal and one or more other terminals is possible.
For this purpose, the invention is characterized in that an input of the aforesaid modulation means is coupled to an output of further modulation means for modulating at least one further baseband signal to be transmitted on an associated subcarrier, and an output of the aforesaid demodulation means is coupled to further demodulation means for deriving at least one further baseband signal from the demodulated signal.
By way of these measures it is possible for an additional terminal to communicate with a first and/or a second terminal by supplying a further signal to the transmission medium while concurrently modulating on a subcarrier the baseband signal intended for the first and/or second terminal.
In the demodulated signal obtained at the first and/or second terminal there are now two (or more) signals coming from different terminals. Since at least one of the signals is modulated on a subcarrier, the frequency spectrums of the signals do not overlap and the signals coming from different terminals may be separated in the receiver simply by means of filters.
It is possible for the baseband signal from one of the terminals not to be modulated on a subcarrier, but only the baseband signal(s) from the further terminal(s) to have been modulated on a different subcarrier (on different subcarriers). Alternatively, it is possible for the baseband signals from all the terminals to have been modulated on individual subcarriers.
An embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the send oscillator is tunable, the receive means comprise mixer means, the input of the receive means is coupled to a first input of the mixer means, each of the terminals comprise a receive oscillator whose output is coupled to a second input of the mixer means, and the output of the mixer means is coupled to the output of the receive means.
These measures achieve that the maximum amount of information that can be transported through the transmission medium may be much larger than the amount of information that can be supplied to the transmission medium per unit of time by a single terminal. The latter amount is restricted by the limited speed of the electronic circuits in the sending terminal.
If the bandwidth of the transmission medium is such that the transmission capacity is much larger than the amount of information that can be supplied per unit of time by a single transmitter, different carriers for different simultaneously transmitting stations can be utilized to advantage if the send oscillator is tunable. Consequently, the total amount of information transported through the transmission medium may be much larger than the amount of information transmitted by a single terminal.
Certainly with known optical reflective star networks the use of different optical carriers may be highly advantageous, because the available bandwidth of such networks may be several hundred GHz.
Heterodyne receivers are used for a receiving terminal to receive, without utilizing complex tunable optical filters, from one of a plurality of terminals transmitting at different frequencies. In these receivers the received signal is converted into an intermediate frequency signal having a much lower intermediate frequency, so that the intermediate-frequency signal may be processed with the aid of conventional electronic components. For this purpose, the signal received by a terminal is converted by mixer means to the intermediate frequency via a signal generated by the receive oscillator. In this manner an intermediate-frequency signal is obtained having a frequency equal to the difference frequency between that of the received signal and the frequency of the signal generated by the receive oscillator.
In the telecommunication system known from afore-mentioned conference lecture, the send oscillator and the receive oscillator are formed by a laser. The mixer means here consist of an optical directional coupling and a photodiode. The mixer means convert the received light signal having a very high frequency, for example, 10.sup.14 Hz, into an intermediate-frequency signal having a much lower frequency, for example 3 GHz.
A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the send oscillator and the receive oscillator comprise a single shared oscillator.
As has already been explained in afore-mentioned conference lecture, the use of only a single oscillator both as the send oscillator and the receive oscillator realizes a considerable saving. In order to make the use of only a single oscillator possible, the frequency of the oscillator of the first terminal must differ from the frequency of the oscillator in the second terminal by a value equal to the intermediate frequency. As a result, both in the receiver of the first terminal and the receiver of the second terminal the desired intermediate-frequency signal is available at the output of the mixer means.
If more than two terminals utilize the same pair of carriers, these two terminals may be divided into two groups; i.e., a group of terminals transmitting a carrier with a first frequency and a group of terminals transmitting a carrier with a second frequency, the difference between the first and second frequencies being equal to the intermediate frequency. In this situation all the terminals from the first group can communicate with all the terminals from the second group.
A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the modulation means comprise control means of the send oscillator.
In the prior-art telecommunication system the modulation means comprise an external modulator inserted between the oscillator (laser) and the send means. The use of a single laser as a send oscillator and also as a receive oscillator is further known from the conference lecture "Coherent 565 Mbit/s DPSK Bidirectional Transmission Experiment with Local Transceiver Lasers", Proceedings 15th European Conference on Optical Communication, Vol. 1, Gothenburg, Sep. 10-14, 1989, pp. 417-420, paper ThA21-7.
The external modulators that may be utilized for this purpose are rather expensive, however, and cause considerable attenuation of the signal generated by the oscillator (laser). By modulating the oscillator (laser) directly, the external modulator is no longer necessary.
When a terminal simultaneously transmits and receives, the intermediate-frequency signal coming from the terminal has both the modulation of the signal to be transmitted and the modulation of the received signal. Selection of the modulation method must take into account that the modulation of the transmitted signal should be distinguishable from the modulation of the received signal.
An example of such a modulation method is amplitude modulation with a relatively small depth of modulation. The frequency spectrum of the signal transmitted by a specific terminal then consists of a carrier having two sidebands at a distance from the carrier equal to the frequency of the subcarrier.
If this terminal receives from a further terminal a similar signal having a different carrier frequency and a different subcarrier frequency, the output of the mixer means will be an intermediate-frequency signal essentially consisting of a carrier and two pairs of sidebands. One pair of sidebands comes from the further terminal and the other pair of sidebands comes from the first terminal itself. Although there may also occur mixing products of the sidebands generated by the first and the further terminal, the magnitude of the mixing products may be restricted if the modulation depth is selected to be sufficiently small. The different signals may then be simply separated with the aid of electrical filters.
A further embodiment is characterized in that the modulation means comprise angle modulation means and in that the demodulation means comprise angle demodulation means.
It appears that when angle modulation (for example, phase or frequency modulation) is used no undesired mixing products occur, as a result of which the information transmitted by the two terminals can be separated free of distortion. This will be clarified as follows.
The light carrier signal L.sub.t generated by the laser oscillator in a terminal can be written: EQU L.sub.t =A.multidot.sin(.omega..sub.1 t+.DELTA..psi..multidot.s.sub.1 (t))(1)
In (1) .omega..sub.1 is the angular frequency of the light signal L.sub.t, .DELTA..psi. is the angle modulation constant and s.sub.1 (t) the signal to be modulated on the light signal. The received signal L.sub.r can be written: EQU L.sub.r =B.multidot.sin(.omega..sub.2 t+.DELTA..psi..multidot.s.sub.2 (t))(2)
In (2) .omega..sub.2 is the angular frequency of the signal L.sub.r and s.sub.2 (t) is the baseband signal modulated on the received signal.
In the mixer means an intermediate-frequency signal is determined by summing the two signals L.sub.t and L.sub.r and, subsequently, determining the power of this sum signal. For the sum L of the signals L.sub.t and L.sub.r the following holds: ##EQU1## The mean power .vertline.L.vertline..sup.2 of the signal L is: EQU .vertline.L.vertline..sup.2 =A.sup.2 +B.sup.2 +2 A.multidot.B.multidot.cos{(.omega..sub.0 -.omega..sub.1)t+.DELTA..psi.[s.sub.1 (t)-s.sub.2 (t)]} (4)
Since the mixer means produce an intermediate-frequency signal that is proportional to the variations in the mean power .vertline.L.vertline..sup.2 of the received signal, the following holds for this intermediate-frequency signal S: EQU S=.alpha..multidot.A.multidot.B.multidot.cos{(.omega..sub.0 -.omega..sub.1)t+.DELTA..psi.[s.sub.1 (t)-s.sub.2 (t)]} (5)
Herein .alpha. is a constant.
The intermediate-frequency signal may also be determined in a different manner, for example, by multiplying L.sub.r and L.sub.t, but this will lead to a result similar to the result of formula (5).
If the laser is phase modulated, the signals s.sub.1 and s.sub.2 are the baseband signals (modulated on a subcarrier, if available). At the output of the demodulation means a demodulated signal s.sub.u is then available after phase demodulation, which signal is proportional to the phase of the AC component in the signal .vertline.L.vertline..sup.2. For this demodulated signal it then holds: s.sub.u =C.sub.1 [(s.sub.1 (t)-s.sub.2 (t)], where C.sub.1 is a demodulation constant.
If the laser is frequency modulated, the signals s.sub.1 and s.sub.2 are equal to: ##EQU2## Herein s'.sub.1 (t) and s'.sub.2 (t) are the baseband signals (modulated on a subcarrier, if available). At the output of the demodulation means a demodulated signal s.sub.u is then available after frequency demodulation, which signal is proportional to the amplitude of a signal that is proportional to the first derivative with respect to time of the signal .vertline.L.vertline..sup.2. For this signal it then holds: s.sub.u =C.sub.2 .multidot.(s'.sub.1 (t)-s'.sub.2 (t)), wherein C.sub.2 is a demodulation constant. The relation between the modulated signal and the baseband signal with phase and frequency modulation is described, for example, in the book entitled "Communication Systems" by A. Bruce Carlson, pp. 220-253 (ISBN 0-07-009957-X).
If at least one of the signals s.sub.1 or s.sub.2 (s'.sub.1 or s'.sub.2) comprises a subcarrier-modulated baseband signal, the two baseband signals may simply be separated by means of filters. In addition, from the equations for s.sub.u it follows that only the signals s.sub.1 and s.sub.2 are present in the demodulated signal and that undesired distortion terms are completely absent.
A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the further modulation means comprise means for modulating at least two baseband signals on two individual subcarriers, and the further demodulator comprises means for obtaining at least two baseband signals from the demodulated signal.
These measures make it possible to realise a full duplex connection between a first and a second terminal, while facility is provided for a third terminal to send messages to the first or second terminal. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Electronic device manufacturing systems may include multiple process chambers and load lock chambers. Such chambers may be included in cluster tools where a plurality of process chambers may be distributed about a transfer chamber, for example. These tools may employ articulated robots or multi-arm robots, which may be housed within the transfer chamber and transport substrates between the various process chambers and load lock chambers. For example, the robot may transport substrates from chamber to chamber, from load lock chamber to process chamber, and/or from process chamber to load lock chamber. Efficient and precise transport of substrates between the various system chambers may improve system throughput, thus lowering overall operating costs.
Furthermore, precise substrate placement may improve overall processing quality. In many dual-bladed robots, Selective Compliant Articulated Robot Arm (SCARA) robots are employed. Each SCARA robot employs three arms (upper arm, forearm, and wrist) driven by one motor. An end effector may be coupled to the wrist and may be used to carry a substrate to or from a pick or place destination such as a process chamber or a load lock chamber. In dual-bladed SCARA robots, where a SCARA robot is coupled to opposite ends of a boom, problematically, such SCARA robots may suffer from certain misalignment problems. Additionally, in SCARA robots that are not dual-bladed, certain misalignment problems may also occur.
Accordingly, this disclosure is directed at improved methods, systems, and apparatus for efficient and precise orientation of end effectors. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a battery condition determining apparatus which may be employed in an electric automobile. More particularly, the invention relates to a battery power monitoring apparatus for monitoring available reserve electric power of a storage battery correctly even under the influence of charge polarization.
2. Background Art
Japanese Patent First Publication No. 1-193675 teaches a battery residual life monitoring system which detects an internal resistance of a battery during use to determine a discharge time, and calculates a useful reserve life of the battery by using mapped data representing the relation between a battery internal resistance and a discharge time.
Usually, a storage battery mounted in an electric automobile is discharged and recharged many times during traveling. Particularly, the storage battery is recharged frequently by regenerative braking and in recharge stations, causing so-called charge polarization to occur. It is, therefore, difficult to determine an available reserve capacity of the storage battery based only on its internal resistance, requiring the monitoring of the charge polarization for correctly determining an available reserve capacity remaining in the battery. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Software systems exist that provide various services for enterprises or other organizations. Such software systems may rely on decentralized, manual, and potentially error-prone data collection, while storing collected data in a centralized back-end system where business logic execution also occurs. These and other software systems may be extended through the use of smart item (also referred to as smart device), technologies, in which physical items (e.g., goods, tools, rooms, vehicles, persons, or shelves) are augmented or enhanced by the addition or inclusion of locally-provided or embedded technology.
For example, radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems, embedded systems, sensor motes, and/or sensor networks may be used in the above-described manner to provide business software applications with fast access to real-world data. For example, smart item technologies may be used support the detection, reading, or writing of RFID tags, as well as to support communication with, and control of, wireless sensor networks and embedded systems. In many instances, smart items may include, or may be associated with, devices having local processing power, memory, and/or communication capabilities, and that are capable of providing data about the device and its properties, or information about a current state or environment of the smart item devices. Accordingly, some such devices may be used in the execution of service components of back-end or underlying business applications, and, in particular, may do so in a collaborative way, e.g., by forming mobile ad-hoc networks to collect, process, or transmit business data.
Examples of smart items may include an RFID tag, which may be passive or active, and which may be attached to a physical object, as referenced above, and used to provide product or handling information related to the object. Other examples of smart items may include various sensors, such as, for example, environmental sensors (e.g., a temperature, humidity, or vibration sensor), which, as just referenced, may be capable of communicating to form one or more sensor networks. These and other types of smart items also may include embedded systems, which may refer generally to any system in which a special-purpose processor and/or program is included, and/or in which the system is encapsulated in the device being controlled.
Through automatic real-time object tracking and local, on-site execution of business logic, smart item technology may provide businesses with accurate and timely data about business operations, and also may help streamline and automate the business operations. Accordingly, cost reductions and additional business benefits (e.g., increased asset visibility, improved responsiveness, and extended business opportunities) may be obtained.
Using their local communication capabilities, smart items may communicate with one another to form local networks, e.g., sensor networks. In a given sensor network, such communication may occur using a proprietary communications protocol that is understood by each of the smart items in the network, but that may not be understood by other smart items and/or networks. For example, the communications protocol of a sensor network may be unique to a particular hardware and/or software platform used in the sensor network, or may be unique to a manufacturer of the smart items. Accordingly, it may be difficult to collect data regarding such sensor networks in a timely fashion, in a format that is applicable to multiple ones of the sensor networks, and without overwhelming or depleting communications resources of the devices and/or sensor networks. As a result, for example, back-end applications depending on data from the sensor network(s) may not have access to the data in a sufficiently timely or useful fashion. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Multi-conductor cables have enjoyed widespread use in the electronics industry. One such multi-conductor cable, commonly referred to as flat or ribbon cable, includes plural wire conductors contained in a common plane and electrically isolated from each other by electrically nonconductive insulation. The insulation may be of various materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) which characteristically is quite slippery and difficult to grip firmly without damage to the insulation or relatively fine wire conductors. Ribbon cable utilized for high speed signal transmission as in computers and other electronic equipment may have, for example, 64 signal wires and 128 ground wires within a cable width of 3.25 inches.
For convenience in connection to and disconnection from other electrical devices, various types of electrical connectors such as multiple pin-out connector plugs (sockets) have been employed to terminate the ribbon cable or, more particularly, the cable conductors at respective contacts (either male or female) for electrical coupling to respective contacts of another electrical device. Because of the relatively small size and closely packed relationship of the conductors and contacts and the usually relatively fragile electrical and mechanical junctions between respective conductors and contacts, the electrical connectors are usually provided with some form of strain relief protecting the electrical junctions, contacts and/or conductors from breakage during manipulation of the cable termination assembly.
One practice has been to mold a strain relief body directly about a part of the cable and the electrical junctions as well. The molded strain relief body would serve to dissipate forces tending to separate the cable from contacts which also may be anchored in the molded strain relief body. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The cephalosporin antibiotics have recently achieved considerable success as therapeutic agents for the treatment of infectious diseases of man. This class of antibiotics is produced by two known general methods. In the first of these methods, cephalosporin C is produced by culturing the organism Cephalosporium acremonium, Newton and Abraham, Biochem. J., 62, 651 (1956). Cleavage of the .alpha.-aminoadipoyl side chain of cephalosporin C according to the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,188,311 affords 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (7-ACA). Acylation of 7-ACA with an appropriate acyl halide, as, for example, thiophene-2-acetyl chloride, yields the expected 7-acylamidocephalosporanic acid antibiotic. The cephalosporin antibiotics obtained from cephalosporin C according to this method are derivatives of cephalosporanic acid which possesses an acetoxymethyl group attached at the 3-position of the cephalosporin nucleus. According to the cephem nomenclature system for the cephalosporins, the cephalosporin antibiotics obtained from cephalosporin C are named 7-acylamido-3-acetoxymethyl-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acids.
The second method by which the cephalosporin antibiotics are produced involves the chemical conversion of a penicillin antibiotic. This method, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,275,626, involves the conversion of the thiazolidine ring of a penicillin into the dihydrothiazine ring of a cephalosporin. The fused .beta.-lactam ring of the penicillin molecule remains intact during the conversion. This chemical conversion is carried out by heating a penicillin sulfoxide in the presence of an acidic reagent, such as acetic anhydride, to obtain predominantly a 7-acylamido-3-methyl-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid ester (a desacetoxycephalosporanic acid) and a 7-acylamido-3-methyl-3-acyloxycepham-4-carboxylic acid ester. Also produced in the chemical conversion process is a 2-acyloxymethylpenicillin, otherwise designated as a 6-acylamido-2-methyl-2-acyloxymethylpenam-3-carboxylic acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,275,626 additionally discusses the possibility of converting a penicillin sulfoxide by heating it in the presence of any of various acidic reagents. The ultimate antibiotic substances which form from such reactions will depend to some extent upon the particular acid which is employed, with the substituents present in the acid as well as the particular structure and relative strength of the acid having some effect upon the products formed.
In carrying out the reaction of a penicillin sulfoxide ester with thionyl chloride, it has been found that the following products can be produced: ##SPC1##
It further has been found that the 2.alpha.-methyl-2.beta.-chloromethylpenam (I above) is unstable and gradually rearranges to the corresponding 3.alpha.-methyl-3.beta.-chlorocepham of the formula ##SPC2##
This rearrangement occurs at room temperature over a period of several days. The rearrangement can be greatly accelerated by subjecting the penam to an elevated temperature, for example, from about 50.degree.C. to about 100.degree.C., under which conditions the rearrangement can be accomplished in as little as one hour. Conversion to the corresponding 3.alpha.-methyl-3.beta.-chlorocepham can also be effected by maintaining the unstable penam in a suitable inert solvent on a chromatographic column for a period of from about 24 to about 72 hours and then eluting the cepham product from the column.
In accordance with this invention, it has now been discovered that it is possible to convert a 6-imido-2.alpha.-methyl-2.beta.-halomethylpenam-3-carboxylic acid ester having a structure such as (I) above and/or a 7-imido-3.alpha.-methyl-3.beta.-halocepham-4-carboxylic acid ester obtainable by rearrangement from the aforementioned 2.beta.-halomethylpenam and having a structure such as (Ia) above to an active 3-methyl-3-cephem antibiotic, a 3-methyl-3-nitrooxycepham, and a 2-methyl-2-nitrooxymethylpenam (penicillin) ring structure. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an integral type air conditioner in which an air cleaner filter is provided at a predetermined portion of the air conditioner to thereby enabling both an air cleaning function and an air conditioning function.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a general integral type air conditioner, an indoor unit part and an outdoor unit part are constructed as a single body thereby obviating a long hose which eases installation, transportation, etc., thereby increasing demand. Further, the indoor unit part is disposed indoors to cool air, and the outdoor unit part is disposed outdoors to cool hot working fluid.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a conventional integral type air conditioner.
Construction and operation of the conventional integral type air conditioner will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
The air conditioner includes a base panel 1 formed on a bottom surface of the air conditioner; an indoor unit part formed indoors to cool indoor air; and an outdoor unit part formed outdoors to exhaust hot air.
The indoor unit part includes a front grill 3 formed on an indoor front surface of the base panel 1; an inhale grill 4 formed on a front surface of the front grill 3; an indoor heat exchanger 5 formed at an inner side of the front grill 3; an air guide 7 formed at an inner side of the indoor heat exchanger 5; a scroll 9 formed at an inner side of the air guide 7; an inflow guide 11 formed at a front surface of the scroll 9 that corresponds with the indoor heat exchanger 5; and an indoor fan 13 formed within the scroll 9.
Discussion of the construction and operation for the indoor unit part will be made below.
At a lower side of the front grill 3, an inhale part 31 is formed as a passage through which indoor air is introduced. At an upper side of the front grill 3, a discharge grill 32 is formed which allows air heat-exchanged in the indoor heat exchanger 5 to be again discharged toward the indoors.
The indoor heat exchanger 5 is disposed at an inner side of the front grill 3. The indoor heat exchanger 5 exchanges heat between the entering through the intake part 31 and the working fluid.
The air guide 7 partitions the air conditioner into indoor and outdoor portions. Accordingly, the air guide 7 shields an indoor cool air from an outdoor hot air by the air guide 7. Further, a brace 8 is formed at an upper stage of the air guide 7 that connects with a shroud 18 which will be described below.
A flow guide surface 91 is formed within the scroll 9. As may be seen in FIG. 1, the flow guide surface 91 has a curvature from one side to the other side to guide smooth flow of the indoor air. Further, an orifice 11 includes an orifice hole 12 which guides indoor air passing through the indoor heat exchanger 5 into an indoor fan 13. The orifice 11 also has a discharge guide 111 formed at an upper stage of the orifice 11 to guide heat-exchanged air into a discharge grill 32.
The indoor fan 13 intakes indoor air through the inhale part 31, the indoor heat exchanger 5 and the orifice hole 12. Additionally, the indoor fan 13 is a centrifugal fan which intakes air through the orifice hole 12, and then blows the air in a centrifugal direction. The outlet air from the indoor fan 13 is guided along the flow guide surface 91 to flow into the discharge guide 111.
The above description is for the indoor unit part of the integral type air conditioner. A construction and operation of the outdoor unit part partitioned from the indoor unit part by the air guide 7 will be henceforth described below.
The outdoor unit part includes a motor 15 formed outside of the air guide 7; and a blower fan 17 fixed to an outdoor rotor axis of the motor 15. The outdoor unit part also has a shroud 18 formed on the base panel 1 to guide an air stream formed by the blower fan 17; an outdoor heat exchanger 19 formed at the outdoor base panel 1 to face with the shroud 18; and an outer case 21 for forming an outershell of the air conditioner.
The motor 15 protrudes such that two sides of a rotation axis of the motor 15 face each other. One side rotation axis passes through the air guide 7 and extends to a center of the scroll 9, thereby rotating the indoor fan 13. Additionally, the other side of the rotation axis is formed at the blower fan 17 which results in an outdoor airflow. The blower fan 17 further includes a ring 171 to connect its wing ends with one another.
The shroud 18 includes a passage hole 181 within which the blower fan 17 is positioned. Further, the shroud 18 guides outside air the blower fan 17 intakes, and forces the flow of outdoor air towards the outdoor heat exchanger 19. The shroud 18 connects to both side ends of the outdoor heat exchanger 19, and is supported by the brace 8 at an upper stage.
The outdoor heat exchanger 19 allows the intake air from outside and the operation fluid of an air conditioning cycle to be heat-exchanged with each other.
A compressor 20 is disposed as a structural element of the air conditioning cycle on the base panel 1 between the air guide 7 and the shroud 18. On the base panel 1, a compressor mounting part 10 on which the compressor 20 is mounted is formed.
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a usage state of a related-art air conditioner.
Referring to FIG. 2, when the air conditioner begins operation, the indoor unit part introduces air through the inhale part 31 disposed at a lower side surface of the front grill 3. The indoor part then cools the introduced air and outputs the cooled air back indoors through the discharge grill 32 disposed at an upper surface of the front grill 3. Further, the outdoor unit part intakes air through the passage hole of the outer circumference surface of the outer case 20. Heat-exchange then occurs with the air the outdoor unit part intakes and the heat-exchanged air exits toward the outdoors through another passage hole provided on a rear surface of the outer case 20. In the drawings arrows represent airflow.
However, the above-described related-art integral type air conditioner has drawbacks.
The related-art integral type air conditioner does not filter and clean circulated inner air. To further illustrate, a related-art air conditioner only cools or warms air, but does not have filter contaminants contained in the air.
In particular, since air circulation between an indoor unit and an outdoor unit is generally shielded operation of the air conditioner, the inner air worsens. Hence, contamination of the indoor air continues, so that a user having bronchus and the like is badly influenced by the contaminated air.
These problems are matters seriously taken by customers concerned about their health. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Entities often generate and use data that is important in some way to their operations. This data can include, for example, business data, financial data, and personnel data. If this data were lost or compromised, the entity may realize significant adverse financial and other consequences. Accordingly, many entities have chosen to back up some or all of their data so that in the event of a natural disaster, unauthorized access, or other events, the entity can recover any data that was compromised or lost, and then restore that data to one or more locations, machines, and/or environments.
While data backup is a valuable and important function, the ever increasing volume of data that is generated presents significant problems. In particular, many companies today find their backup and recovery process strained as data growth in enterprise IT environment continues to accelerate at exponential rates, while data-protection solutions have struggled to keep pace. Backup performance is crippled by the needs of up-to-date and online business applications. Snapshot and replication operations of application data are key strategies to meet very demanding Service Level Objectives (SLO) such as Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) and Recovery Time Objectives (RTO).
In challenging environments such as these, conventional approaches to data backup typically fall short for any of a variety of reasons. For example, many legacy backup solutions are hard coded and thus lack flexibility. This lack of flexibility causes inefficiencies in that it can result in overutilization of some backup resources, and underutilization of other backup resources.
Another concern with conventional backup approaches is that they often require significant user involvement in the selection and configuration of resources for the backup. This user involvement can lead to user errors, miscalculations and misinterpretations. Moreover, user involvement can significantly slow the selection of systems and devices for a backup configuration and, accordingly, the speed with which the backup can be taken. More particularly, most backup applications ask users to create resources, define schedules, define mapping between a selected source and target device, define the actions and workflow, and define topologies. Because these functions must be performed manually by the user, user errors, delayed decisions and inefficient use of resources often result.
Finally, and as will be apparent from the foregoing, the customer experience with conventional backup approaches is not satisfactory. That is, such backup approaches require significant user involvement, and are not particularly easy to use.
In light of problems and shortcomings such as those noted above, it would be useful to be able to take a backup while automatically taking into account ongoing variations in system configurations and asset availability. It would also be useful to be able to take a backup using the best configuration available at the time of the backup. Finally, it would be useful to be able to define one or more acceptable configurations in advance of the backup. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Attempts have been made to process audio input signals so as to place them in a perceived three-dimensional sound space. It has been assumed that to place a sound behind a subject for example, that this would require a source of sound (i.e. a loudspeaker) to be placed behind a subject. This logically implies that for three-dimensional sound to exist, complex speaker systems must be created with loudspeakers above and below the plane of the ears of the listener. Clearly, this is not a satisfactory solution, even for highly specified cinemas for example and therefore practical deployment of such systems has only existed in extreme environments with very specialised venues.
Models have been constructed based upon attempting to hear what the ears hear. For example, experimentation has been performed using a standard dummy head in which the head has microphones mounted where each ear canal would normally sit. Experimentation has then been conducted in which many samples may be made of sounds from many positions. From this, it was possible to produce a head related transfer function, which is then in turn used to process sounds as though they had originated from certain desired positions. However, to date, the results have been less than ideal. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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At the instant of starting a cold engine, atomization of the fuel is usually insufficient and ignition is therefore difficult. To correct this, it is necessary to supply a relatively large quantity of fuel to the cold engine by reducing the effective area of the valve at the inlet of the carburetor. As the engine warms up, the choke valve is moved progressively to its fully opened position to yield an optimum air-fuel ratio.
It has long been known in this art to operate the choke valve automatically by means of a thermostat responsive to the temperature of the engine cooling water or of the engine exhaust gases. In general, arrangements for heating the thermostat with coolant engine are complicated, while arrangements for heating the thermostat with air warmed by the exhaust gases are susceptible to improper operation of the choke valve in the presence of foreign materials which are often introduced into the heating air.
More recently, simpler choke valve control arrangements have been developed wherein the thermostat is heated by an electric heater. Unfortunately, the response of presently known designs of this type to changes in the engine water temperature is slow; this is particularly true in the case where the vehicle is equipped with a separate room heater which, when made operative, absorbs heat from the engine cooling water to warm the passenger compartment. Because the room heater and the thermostat heater operate independently in such designs, the heat absorbed by the room heater when the latter is operative is not taken into account in the operation of the thermostat heater so that the latter functions as if the engine were colder than it actually is. Accordingly, the choke valve dictates an unduly rich air-fuel mixture to the engine before actual engine conditions require it. As a result, operating conditions for the engine will not be optimum, and the latter will tend to exhibit incomplete combustion with the accompanying danger of producing poisonous exhaust gases. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Radio Frequency (RF) communication systems are utilized in various environments. Radio frequency interferences may occur in such systems and may interrupt, obstruct, or otherwise degrade or limit the effective performance of the communication. For example, cosite interferences may occur in RF communication systems having two or more transmitters/antennas installed nearby and using frequency bands that are relatively close to interfere with each other. In another example, radio signals reflected from objects located in proximity to the transmitters/antennas may also produce interferences. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information distributing system and an information distributing method for distributing various information via the Internet. In addition, the present invention includes a technology relating to a system for realizing a printing service by causing a printing apparatus connected to a set top box (STB) of each home to print print information utilizing a two-way broad band communication network such as a cable television system.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, as a personal computer has become inexpensive and personal computers have been introduced into many homes, a personal computer is widely used for enjoying the Internet at home by connecting the personal computer to telephone lines. However, for those who have not operated personal computers yet, operation of a personal computer is complicated and may not be accepted easily. It has been proposed that such people who do not have personal computers connect to the Internet using televisions for home use because operation of such televisions is easy. A representative example is the WebTV provided by Microsoft Corporation. The WebTV can be operated by a user as if the user operated a television using a remote controller. In addition, the WebTV has a configuration with which a user can connect to the Internet via telephone lines using the Windows CE and a browser installed in a set-top box (STB) of the WebTV.
In addition, in recent years, cable televisions are in wide use in Japan, and an increasing number of cable television companies offer Internet services using cable television lines that are two-way broad band communication networks. In a cable broadcasting system, a lot of television or radio programs, or contents such as those of shopping are sent as images, voices and character data and are received by each digital broadcast receiving apparatus through many channels. Character data is received together with a program itself (images and voices), which are included in a transmission signal. In addition, a line usage fee of an ordinary cable television is paid when a user makes connection to the Internet using this cable line. Thus, there is an advantage in that the user can connect to the Internet without paying a calling fee, and can access information of all over the world via the Internet using a television for home use free of charge or by only paying a charge as low as a general provider charge. In addition, since a broad band communication network is used, data transmission of a large capacity can be performed in a short time. Thus, Internet services using cable television lines are in wide use not only in Japan but also in other regions of the world.
In addition, a mechanism has been devised in which a printer is connected to an STB of a conventional WebTV and printing is performed by the printer in order to obtain print output of a screen displayed on the WebTV. In this case, a printer driver of a simple configuration is provided in an NVRAM of the STB to output data to an ink-jet printer as bitmap data of low resolution that is close to display resolution. Thus, even if the printer responds to high resolution, a result of printing is low in quality when an output of a bitmap image is performed.
That is, the conventional WebTV accesses the Internet, displays information desired by a user on the WebTV, generates a raster image of low resolution from the information using the printer driver in the STB to output the raster image to a low function printer. Thus, there is a problem in that a resulting print image has low resolution of the same level as display resolution of a TV display, and contents such as a photograph cannot be obtained in a form that satisfies the user.
In addition, a user accesses the Internet from a WebTV to display desired information, and then causes a printer to print the information by a printing instruction using a remote controller or the like. Therefore, the user needs to always retrieve required information by accessing the Internet, which is a significant burden for the user. Moreover, since a lot of users are likely to make an access during a period of time when a general user makes an access, there is a problem in that it takes long to retrieve or download information due to increased loads to a provider or a communication network. In addition, since a large load is applied to the printer driver in the STB during print processing, there is a problem in that a television screen freezes and the user cannot perform other operations.
In addition, since information that a user desires on the Internet is often included in a plurality of different home pages, the user needs to obtain necessary information by tracing each home page and print the information every time the user finds it. Thus, there is a problem in that the user has to bear significant burdens and it takes long time to obtain the information. Moreover, since the user prints necessary information every time the information is found even if little information is required, there also is a problem in that the number of printed sheets increases and costs of expendable supplies amount to a large sum.
In addition, an advertisement company that wishes to advertise something to many users cannot do anything but wait for users to access his home page or other home pages on which a banner advertisement is inserted. Thus, the advertisement company has to insert a banner advertisement linked to its own home page in many home pages to increase the number of users who access the home page on which the advertisement is inserted. Therefore, there is a problem in that the advertisement company cannot easily place an advertisement to users targeted for promotion. In addition, since the advertisement company only shows an advertisement to a user who visits the home page and cannot specify an age of a user or a region where the user lives to place an advertisement, efficiency is low. In addition, in order to realize a user-specified advertisement, the advertisement company can only advertise by direct mails conventionally. Thus, there is a problem in that costs such as costs of paper for direct mails, personell expenses, postage increase, or the like.
In addition, a provider of information such as a home page on the Internet can receive an advertisement fee from an advertisement company in return for insertion of a banner advertisement, and also can receive an contents fee in return for provision of contents (information). However, there is a problem in that, for an information provider whose home page users do not frequently visit, this does not pay as a business. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile telephone powered by multiple batteries to extend mobile operation time.
2. Description of Related Art
Mobile telephones have become very popular due to their mobile nature. They are characterized by a compact body that allows them to easily fit in a purse or a pocket, or comfortably clip onto a belt, a purse strap or an article of clothing of a user. Mobile telephones pack their own power source and operate wirelessly over a voice/data network permitting direct communication anywhere within the network coverage area. Power is provided in the form of a rechargeable main battery functionally connected via the battery connector to the mobile telephone forming part of its compact body. The main battery, which provides the appropriate voltage to operate all the mobile telephone features, has a size, shape and weight that are constrained by the compact size, shape and weight of the mobile telephone body. Main batteries come in different sizes, shapes, weights, voltage outputs and battery connectors to match the diverse makes and models of mobile telephones.
The industry trend in mobile telephones is toward reducing their compact body size and weight while packing more features, such as internet surfing and downloading capabilities, playing music and video games, taking and transmitting still images and video clips, etc. Smaller telephones translate into smaller main batteries yet more power is needed to support the diverse features added. Advances in rechargeable battery chemistry have reduced the main battery size while increasing its power capacity. Reducing and managing power consumption in mobile telephones have contributed to a longer battery life. Yet, despite these improvements mobile voice communication is still measured in few hours. Using the added features is likely to consume more power further reducing mobile operation time.
The need for additional portable power for mobile telephones has been recognized. Solutions presented thus far do not adequately increase the mobile operation time in a truly mobile and continuous fashion such that no down period is needed for connecting the additional power and power to the mobile telephone is not interrupted during the connection process. An adequate mobile operation time is at least two times greater than the mobile operation time provided by the main battery. Also, current solutions tend to be mobile telephone make and to some extent model specific rendering them obsolete upon replacing the mobile telephone.
Auxiliary batteries, as a current solution, might barely double the mobile operation time, however, at the expense of increasing the mobile telephone size and weight going against the industry trend. Spare main batteries are limited in power capacity. Both auxiliary and spare batteries are constrained by the mobile telephone size and shape and thus tend to be mobile telephone specific. Besides, power to the mobile telephone is interrupted upon connecting spare batteries and possibly auxiliary batteries. Rapid portable battery chargers, whether mechanical or solar, provide only a limited increase in mobile operation time while requiring a down period for recharging.
Existing “portable” power supplies and power generators can properly increase the mobile operation time when connected to the mobile telephone main battery charging connector. However this is accomplished at the expense of sacrificing mobility, the greatest advantage a mobile telephone offers. The bulky nature of these power storing devices and their weight prevent their hands-free portability using clothing including clothing accessories of a mobile telephone user, for example, these devices do not fit in a pocket or comfortably clip onto a belt, a purse strap or such. Besides, when a mobile telephone is powered via the main battery charging connector, a power status is not displayed for the power source powering the mobile telephone and the main battery is constantly charged, unless full, decreasing its life cycle and power capacity.
More importantly, the crowding of existing portable power supplies and generators with features designed to make them useful and attractive reduces the maximum power that can be packed as a function of size upon reduction of these power sources to an acceptable portable size and weight for powering a mobile telephone due to a smaller place for the built-in battery. Crowding features for existing portable power supplies include: at least one electrical AC outlet, a DC power socket, an AC inverter to convert AC power to DC power, a high power DC connector, a high current capacity connector, protection against output overload and heating, an alarm to alert when the built-in battery is nearly discharged and a battery level indicator. Portable generator, in addition, have to accommodate mechanical or solar charging gear.
A portable generator, the FreeCharge power source from Freeplay Energy Corporation, has been reduced in size for use with mobile telephones. It's main disadvantage, as indicated above, is a small power capacity as a function of its size in order to accommodate the mechanical charging gear. The maximum power capacity of the FreeCharge power source is limited to 1000 mAh. Yet, this device, with a length of 5.7″ (144 mm), a height of 2″ (52 mm), a width of 2.4″ (60 mm) and a weight 8 oz (230 gram) is bigger and heavier than a standard mobile telephone comprising a battery carrying 1000 mAh. The bulky nature of the FreeCharge power source makes it unattractive for portability by a user considering its limited power capacity which requires frequent charging of the FreeCharge power source during extensive mobile operation of a mobile telephone, a process that can be exhaustive if done manually. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
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