A control unit is provided for fuel supply regulation during a cold-running phase of an internal combustion engine, that includes, but is not limited to an input port for inputting a combustion signal about the presence of a rich or lean combustion of a fuel mixture in the internal combustion engine, a P-element for providing a P-manipulated variable, which sets a fuel reduction upon the presence of a rich combustion and sets a fuel increase upon the presence of a lean combustion, an I-element for providing an I-manipulated variable, which sets a fuel increase, and an output port for controlling a fuel supply, the P-manipulated variable and the I-manipulated variable substantially offsetting one another during the cold-running phase upon the presence of a rich combustion in the stationary state.

During a cold-running phase of an internal combustion engine, the internal combustion engine is not yet at operating temperature, so that to ensure combustion of a fuel/air mixture in the internal combustion engine, a rich combustion is intentionally provided, i.e., a combustion having a super stoichiometric fuel fraction. If a discrete-level sensor is used as the exhaust gas sensor (e.g., a lambda sensor), which can only detect the presence of a rich combustion or the presence of a lean combustion, i.e., a combustion having sub stoichiometric fuel fraction, the intentionally super stoichiometric fuel supply cannot be regulated via an exhaust gas regulation. Therefore, a lambda regulation of the fuel supply is deactivated during the cold-running phase. There is a need for allowing reliable and efficient fuel supply during the cold-running phase of an internal combustion engine.
In view of the foregoing, it is at least one object to specify measures which allow reliable and efficient fuel supply during the cold-running phase of an internal combustion engine. In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.

Control unit for fuel supply regulation during a cold-running phase of an internal combustion engine, method for fuel supply regulation during a cold-running phase of an internal combustion engine, computer program product, computer program and signal sequence


A vehicle wheel that includes a valve which has a check device, with the wheel being intended for use with a pneumatic tire that even when operating as a tire which is flat or has otherwise lost pressure permits great distances to be covered at a reduced speed. To prevent misuse of the tire, in other words reinflation of a tire subsequent to flat-tire operation and before the tire has been checked for leaks, the valve is provided with a mechanism that prevents such misuse. This mechanism is pneumatically disposed in series with the check device and is installed in an open position and in such a way that it changes over into a closed position upon commencement of a flat-tire operation, with a special tool and/or special replacement parts being required in order to reestablish the open position of the mechanism.

The present invention relates to a vehicle wheel that includes a valve which has check means, with the wheel being intended for use with a pneumatic tire that even when operating as a tire which is flat or has otherwise lost pressure permits great distances to be covered at a reduced speed.
A vehicle wheel of this general type is known from German Offenlegungsschrift 30 00 428 Rach et al dated July 9, 1981. Especially due to the good flat-tire operating characteristics of such a vehicle wheel there exists the problem that a driver does not reseal a tire that has possibly developed a leak until he has driven on a flat tire for a long period of time, whereupon the driver reinflates the tire and, without taking into consideration possible damage to the tire due to the long flat-tire operation, fully loads the tire and in particular also resumes the originally permitted high speed. This possibly dangerous reuse of an inflated tire that had previously been operated as a flat tire is designated as "misuse" within the context of the present application. In general, it is irresponsible to reuse a pneumatic vehicle tire that has been operated as a flat tire without first subjecting the tire to thorough tests at a service station that is qualified to check tires.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement that protects against and prevents misuse of a vehicle wheel and tire arrangement that is capable of flat-tire operation.

Vehicle wheel having valve means to prevent misuse


A method of operating an aspirated smoke detector includes providing an ambient condition detector, establishing a first flow baseline for the detector, establishing a second, lower, flow baseline for the detector, sampling a selected airflow, and determining if the slected airflow as sampled should be compared to the first flow baseline or the second, lower, flow baseline, and responsive thereto, determining if a trouble indictor should be generated.

Aspirating smoke detectors are known and useful in a variety of commercial and industrial environments. When commissioned, an aspirating smoke detector establishes an airflow baseline for the air that flows through the detector. During the operating life of the detector, current airflow is monitored and compared to the baseline that was established during commissioning. When a current airflow measurement deviates from the baseline that was established during the commissioning, a trouble condition is reported to the operator of the detector.
Aspirating smoke detectors are often used to monitor the current airflow on the return air grills for HVAC units. During operation, HVAC units may continuously cycle on and off, which can result in periods of high airflow followed by periods of stagnant air. These changes in airflow can cause the aspirating smoke detector to generate the trouble condition due to the current airflow when compared to the baseline that was established during the commissioning.

System and method of airflow monitoring for variable airflow environments


In one aspect, the teachings herein provide an enhanced inter-base-station interface and associated processing in which a base station receives a message from a neighboring base station that zero served PLMNs are available in a neighboring cell. In response to receiving that message, the base station removes the neighboring cell from its neighbor list, or otherwise marks the neighboring cell as unavailable, but advantageously does not discard any network performance data accumulated or otherwise generated for that neighboring cell. Correspondingly, should the base station receive a subsequent message indicating that one or more served PLMNs have become available in the neighboring cell, it restores the neighboring cell to its neighbor list and reinstates links or associations, as needed, to the retained network performance data.

The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 36.423 details the "X2" interface, used between radio base stations in Evolved Terrestrial Radio Access Networks (EUTRAN). A base station in the EUTRAN context is termed an "eNB" or "eNodeB." Among other uses, the X2 interface provides for the distribution of own-cell configuration data to neighboring eNBs.
For each cell, the cell's own "served" Public Land Mobile Networks or PLMNs are signaled to the neighboring cells. In other words, a given radio cell may provide access to more than one PLMN, and each such PLMN may be associated with a different network operator. Often, within the multi-operator scenario, a given RAN cell supports two or more core networks, where each network is associated with a different operator.
However, even where a given cell is associated with multiple core networks, at any given time not all such networks may be available for serving user equipment (UE). As one example, communication with the Mobility Management Entity (MME) or other element in an associated core network may be lost, at least temporarily. Or, some functionality within a given core network may be temporarily impaired. In such cases, the PLMN associated with that network is considered unavailable for serving UEs (e.g., mobile terminals and other communication devices).
When a served PLMN is lost at a given cell, the PLMN is removed from the system information broadcast (SIB) transmitted by the cell, to prevent UEs associated with that PLMN from attempting to camp in the cell. The loss is also indicated to neighboring cells over the X2 interface, such as by removing the IDs of unavailable PLMNs from the cell information update messages that are sent between eNBs. Making the loss visible to neighboring cells prevents, for example, those neighboring cells from attempting (prepared or blind) handover of UEs into the cell, for PLMNs that are unavailable in the cell.
As a general proposition, each cell maintains some form of neighbor list information, such as one or more tables or other data structures, including entries for each neighboring cell, its ID, and the IDs of the served PLMNs that are available in the neighboring cell. The cell also maintains certain performance data, such as handover performance data that indicates in one sense or another handover performance from or to the neighboring cell. Additionally, or alternatively, the same or other performance data may be maintained in an operations and maintenance node, which may store a listing of associated cells and, for each such cell, neighboring cell data. When the last served PLMN available in a given cell is lost, that cell is removed from neighbor cell listings in the surrounding cells, as it no longer offers any served PLMNs for use by UEs. Commonly, when a cell is removed from the neighbor list in a given base station, that base station also removes performance or other data that is specific to the removed cell. Further, such cell data deletions may be propagated to operations and maintenance (O&M) entities.

Inter-base-station interface enhancement for multi-operator core networks


A ventilation system for a crankcase for the transport of blow-by gases from the crankcase to the intake section of an internal combustion engine with supercharger. A ventilation line reaches from the crankcase to the segment of the intake section between the supercharger and the air inlet valve. An air-oil separator is arranged in the ventilation line, as well as a return line for the return of oil separated in the air-oil separator via a tank and a tank outlet valve into the crankcase. An actuating element is arranged in or at the tank. The actuating element is charged with the pressure in the intake line behind the supercharger as working pressure and which upon sufficiently high pressure transports the oil present in the tank via the tank outlet valve into the crankcase.

The present invention relates to a ventilation system for a crankcase of an internal combustion engine.
In the crankcase of an internal combustion engine, blow-by gases arise which for reasons of environmental protection are usually led to the intake section of the combustion engine. The pressure difference between the crankcase and the intake section is used in order to return the blow-by gases from the crankcase into the intake section.
A ventilation system for a crankcase for the transport of blow-by gases thus usually comprises a ventilation line which reaches from the crankcase to the intake section. Further, an air-oil-separator is arranged in the ventilation line in order to separate oil and oil mist contained in the blow-by gases from these blow-by gases. The air-oil separator and/or the return line may comprise a tank for separated oil. The separated oil is then returned from this air-oil separator to the crankcase. It shall be stressed that in the context of this invention, ventilation does not mean the provision of fresh air to the crankcase but the transport of blow-by gases from the crankcase to the intake section.
What is problematic with this is that the return of the separated oil into the crankcase has to be effected against a pressure difference between the air-oil separator and the crankcase. To this end, different solutions have been developed in the state of the art. On the one hand, it is possible to integrate a siphon into the oil return line reaching from the air-oil separator to the crankcase which when sufficiently highly filled with separated oil is able to overcome the pressure difference relative to the crankcase. It is however disadvantageous that with the space available, a siphon of only very limited height can be installed so that only small pressure differences can be surmounted. This means that the return of the oil from the air-oil separator to the crankcase through the siphon can only be realized if favorable pressure conditions are given, meaning a small pressure difference between the air-oil separator and the crankcase. Thus only with particular operating conditions of the combustion engine, a sufficient return of the oil from the air-oil separator to the crankcase is ascertained. With this solution, it is required to arrange the air-oil separator ahead of the pressure control, as otherwise under partial-load operation, the pressure conditions required for the oil return do never occur. This in turn is related to the disadvantage that the pressure control only takes place in relation to the crankcase pressure plus the pressure difference at the air-oil separator. Variable blow-by volumes cause very different pressure differences at the air-oil-separator. As the design of the air-oil separator and of the pressure control system has to be realized with respect to the worst case, under average operation conditions, only a smaller pressure difference than the one actually available can be used for the air-oil separation so that an unnecessary high percentage of oil remains in the blow-by gas. While an inverted arrangement of air-oil separator and pressure-control valve would increase the pressure difference available for the air-oil separation for most of the situations, it would at the same time increase the pressure difference between the separated oil and the crankcase pressure, so that the return of the separated oil was even deteriorated.
A further alternative consists in collecting the separated oil in a tank. This tank, preferably at its bottom wall, is connected with the crankcase via a draining line or return line, with a return valve being installed in the draining line or return line as tank-outlet valve. With this solution, the separated oil is collected in the tank as long as the effective pressure resulting from the pressure difference between the crankcase and the intake section and the preload of the valve is higher than the oil pressure in the tank, thus the pressure resulting from the collected oil. The collected oil is then returned into the crankcase, for instance when the engine is shut down. In order to achieve good draining performance and a complete emptying, the tank closure valve shows no or only a small preload, which on the other hand means that due to insufficient sealing, untreated blow-by gas may reach the intake section. In order to allow for long periods of operation, it is further required to provide for a sufficient tank volume, which has a negative impact on the demand in installation space.
FIG. 1 shows an internal combustion engine in a schematic cross-section. The combustion engine 2 with crankcase 3 comprises a intake section 4 in which an air filter 6, a supercharging device 5, a throttle flap 7 and an air inlet valve 8 are arranged one after the other in the flow direction of the entering air. In the state of the art, turbo chargers and compressors are known as supercharging devices.
Between the crankcase 3 and the intake section 4, a ventilation line 100 is arranged, which comprises the sections 100a to 100e. The blow-by gas leaves the crankcase 3 through the section 100c of the ventilation line and flows towards an air-oil separator 11a, from which the purified gas flows further through section 100d to a pressure control valve 11b, which is followed by section 100e of the ventilation line. Thus, an air-oil separator 11a and a pressure-control valve 11b are arranged in this sequence in the ventilation line. Behind the pressure control valve 11b, the ventilation line 100 in its section 100e branches off, so that the section 100e in total shows a T-shape. One of its branches together with section 100a of the ventilation line constitutes the ventilation line for partial-load operation, while the other one of its branches together with section 100b of the ventilation line forms a ventilation line for full-load operation. Both in the ventilation line for partial-load operation and the ventilation line for full-load operation, return valves 12 (in the ventilation line for partial load) and 18 (in the ventilation line for full load), respectively, form the transition between section 100e and sections 100a and 100b, respectively.
During partial-load operation of the combustion engine 2, downstream the return valve 12, thus in section 100a of the ventilation line, a vacuum compared to the pressure in the crankcase 3 is given. Therefore, the return valve 12 in the ventilation line for partial load is open and the blow-by gases are sucked via the sections 100c, 100d, one branch of 100e, 100a of the ventilation line 100 via the intake section 4 into the engine 2.
During full-load operation, the compression device 5 causes a compression of the combustion air so that now downstream of the compression device 5 including section 100a of the ventilation line, a higher pressure compared to the pressure in the crankcase 3 is given. This causes a closure of the return valve 12 in the ventilation line 100a for partial load. The crankcase gases are now ventilated via the sections 100c, 100d, one branch of 100e, and 100b of the ventilation line into the intake section 4 in its segment upstream of the compressor 5, thus for instance between the air filter 6 and the compressor 5.
This way, a ventilation of the crankcase is guaranteed both during partial-load operation as well as during full-load operation. Starting at the air-oil separator 11a, an oil-return line with a siphon 13a is arranged between the air-oil separator 11a and the crankcase 3, via which separated oil is returned into the crankcase 3. As described beforehand, it is required to design this oil-return line 13 and especially the siphon 13a in such a way that at least under favorable pressure conditions, the separated oil is returned into the crankcase surmounting the higher pressure given in the crankcase. At the same time, the oil forms a barrier for blow-by gases.

Ventilation system for supercharged combustion engines


Crystallizable pyrethroid isomers or enantiomer pairs are converted to more pesticidally active isomers by contacting a hydrocarbon slurry of the starting isomers with a base and a catalyst, the catalyst being substantially soluble in the slurry and selected from a quaternary ammonium compound, a quaternary phosphonium compound and a crown ether, agitating the slurry while maintaining a temperature effective for conversion, and recovering the resulting isomers. The tendency to form benzoin ester by-product is reduced by including in the slurry a weak base, an aldehyde scavenger such as a metabisulfite, and/or a tetraalkyl (C.sub.1 -C.sub.5) ammonium halide catalyst dissolved in an aprotic solvent such as an organic nitrile. The process typically is effective for enriching cypermethrin, cyfluthrin and (cyano (3-phenoxyphenyl)methyl 3-(2,2-dibromoethenyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate in the more active species.

The pyrethroids with which the present invention is concerned are crystallizable esters having at least one asymmetric carbon atom to which an epimerizable proton is attached. The more pesticidally active pyrethroids additionally contain at least one and usually two or more other asymmetric carbon atoms and therefore comprise isomeric mixtures wherein one or more of the isomers are more pesticidally active than the others. Representative of such pyrethroids are the alpha-cyanobenzyl esters of the formula (A): ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 is halogen, haloalkyl, alkenyl or haloalkenyl; each R.sup.2 independently is halogen, alkyl, haloalkyl, alkoxy, phenyl, phenoxy, phenylalkyl, substituted phenyl and substituted phenylalkyl wherein the substituents include one or more of alkyl, halogen, haloalkyl, nitro, hydroxy and cyano; and n is 0-5, preferably 1-3. In the above formula the asymmetric carbon atoms are marked 1, 3 and alpha. All of the substituents on a host group may be the same, or the substituents may be different. Alkyl and alkoxy may contain 1-8 carbon atoms, preferably 1-4 carbon atoms. Alkenyl may comprise 2-8 carbon atoms, preferably 2-4 carbon atoms. Halogen includes fluorine, chlorine and bromine. A typical phenylalkyl group is benzyl. Substituted phenyl includes tolyl, xylyl, trichlorophenyl and trifluoromethylphenyl. Substituted phenylalkyl includes methylbenzyl, trichlorobenzyl and trifluoromethylbenzyl.
The foregoing and other pyrethroids are well known as disclosed, for example, in Kirk-Othmer, Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, Second Edition, Vol. 13, pages 456-458, in the following U.S. Patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,163--Elliot et al (NRDC)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,826--Warnant et al (Roussel Uclaf)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,195--Warnant et al (Roussel Uclaf)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,916--Davies et al (Shell)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,208--Fuchs et al (Bayer)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,279--Smeltz (FMC)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,598--Mason et al (Shell)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,931--Robson (ICI)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,508--Fuchs et al (Bayer)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,510--Van Berkel et al (Shell)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,515--Stoutamire et al (Shell)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,646--Stoutamire et al (Shell)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,464--Doyle et al (ICI)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,969--Williams et al (ICI)
and in the following PCT patent publications:
WO 86/04215 - Hidasi et al (Chinoin)
WO 86/04216 - Hidasi et al (Chinoin)
All of the listed patents and publications are incorporated herein by reference.
Preferred pyrethroids convertible to more active isomers in accordance with the present invention are those of formula A wherein R.sup.1 is dihalovinyl or tetrahalopropenyl, R.sup.2 is phenoxy, and n is 1. The more preferred pyrethroids are those wherein n is 1, R.sup.1 is dihalovinyl or tetrahalopropenyl and R.sup.2 is phenoxy; and those wherein n is 2, R.sup.1 is dihalovinyl or tetrahalopropenyl and one R.sup.2 is fluorine and the other R.sup.2 is phenoxy. The latter preferred compounds are isomeric mixtures having the common name "cyfluthrin" when R.sup.1 is dichlorovinyl, n is 2 and one R.sup.2 is fluorine. When R.sup.1 is dichlorovinyl, n is 1 and R.sup.2 is phenoxy, the mixtures have the common name "cypermethrin."
Cypermethrin contains four cis and four trans isomers designated I-VIII as follows:
______________________________________ cis isomers I. (S)(.alpha.-cyano)(3-phenoxyphenyl)methyl 1R,cis-3- (2,2-dichloroethenyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane- carboxylate (abbreviated 1R,cis S) II. (R)(.alpha.-cyano)(3-phenoxyphenyl)methyl 1S,cis-3- (2,2-dichloroethyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane- carboxylate (abbreviated 1S,cis R) III. (S)(.alpha.-cyano)(3-phenoxyphenyl)methyl 1S,cis-3- (2,2-dichloroethenyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane- carboxylate (abbreviated 1S,cis S) IV. (R)(.alpha.-cyano)(3-phenoxyphenyl)methyl 1R,cis-3- (2,2-dichloroethenyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane- carboxylate (abbreviated 1R,cis R) trans isomers V. The trans isomer of I (abbreviated 1R,trans S) VI. The trans isomer of II (abbreviated 1S,trans R) VII. The trans isomer of III (abbreviated 1S,trans S) VIII. The trans isomer of IV (abbreviated 1R,trans R) ______________________________________
Cyfluthrin and other pyrethroids to which the invention is applicable comprise similar isomeric mixtures.
It is known that the most insecticidally active isomers of the foregoing eight isomers are I and V, and that enantiomer pairs I/II (abbreviated cis-2) and V/VI (abbreviated trans-2) are more insecticidally active than the enantiomer pairs III/IV (abbreviated cis-1) and VII/VIII (abbreviated trans-1 ). It is extremely difficult and commercially impractical to separate the more active isomers such as I and V from the complex isomer mixtures produced in the usual pyrethroid synthesis. Accordingly, efforts to produce more pesticidally active pyrethroids have focused on techniques for converting less active isomers in the synthesis product mixtures to more active isomers, i.e., to enrich isomeric mixtures with respect to the more active isomers, thus avoiding complex resolution procedures and the loss represented by discard of less active isomers.
Nevertheless, even when the isomeric mixtures have been converted rather than resolved, the conversion procedures have not been commercially practical because of poor yields, usually due to production of undesired by-product, often comprising as many isomers as the desired product, and because of time-consuming multiple steps, high temperatures and/or the need to recover expensive reagents. In the case of cypermethrin the major by-product is (R,S)-2-oxo-1,2-bis(3-phenoxyphenyl) ethyl cis- and trans-3-(2,2-dichloroethenyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate, an eight isomer mixture commonly called the "benzoin by-product." Similar by-products are encountered in the synthesis of other pyrethroids such as cyfluthrin. Representative of prior efforts to convert isomer mixtures to more active species are the procedures disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,213,916, 4,308,279, 4,544,510, 4,544,508, 4,512,931, 4,427,598, 4,670,646 and 4,681,969 and the two PCT patent publications cited above.

Conversion of pyrethroid isomers to move active species


An ion guide device includes a plurality of ring electrodes disposed in parallel, wherein each ring electrode includes at least 4 electrode units separated from each other, a channel for ion transmission is formed inside the plurality of ring electrodes, and an arrangement direction of the plurality of ring electrodes defines an axial direction of ion transmission; an radio-frequency voltage source, for applying out-of-phase radio-frequency voltages on the neighboring electrode units belonging to the same ring electrode, and applying in-phase radio frequency voltages on a neighboring electrode units along the axial direction, thereby forming an radio-frequency multipole field that confine ions in the ion guide device; and a direct-current voltage source, wherein the ions are transmitted off-axis and focused to a position closer to an inner surface of the ring electrode under a combined action of the radio-frequency voltage and the direct-current voltage.

In a mass spectrometer, an ion guide device is usually required to achieve low-loss transmission of ions from a high-pressure ion source region (1 to 105 Pa) to a low-pressure ion analyzer zone (<1 Pa) in addition to necessary vacuum interfaces. The ion guide device is generally composed of a series of electrodes applied with an radio-frequency voltage. The radio-frequency voltage forms an potential barrier around a central axis of the device to confine and focus ions. At the same time, the ions directionally move to a next stage of vacuum driven by a gas flow due to differential pumping or an additional direct-current electric field along the axis, and then the ions are analyzed by a mass analyzer.
Earlier radio-frequency ion guide devices, such as a multipole ion guide system (U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,278) invented by D. J. Douglas, and a surface-reflective multipole field guide device (U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,035) proposed by J. Franzen, can focus ions at 0.1 torr. Then, a Q-array ion guide device invented by N. Inatsugu and H. Waki, and a traveling wave ion guide device (U.S. Pat. No. 7,095,013) proposed by Bateman et al., and the like, can better guide and focus ions at a pressure below 5 torr. In order to focus ions at higher pressures, an ion funnel device (U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,628) was proposed by R. D. Smith to transmit and focus ions efficiently at a pressure near 30 torr, which greatly increases sensitivity of the device.
However, when an ion funnel is applied to a mass spectrometer, there was a capillary or a sampling cone structure with small hole in a pre-stage of the ion funnel to connect to an atmospheric pressure, while the pressure of a latter stage of the ion funnel is lower than the pressure of the ion funnel. Due to the funnel-like structure, a strong gas flow exists across an entire axis of the funnel, and a large gas flow also exists at an outlet even a metal jet-disrupter is added near an inlet of the funnel to reduce the gas flow. This gas flow not only increase the load of a vacuum pump, these neutral gas molecules also can bring noise to the ion detection; in particular, when matched with an electrospray ion source, the gas flow carries charged droplets that have not been completely desolvated to enter the next stage of vacuum, thereby bringing more noise and affecting sensitivity of an instrument.
K. Giles designed an off-axis ion guide device in U.S. Patent No. US2011/0049357. The device comprise a large and a small barrel-shaped electrode arrays, and there is a potential barrier between the two arrays. Ions enter the large-barrel electrode array from one side of the device, then overcome the barrier between the arrays under a direct-current electric field, and enter the small-barrel electrode array for transmission and extraction, while neutral molecules are extracted along an axis of the large-barrel electrode array, so as to achieve off-axis transmission of ions. The device has two disadvantages, one of which is ineffective ion focusing. A radius of an ion beam after the device is determined by a radius of the small-barrel electrode array. However, when the radius of the small-barrel electrode is too small, an radio-frequency barrier at an edge connecting with the large-barrel electrode becomes strong, which is difficult for the ions to enter the small-barrel electrode array. The second disadvantage is that the structure of the device is complex, so that it is difficult to manufacture.
In patent CN103515183A, Zhang et al. discloses an off-axis ion guide device, comprising a plurality of ring electrodes arranged in parallel, in which each ring electrode comprise a plurality of discrete segmented electrodes. A power source device applies an radio-frequency voltage on the ring electrode, the radio-frequency voltage applied on the adjacent segmented electrodes of the same ring electrode has different phases, and the radio-frequency voltage applied on the adjacent segmented electrodes along a central axis also has different phases. The radio-frequency voltage applied on adjacent segmented electrodes along the central axis is used to focus the ions, and specifically, a balance between this radio-frequency voltage and a direct-current voltage focuses the ions at an inner side of the ion guide device. This device is simple in structure and easy to manufacture. However, this kind of radio-frequency voltage having different phases that is applied on adjacent segmented electrodes along the central axis may result in oscillations of the ions near the inner surface of the device, which causes the ions to be heated and dissociated and leads to lower ion transmission efficiency.


A method for making an anti-skid apparatus for an automobile tire includes coating a plurality of core materials with rubber to form a plurality of cords; placing the cords in grooves of a preliminary molding plate and knitting the cords to form a net body; molding the cord into a non-vulcanized net body which inherently possesses crossing sections-where one of the plurality of cords lies on top of another of the plurality of cords; pressing the crossing sections so as to cause the core materials at the crossing sections to become linearly aligned; and vulcanizing the pressed non-vulcanized anti-skid net bodies to form a vulcanized net body. The step of pressing the crossing sections temporarily fixes the respective cords to each other at respective crossing sections. Also, affixing elements are attached to the vulcanized net body to detachably secure the vulcanized net body to an automobile tire.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to anti-skid attachments for automobile tires.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The inventor of the present invention has previously developed anti-skid attachments having a net shape. Examples of these attachments may be seen in Japanese Patent Publication No. SHO 58-13337 and Japanese Patent Publication No. SHO 58-49366. Although these previously developed attachments function favorably with respect to conventional metal snow chains, they suffer certain defects that make them less than ideal.
One such problem is that the net section tends to fall off the tire. Another such problem is that wires that fixed the net to the tires tend to be cut by rapid loosening and shrinking of the net section that occurs when a car having tires on which the nets are mounted is driven at high speed. Both of these problems seem to be exacerbated by snow having a sherbet-like consistency. Failing off and cutting of support wires also tend to occur when certain changes in vehicle operation are effected (e.g., when the brakes are slammed on). Still yet another problem with prior art net-shape anti-skid attachments is that they do not lend themselves to easy manufacture, i.e., mass production manufacture.

Method of making an anti-skid apparatus for an automobile tire


A charged particle multi-beam lithography system includes an illumination sub-system that is configured to generate a charged particle beam; and multiple plates with a first aperture through the plates. The plates and the first aperture are configured to form a charged particle doublet. The system further includes a blanker having a second aperture whose footprint is smaller than that of the first aperture. The charged particle doublet is configured to demagnify a portion of the charged particle beam passing through the first aperture, thereby producing a demagnified beamlet. The blanker is configured to receive the demagnified beamlet from the charged particle doublet, and is further configured to conditionally allow the demagnified beamlet to travel along a desired path.

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced exponential growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. Such scaling down has also increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs.
For example, charged particle multi-beam (CPMB) lithography systems have great potential for scaling down the feature size in semiconductor manufacturing. In a CPMB lithography system, a single charged particle beam is generated by a charged particle source and then split into multiple beams (or beamlets). The individual beamlets pass through an electro-optical lens system and irradiate a target according to an IC design pattern, thereby transferring the IC design pattern to the target. One challenge in such a system is the low transmission efficiency of the charged particle beam.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus for charged particle lithography system

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


The invention relates to a harvester for lowbush berries such as wild blueberries. A truss section is mounted to the three-point hitch of a tractor adapted to run in reverse, the truss section pulling a pair of laterally and longitudinally offset picking heads contained within the periphery of the truss section. The picking heads are floatingly connected to the truss section so that they are free to follow the contours of the ground. Each picking head mounts a rotating, tine-carrying reel therein and is connected to one end of a counterbalance system, the other end of the system being carried by the tractor. The counterbalance system includes counterweights that can be raised or lowered between upper and lower limits at the will of the operator so as to offset the weight of the picking head, so that as little as 25% thereof is acting on the ground. This means that there will be little damage to the picking head if it encounters obstacles such as rocks or tree stumps during harvesting. The counterbalance system can also be used to raise the entire head clear of the ground to pass over obstacles or to permit travel of the harvester to or from the fields to be harvested.

There have been many attempts in the past to devise a mechanical harvester for the picking of lowbush blueberries, particularly in the maritime provinces of Canada where there are extensive fields of the crop to be picked each year. The typical manner of blueberry picking has involved the use of a hand tool wielded by an individual picker, the tool being like a combination comb and scoop, which is moved through the berries to scrape them from the bushes and collect them in a funnel-like portion of the tool. This is back-breaking work.
Mechanical harvesters date back to the late 1960's, having been developed by individual berry farmers or by companies that see the business as a profitable one. For example, an early harvester is shown in Canadian Patent No. 961,275 of The Chisholm-Ryder Company. This harvester used a cylindrical reel having a plurality of tines spaced apart along an elongated rod, there being a plurality of such rods circumferentially spaced about the reel. The tines, as the reel rotated, were combed through the bushes so as to pull the berries therefrom and then they carried the berries upwardly until they fell therefrom into the centre of the reel. The falling berries encountered a conveyor running axially within the reel, which conveyor carried the berries laterally to another conveyor running to the rear of the harvester, from which they were deposited into a flat or other container. The Chisholm-Ryder harvester was mounted to the front of a small garden tractor and was pushed thereby through the berries. While it did work it was not particularly efficient and it did not operate satisfactorily on uneven ground.
A later development is reported in Canadian Pat. No. 1,249,727 of Bragg Lumber Company. According to the patent, this harvester mounts a picking head, almost identical to the Chisholm-Ryder head, on the side of a farm tractor, but in such a manner that the picking head is "towed " by the tractor. The arrangement ostensibly accommodates variations in the ground by allowing for pitch and roll of the head during operation. As with the Chisholm-Ryder head, the tines of the Bragg harvester are controlled by a cam and cam follower arrangement. In the Bragg harvester, as the tines approach top dead centre of the reel they are caused to flap rapidly to dislodge the berries carried thereby for easy deposit on the internal conveyor. While this harvester is an improvement over the Chisholm-Ryder harvester it still has its shortcomings. In particular, it is necessary to harvest a field in one direction only so that the tractor does not travel over bushes from which berries have not already been stripped. Otherwise the tractor wheels will crush berries in its path. In fact, the first pass of the harvester through a field will result in some loss due to crushing by the tractor wheels, unless a path is cleared first of all by manual harvesting. Only after that first pass can the tractor be driven in the proper direction to minimize loss. Also, the harvested path is limited to the width of the picking head, typically 3 to 4 feet. Many passes are required to harvest a large field. Furthermore, according to the patent, the weight of the picking head is supported only by a pair of skids mounted to the ends of the picking head. This weight is substantial and although there is the ability for the picking head to pitch and roll on uneven ground the weight thereof will tend to make the supporting skids dig into soft ground.


Urea-formaldehyde resins, particularly useful for producing particle boards having lower rates of release of formaldehyde are synthesized in several stages including a stage of further condensing a first condensate having a F/U molar ratio of 1.8-2.3 and which was condensed at a pH of between 6 and 8. The further condensing is conducted at a pH of between 6 and 8 until a cloud point with water is reached at 10.degree.-40.degree. C. making it possible to obtain resins which are reactive and stable during storage.

The present invention relates to a new process for the manufacture of urea-formaldehyde resins; its subject matter is more particularly a new process for the manufacture of reactive urea-formaldehyde resins which are stable in storage and give off little formaldehyde.
Urea-formaldehyde resins are known products which are widely employed in the woodworking industry, in particular for the manufacture of particle boards. They are manufactured in a known manner by a condensation of urea and of formaldehyde at a pH of between 4 and 7 and at a temperature close to boiling point; this condensation reaction is preferably carried out in several stages.
The chief disadvantages of urea-formaldehyde resins is that they cause large quantities of free formaldehyde to be given off. Attempts have been made to reduce the free formaldehyde content by using various methods of manufacture; unfortunately, when the aim is to reach particularly low contents of formaldehyde, experience shows that this objective is accompanied both by a decrease in the reactivity and stability of the resins and by a deterioration in the mechanical properties of the finished boards. In order to get rid of free formaldehyde it has also been proposed to employ resins devoid of formaldehyde, particularly resins based on isocyanate solutions. Unfortunately, the problem of formaldehyde is replaced by that is isocyanates, whose effect on main is more harmful and more durable than that of formaldehyde, since the presence of free isocyanate groups has been demonstrated in the particle boards even several years after manufacture.

Process for the manufacture of urea-formaldehyde resins


A system of remote diagnostics comprising a guidance device having a guidance device identifier, the guidance device further including a communication module for communicating a service request message, the service request message including the guidance device identifier; and a diagnostics module able to communicate with the communication module of the guidance device and configured to receive the service request message of the communication module of the guidance device, the diagnostics module maintaining a data store associating the guidance device identifier with a service provider entity; wherein, the diagnostics module is configured to facilitate communication between the service provider entity and the communication module of the guidance device in response to receipt of the service request message from the communication device of the guidance device and based upon the association of the guidance device identifier with the service provider entity.

Off-road vehicles typically utilised in, for example, agricultural, construction, mining and forestry applications, such as tractors, harvesters, diggers, graders, dump trucks and other powered vehicles, commonly comprise electronic equipment designed to assist an operator in guiding the vehicle along a particular path.
In particular, agricultural vehicles, such as tractors, harvesters and the like, often include a guidance device that includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit and display to guide the vehicle along a predetermined path using positional data provided by the GPS constellation of satellites as an aide.
Moreover, it is known to use guidance devices that include GPS units on agricultural vehicles such that a course may be stored within the guidance device and the guidance device operates the vehicle in a semi-autonomous manner.
Alternatively, the guidance device provides direction to an operator of the agricultural vehicle to enable the operator to maintain a predetermined fixed path when, for example, harvesting crops with the vehicle.
However, like all high technology equipment, it is not uncommon for guidance devices that are utilised in agricultural vehicles to fail and, from the point of view of the user at least, without any apparent reason. As such, it is necessary to have a skilled technician travel to the site in order to diagnose and correct the fault in the guidance device.
Often these faults are transient and stem from situations such as communication errors between a base station guidance sub-module of the guidance device and an on-board guidance sub-module due to the terrain and obstructions between the sub-modules.
Given the often remote locations in which agricultural vehicles operate, a failure of the guidance device may result in a long period of down time whilst the technician travels to a site in order to diagnose and correct the fault.
Often, a fault with a guidance device on an agricultural vehicle is relatively simple for a skilled technician to correct and requires a relatively small amount of time on site compared with the relatively large amount of time required for the diagnostician/technician to travel to the site.
It is known in the art to remotely diagnose the performance of a vehicle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,740 describes a system for monitoring a vehicle that includes a wireless appliance in electrical contact with an in-vehicle computer. The system described allows a remote diagnostician to interface with a computer on the vehicle to obtain data relating to the performance of the vehicle.
Furthermore, JP10-5427 describes a diagnostic tool for automobiles that notifies a nearby service station of a malfunction condition in relation to the performance of the vehicle.
Whilst the systems described above adequately provide for remote diagnostics of vehicles, remotely diagnosing a vehicle guidance device has a different set of problems that are not catered for by these prior art systems.
Hence, it is desirable to provide a system and method of remotely diagnosing a vehicular guidance module.
In this specification, the terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes", "including" or similar terms are intended to mean a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a method, system or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include those elements solely, but may well include other elements not listed.


Provided are architectures, system, methods, and computer program products that provide a user with the ability to define an association of data and/or information from known reference sets perceived by the user as relevant to a subject matter domain, thereby imparting and formalizing some of the user's knowledge about the domain. An associative relevancy knowledge profiler may also allow a user to create a profile by modifying or restricting the known reference sets and windowing the results from the association as a user might refine any other analysis algorithms. An associative relevancy knowledge profiler may also be used to define a user profile used by the user and others. A user profile may be usable in various manners depending upon, for example, rights management permissions and restrictions for a user.

Many different types of data and information are available such as text, articles, lists, and graphics, and many different systems are available for recording and classifying data and information in various structure, such as a common database structure or a spreadsheet, all collectively referred to herein as data and information sources regardless of the type, system, or structure. And many different types of systems have been developed for extracting specific information from various data and information sources, collectively referred to herein as search engines, including Google® search of Google Corporation of Mountain View, Calif., Baidu search of Baidu.com Corporation of Beijing, China, Yahoo!® and AltaVista® searches of Yahoo! Corporation of Sunnyvale, Calif., MSN® and Windows Live® searches of Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., and like general searching applications; SQL and like customized searching applications; and other information retrieval (IR) systems. And even some systems have been developed for trying to infer and/or calculate information from one or more data and/or information sources, such as identifying trends in data and hypothesis generation, including inference systems, deductive reasoning systems, artificial intelligence systems, neural network systems, semantic network systems, fuzzy logic systems, and other expert systems, collectively referred to herein as inference engines.
Further, some systems allow a user to save preferences and establish preset conditions that can later be used again and/or refined for different purposes, such as a default search strategy that can be refined for various more specific searches area. Some systems are designed for particular types of data and information. And some systems are designed for a particular subject matter domain, and the corresponding operations that might be performed on the data and information available for the particular subject matter domain.
But although techniques have been developed for working with data and information, including many sophisticated search engines and inference engines, it is desirable to improve upon these existing techniques and to provide the further ability for a user to impart his or her knowledge about a domain, including to impart knowledge about a domain separate and apart from a particular search engine or inference engine. While search engines and inference engine provide exceptionally important and useful advantages, these systems, individually and in combination, are principally limited to working with, managing, and creating data and information. For example, there is a need in the art for improved architectures, systems, methods, and computer program products for providing a user with the ability to define and modify an association of data and/or information that is perceived by the user as relevant to a subject matter domain, thereby imparting some of his or her knowledge about the domain, and permitting use of that knowledge to perform discovery process operations on data and information, i.e., to evaluate data and information.

Associative relevancy knowledge profiling architecture, system, method, and computer program product


A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes at least the following three steps: (A) A step of preparing a structure including a semiconductor wafer having a circuit-formed surface and an adhesive film attached to the circuit-formed surface side of the semiconductor wafer; (B) A step of back grinding a surface on a side opposite to the circuit-formed surface side of the semiconductor wafer; and (C) A step of radiating ultraviolet rays to the adhesive film and then removing the adhesive film from the semiconductor wafer. The adhesive film includes a base material layer and an ultraviolet-curable adhesive resin layer provided on one surface side thereof. The adhesive resin layer includes an ultraviolet-curable adhesive resin, and a saturated electrostatic potential V1 of a surface of the adhesive resin layer after ultraviolet curing, which is measured using a specific method, is equal to or less than 2.0 kV.

Among steps for manufacturing a semiconductor device, in a step of polishing a semiconductor wafer, an adhesive film is attached to the semiconductor wafer in order to prevent damage of the semiconductor wafer.
As the above-described adhesive film, generally, a film obtained by laminating an ultraviolet-curable adhesive resin layer on a base material film is used. When this adhesive film is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, the adhesive resin layer cross-links, and the adhesive force of the adhesive resin layer decreases, and thus the adhesive film can be easily peeled off from the semiconductor wafer.
Meanwhile, in steps for manufacturing a semiconductor device using the above-described adhesive film, there have been cases in which static electricity called peeling charging is generated during the peeling of the adhesive film from the semiconductor wafer. There have been cases in which a circuit formed on the semiconductor wafer is broken due to the static electricity generated as described above (electrostatic breakdown) or a foreign substance such as dust is attached to a circuit formed on the semiconductor wafer.
Particularly, in response to an increase in the density of semiconductor wafers and a decrease in wire pitches in recent years, there has been a tendency that semiconductor wafers are likely to be affected by static electricity more than ever.
In consideration of the above-described circumstance, recently, for adhesive films used to prevent damage of semiconductor wafers in steps for manufacturing a semiconductor device, there has been a demand for the additional improvement in antistatic performance.
As a technique regarding an adhesive film for processing a semiconductor wafer as described above, for example, the technique described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-210944) is exemplified.
Patent Document 1 describes an adhesive tape for processing an antistatic semiconductor which is an adhesive tape constituted of a base material film and a photocurable adhesive layer and includes an antistatic layer containing a conductive polymer in at least one surface of the base material film and an adhesive layer containing a photocurable unsaturated carbon bond in a molecule of a base polymer on the antistatic layer, in which a surface resistivity on the adhesive layer side before and after ultraviolet curing is 1×106 to 5×1012 Ω/□, a thickness of the adhesive layer is 20 to 250 μm, and a 90-degree peel adhesive force (based on JIS Z 0237: a peel rate is 50 mm/min) after the ultraviolet curing of the adhesive layer in a case in which the adhesive tape is attached to a silicon mirror wafer is 0.15 to 0.25 N/25 mm.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device by backgrinding semiconductor wafer using an adhesive film


A laser apparatus includes: a light source configured to generate laser light; and an optical negative feedback unit configured to narrow a spectral line of the laser light using optical negative feedback. A modulation signal is input to the light source to modulate a frequency of the laser light. A modulation amount in the frequency of the laser light is detected. A modulation sensitivity is calculated from (i) the modulation amount and (ii) an intensity of the modulation signal.

There are proposed various methods for narrowing the spectral line (i.e., narrowing the spectral line width) of a laser apparatus. For example, in a laser apparatus having an external resonator structure in which a resonator is provided outside the light emitter, a method of narrowing the line by extending the length of the resonator has been proposed. In this method, there is little factor that the line width changes from the design value, so there is not a high need to confirm the line narrowed state. However, if the length of the resonator is extended, it becomes difficult to adjust the oscillation frequency as the line is narrowed, and the frequency modulation range becomes narrow.
In addition, there is proposed a method of narrowing the line by adjusting the frequency of the output light by electric feedback technology and canceling the fluctuation. In this method, since the fluctuation is converted into an electric signal, if it is a low noise circuit, it is possible to detect the degree of the fluctuation on the circuit and confirm the line narrowed state. However, the circuit noise limits the effect of narrowing the line.


An organic EL device including a stacked structure having an organic luminescent layer positioned between an anode and a cathode; and a sealing can having a desiccant-containing layer on its inner surface. The desiccant in the desiccant-containing layer provides an excellent long-term moisture resistance to the organic EL device, thereby generating no or a few dark spots thereon.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates an organic electroluminescent (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cELxe2x80x9d) device having an excellent long-term moisture resistance, and a method for fabricating the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In a field of a flat display device, an organic EL device including an organic luminescent layer between an anode and a cathode has been conventionally proposed, and researches therefor are actively conducted. However, such an organic EL device is affected by surrounding moisture and has a poor moisture resistance. Ingress of water contents to the interface between the organic luminescent layer and the electrode prevents injection of electrons, thereby generating dark spots showing a non-luminescent region, or corroding the electrodes.
JP-A-10(1998)-312883 describes an organic EL device covered with a buffer layer made of thermoplastic resin and a barrier layer made of an inorganic material. However, in the organic EL device described therein, the ingress of the moisture from the interfaces between the organic EL device and the above layers cannot be sufficiently eliminated. In addition, the EL device has larger dimensions due to these layers. Further, the stress caused by the formation of these layers reduces the luminescent efficiency of the organic EL device or destroys the organic EL device depending on circumstances.
JP-A-10(1998)-275679 describes an organic EL device sealed with sealing glass having a moisture-absorbing porous layer such as a SiO2 layer, a TiO2 layer and a zeolite layer. Since, however, the moisture absorption by the porous layer utilizes only physical adsorption, the influence of the moisture cannot be sufficiently eliminated. In addition, since the surface area of the porous layer is reduced by the inner wall area of the sealing glass, the elimination of the moisture influence for a longer period of time is difficult.
JP-A-9(1997)-148066 describes an organic EL device in which a desiccant maintaining a solid state even after absorbing moisture is fixed in a sealing can by using an adhesive.
Since, however, the amount of the desiccant which can be fixed by the adhesive is restricted by the surface area of the inner wall of the sealing can, the smaller amount of the desiccant cannot effectively eliminate moisture influence for a longer period of time. In addition, since the employable desiccants are limited to one that maintains the solid state even after absorbing moisture, use of a hygroscopic desiccant or a deliquescent desiccant is difficult.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide an organic EL device having an excellent long-term moisture resistance and generating less number of dark spots, by using various desiccants in a sufficient amount.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for efficiently fabricating such an organic EL device having the excellent long-term moisture resistance.
The present invention provides, in a first aspect thereof, an organic EL device including: a transparent substrate; a stacked structure formed on the transparent substrate, the stacked structure including an anode, a cathode and at least one EL layer sandwiched between the anode and the cathode; a sealing can for encapsulating the stacked structure together with the transparent substrate; and a desiccant-containing layer formed on an inner surface of the sealing can.
The present invention provides, in a second aspect thereof, a method for fabricating en organic EL device including the steps of: forming a stacked structure on a transparent substrate, said stacked structure including an anode, a cathode and at least one organic EL layer sandwiched between the anode and the cathode; forming a desiccant-containing layer on an inner surface of a sealing can; and encapsulating the stacked structure using at least the sealing can.
In accordance with the first and the second aspects of the present invention, since a considerable amount of a desiccant, especially a variety of desiccants, can be contained in the desiccant-containing layer on the sealing can to exclude moisture infiltrated from the interface between the transparent substrate and the sealing can, the organic EL device having an excellent long-term moisture resistance, and especially generating no or a few dark spots, can be provided. In a preferred embodiment thereof, a concave-convex surface formed on the sealing can prevents the release of the desiccant-containing layer from the sealing can to secure the long-term moisture resistance.
Such an organic EL device having the excellent long-term moisture resistance can be fabricated by the method of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment of the method, the desiccant-containing layer forming step and the stacked structure sealing step can be simultaneously conducted to reduce the number of the steps for the fabrication.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

Organic electroluminescent device and method for fabricating same


Methods and systems are described herein for calculating a predicted time when a first user will be exposed to a spoiler of a first media asset. A media guidance application may retrieve an initial transmission time of the first media asset and a transmission time of a second media asset that precedes the transmission time of the first media asset. The media guidance application may retrieve electronic communications from a second user whose electronic communications the first user has viewed, and determine a subset of the electronic communications that correspond to the second media asset. The media guidance application may calculate a length of time from the transmission time of the second media asset to the earliest availability time of an electronic communication in the subset. The media guidance application may calculate the predicted time based on the transmission time of the first media asset and the length of time.

A spoiler is information about the plot of a media asset that can spoil a viewer's sense of surprise or suspense. The related art is directed to preventing users from viewing spoilers by removing or providing warnings about spoilers when users are confronted by spoilers. However, the related art does not assist a user in viewing media assets before the user is likely to encounter unwanted spoilers.

Systems and methods for calculating a predicted time when a user will be exposed to a spoiler of a media asset


A moving image file producing method includes: inputting an image material; inputting a scenario information; and producing a moving image file that contains the image material based on the scenario information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a moving image file producing method, a computer program product, and an electronic camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
The sequential playback of still images (so-called slide show) using the still image of the same format as that of the moving image and the auxiliary information thereof has been known as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-336566.

Moving image file producing method, computer program product and electronic camera


A toy image projector includes a housing including a peripheral wall, an accommodation chamber surrounded by the peripheral wall and a transparent view window at the peripheral wall, a rotating body accommodated in the accommodation chamber and including a peripheral wall, multiple sets of patterned holes formed in the peripheral wall and a space surrounded by the peripheral wall, a driving mechanism operable to rotate the rotating body relative to the housing, and a light-emitting device accommodated in the space within the rotating body and adapted to emit light through one set of patterned holes and the transparent view window to the outside. Thus, by means of rotating the rotating body, different image patterns can be projected to the outside of the toy image projector, increasing consumer interest in playing the toy image projector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image projection technology, and more particularly, to a toy image projector that is operable to selectively project one of a series of image patterns.
2. Description of the Related Art
The structural designs of conventional toy image projectors mostly focus on the external shape of the projector without improving the projection pattern, for example, simply making the projector in the shape of a flashlight or pistol. As a consequence, conventional toy image projectors are monotonous when playing, and can simply project one single image pattern. If a user wishes to project different image patterns, he or she must buy multiple toy image projectors, not only increasing the cost but also requiring much storage space.


A high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) data transceiving apparatus is disclosed. The HDMI data transceiving apparatus includes a data receiver and a data transmitter. The data transmitter includes a first impedance-providing device and a second impedance-providing device. The data transmitter has a first data transmission terminal and a second data transmission terminal. The first data transmission terminal and the second data transmission terminal are coupled to the data receiver through a first transmission line and a second transmission line, respectively. The data transmitter respectively transmits first data and second data to the data receiver. The first impedance-providing device and the second impedance-providing device absorb a reflected wave generated by the HDMI data transceiving apparatus when the first data and the second data are transmitted.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure generally relates to a multimedia interface data transceiving apparatus, and more particularly, to a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) data transceiving apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
High-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) is a standard for transmitting digital television audiovisual signals from a digital visual disk (DVD) player, a set-top box, or any other audiovisual source to a television set, a projector, a monitor, or any other video display apparatus. HDMI supports high-quality multi-channel audio data and many standard and high-definition (HD) electronic video formats.
In a conventional HDMI data transceiving apparatus, when a data transmitter transmits data to a data receiver, the data transmitter receives a control signal; according to the received control signal, the data transmitter determines to turn on or off a switch and thereby transmits the data to the data receiver. When the switch is turned off, the data receiver may receive high-definition data because no current runs from the reference power supply to the reference ground terminal. In other words, the voltage level of the data receiver is pulled up to the level of the reference power supply.
By contrast, when the switch is turned on, a current runs from the reference power supply to the reference ground terminal through a transmission line and the switch, and the resultant voltage drop at the data receiver renders the difference between the voltage level of the data receiver and that of the reference ground terminal. Accordingly, the data receiver cannot receive complete high-definition data.

High-definition multimedia interface data transceiving apparatus


A method and apparatus are provided for detecting scene changes between successive fields in a digital television signal. I-frames, which start new GOPs, are aligned with scene changes. In a preprocessing stage (205, 210), the change in the sum of pixel differences between consecutive odd fields, or consecutive even fields, is calculated for every consecutive input field. A scene change is detected when a large positive value in the change of sum is followed by a large negative value therein. A decision of which picture type to use is not made until a final encoding stage (225, 235). I-frames can be inhibited when an encoder buffer level is too high. A counter resets the scene change indication to avoid a perpetual scene change state for transitions from still to motion. In film mode, the MPEG-recommended frame-based encoding is deactivated when a scene change occurred on a field boundary (e.g., when there is no redundant field in the picture).

The present invention relates to video compression, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for detecting scene changes and adjusting the picture coding type to optimize the coding efficiency of a video encoder. The invention is particularly useful for picture coding type decision and scene change detection in a digital HDTV encoder.
Aligning intra-coded (I) frames with scene changes can significantly improve the coding efficiency of an MPEG (Moving Picture Expert""s Group) video encoder. In the past, such scene change detection has been provided, for example, by detecting variations in luminance values.
In some existing scene change detection proposals, the coding of an I-frame is avoided until the scene change is over and a new GOP (group of pictures) is started. However, scene change detection is performed on a frame-by-frame basis. Therefore, this approach can yield incorrect results where there are bad edits, special effects or camera flashes, where the scene change might occur on the odd/even field boundary of the same frame.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a system for detecting scene changes, including flashes, or bad fields that result from improper editing, and adjusting the picture coding type without the aforementioned problems encountered by the prior art. It would be further advantageous to better optimize the coding efficiency of a video encoder during scene changes. It would also be desirable to provide an efficient system for scheduling a new GOP based on the detection of a scene change. Moreover, the system should detect scene changes between successive fields.
The system should make use of an encoding processing pipeline architecture that provides the required lookahead delay to avoid issuing a scheduled I-frame at the proximity of a scene change, while minimizing the amount of frame buffer memory required to provide the lookahead capability.
The scheme should be compatible with different HDTV modes/pixel resolutions, including 1920xc3x971080 I (interlaced scan), 1440xc3x971080 I, and 1280xc3x97720 p (progressive scan), as well as standard definition (SDTV) video.
The system should be compatible with any digital video coding scheme, including MPEG-2.
The system should inhibit the encoding of I-frames when an encoder buffer level is too high.
The system should provide a watchdog counter that resets the scene change indication to avoid a perpetual scene change state for transitions from still to motion.
For an MPEG film mode frame picture that is determined to be a scene change frame, to improve coding accuracy and efficiency, the system should deactivate the MPEG-recommended frame-based Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and prediction encoding when a scene change may have occurred on a field boundary.
The present invention provides a scene change and adjustment scheme having the aforementioned and other advantages.
The present invention relates to an efficient video compression scheme that detects scene changes between successive fields, including flashes, or bad fields that result from improper editing, and adjusts the picture coding type and GOP boundaries in response thereto. The term xe2x80x9cscene changexe2x80x9d is thus used generally herein to encompass events including a normal scene change (at a frame boundary), a scene change at a field boundary of the same frame, a bad edit or flash, or any other sudden change in a sequence of video images.
In accordance with the present invention, scene change detection is performed at a preprocessing stage of a video encoder. The final decision to encode a frame as an I- or P-frame is not made until a final encoding stage. That is, the encoder""s processing pipeline is used as a lookahead buffer to minimize the amount of required frame buffer memory.
In particular, the preprocessing stage of the video encoder calculates a change in the sum of pixel differences between consecutive odd fields, or consecutive even fields, for every consecutive input field. A scene change is then detected by looking for a large positive value (exceeding a positive threshold) in the change in sum, followed by a large negative value (less than a negative threshold) I-frames are inhibited at the encoding stage of the processing pipeline as soon as a scene change is detected. A new GOP is started when a scene change frame arrives at the encoding stage of the pipeline, and there is no other scene change frame in the pipeline.
A scene change counter is used to keep track of the number of uncoded scene change frames currently in the processing pipeline. I-frames are prohibited for as long as the scene change counter has a value greater than zero, except for the last scene change frame in a burst (succession) of scene change frames.
Additionally, a, scene change countdown counter, or xe2x80x9cwatchdogxe2x80x9d counter, is used to account for a transition from a still frame to a motion frame to ensure that a scene change is not set permanently.
Moreover, for an MPEG film mode picture that is determined to be a scene change frame, the MPEG-recommended frame-based Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and prediction encoding is deactivated when a scene change is indicated at a field boundary (e.g., when there is no redundant field in the picture). Upon such deactivation, either frame- or field-based DCT and prediction can be use on a macroblock-by-macroblock basis in the picture. This allows field prediction to be used to handle bad edits where a scene change may occur at the odd/even field boundary of the same frame.
The invention is suitable for use with both high definition television (HDTV) encoders and standard definition television (SDTV) encoders.

Method and apparatus for detecting scene changes and adjusting picture coding type in a high definition television encoder


Provided are a compressor and a refrigeration system having the same. The compressor includes: a housing, a lower flange structure, a first compression cylinder and a second compression cylinder. The first compression cylinder includes a cylinder body, a roller and a sliding vane. A sliding vane groove is provided on an inner wall of the cylinder body. The roller is provided in the cylinder body. The sliding vane is provided in the sliding vane groove and matched with the roller. A first reset member is provided between the sliding vane and the sliding vane groove. A lock groove in positional correspondence to a pin groove is provided on the sliding vane. A first cavity is formed between the sliding vane and the sliding vane groove. A second cavity is formed between a pin and the sliding vane. A third cavity is formed between the pin and the pin groove.

The structure of a three-cylinder two-stage variable-capacity compressor in a related art is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, wherein a variable-capacity switching mode of the compressor is: the pressure at a tail of a pin 2′ in the variable-capacity cylinder 1′ is always a low pressure, and the pressure in a seal cavity (that is, a head of the pin 2′) at a tail of a variable-capacity cylinder sliding vane groove 3′ is a high pressure or a low pressure. When the tail of the variable-capacity cylinder sliding vane groove 3′ is connected with the low pressure, a pressure of the head of the pin 2′ is equal to a pressure of the tail of the pin 2′, the pin 2′ moves upward under an elastic force of a spring 4′, and engages a sliding vane 5′, the sliding vane 5′ is locked, the variable-capacity cylinder 1′ is unloaded, and at this time, the compressor is operated in two cylinders. When the tail of the variable-capacity cylinder sliding vane groove 3′ is communicated with the high pressure, a pressure difference is formed between the head of the pin 2′ and the tail of the pin 2′, the pin 2′ moves downward against the elastic force of the spring 4′, the pin 2′ is disengaged from the sliding vane 5′, the sliding vane 5′ can normally move, the variable-capacity cylinder 1′ works, and at this time, the compressor is operated in three cylinders.
When the three-cylinder two-stage variable-capacity compressor adopts the above variable-capacity switching mode, an internal pressure of the variable-capacity cylinder 1′ after unloaded is a low pressure, an internal pressure of a housing 6′ is a high pressure, the pressure difference between an inside and outside of the variable-capacity cylinder 1′ is large, refrigeration oil will enter into the variable-capacity cylinder 1′ through a clearance between a lubrication passage of a crankshaft and a cylinder roller, and thus the refrigeration oil will be accumulated in the variable-capacity cylinder 1′. Therefore, when the compressor operation mode is switched from two-cylinder operation to three-cylinder operation, the variable-capacity cylinder 1′ will compress the refrigeration oil. However, because the refrigeration oil is incompressible, the load of the compressor may suddenly increase, even causing over-current protection of a controller to result in shutdown, so there is a certain degree of reliability risk.

Compressor and refrigeration system having same

GREE GREEN REFRIGERATION TECHNOLOGY CENTER CO., LTD. OF ZHUHAI


Apparatus for generating hydrogen by the electrolysis of water comprising an electrolytic cell having a cathode and an anode separated by a solid electrolyte, an electrical power supply connected to the cell for applying a voltage across the cathode and anode, a water reservoir connected to the cell for supplying water to the anode side, a hydrogen-water separator connected to the cell for receiving hydrogen and water from the cathode side and separating the hydrogen from the water, and a water return line connecting the hydrogen-water separator to the water reservoir for returning water to the water reservoir whereby the water is recycled to the anode side. A float valve in the upper region of the hydrogen-water separator closes the hydrogen outlet in response to an increase in the water level in the separator to the level of the hydrogen outlet, to prevent water from entering the hydrogen outlet in the event of a malfunction. A pressure relief valve in the hydrogen-water separator discharges hydrogen from the separator to the atmosphere in response to an increase in the gas pressure in the separator beyond a predetermined level. A sensor in the water reservoir producing an electrical signal in response to a drop in the water level in the reservoir to a predetermined level, or in response to a predetermined change in the electrical conductivity of the water, and control circuitry responds to the electrical signal for interrupting the supply of electrical power to the cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for the generation of gases. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for the generation of hydrogen and oxygen by the electrolytic dissociation of water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that a gas, such as oxygen, hydrogen or chlorine, may be generated by disassociating a chemical compound into its constituent elements. The prior art describes several devices which utilize electrolytic cells for disassociating such compounds and generating gas. Such electrolytic cells take a variety of forms, but generally include a catalytic anode, a catalytic cathode and an adjacent electrolyte which is in electrical contact with both the anode and the cathode. A d-c voltage is applied across the catalytic electrodes to drive the reaction.
When reactants contact an electrode, they are dissociated into their constituent ionic forms, and the evolved gas is collected. For example, if water is placed in contact with the anode, an oxidation reaction will occur, disassociating the water to produce hydrogen and oxygen ions. The hydrogen ions move to the cathode where a reduction reaction produces hydrogen molecules, and at the anode the oxygen ions combine to form molecular oxygen. Generally, the electrolyte is a solid polymeric ion-exchange membrane.
Gas generators employing electrolytic cells may be used in many applications in place of compressed gas stored in cylinders. Moreover, electrolytic cells make possible the manufacture of inexpensive, compact devices for producing gas at the point of use. An example of an electrolytic cell gas generator is described in Dempsey et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,616, which describes a hydrogen generator having a main water tank supplying water to the anode of an electrolytic cell for dissociation. However, not all the water supplied to the anode is dissociated. In fact, the bulk of the water supplied to the anode is transported with the dissociated hydrogen ions across the ion-exchange membrane into the cathode chamber. Part of this water returns to the anode chamber by diffusion back across the ion-exchange membrane; however, when gas is being actively generated, the rate of protonic pumping by the hydrogen ions is much greater than the diffusion rate of the water back across the membrane so that eventually a build up of water takes place in a accumulator chamber disposed above the cathode chamber. Whenever the water in the accumulator chamber rises above a predetermined level, a solenoid valve is closed to shut off the water supply from the main tank to the anode chamber. Nevertheless, as long as there is an electrical current supplied to the electrolytic cell, the dissociation reaction continues. In order to continue the reaction, and the production of gas, water must be supplied to the anode. However, the only water supplied to the anode chamber comes from the diffusion of water from the cathode chamber back across the ion-exchange membrane. During this period, the dissociation of the water is rate limited by the rate of water diffusing lack across the membrane.
"Drying out" or "breaking down" the membrane is a phenomenon which occurs when the electrolytic cell's demand for water is greater than the supply. The dissociation of water is driven by the current supplied to the electrolytic cell. As the current is increased, the quantity of water dissociated is increased. However, if the supply of water at the anode is not great enough to satisfy the demand of the electrolytic cell, the water molecules which were incorporated into the structure of the membrane during the manufacturing process will become dissociated. This irreversibly "dries out" the membrane, breaking down the polymer structure. As a result the output of the cell is progressively reduced, and the cell eventually becomes inoperable. This phenomenon will also occur if the generator accidentally runs dry, or loses its water through a leak in the system, or if the solenoid valve remains closed indefinitely.
The water contained in an electrolytic cell gas generator can become contaminated with impurities, such as metals, salts, acids, bases, or other electrolytes. Impurities such as these are contained in ordinary tap water. Once entered into the system, these impurities or contaminants are absorbed directly into the ion-exchange membrane, thereby "poisoning" the membrane and reducing the amount of uncontaminated surface area remaining to transport ions. As a result, the output of the cell is progressively reduced until the cell ceases to function entirely. This can be a gradual process or, if the amount of contamination is great enough, the membrane can be poisoned in a matter of minutes. Because these contaminants are invisible to an operator and electrolytic gas cell generators presently cannot detect if contaminated water is present, the ion-exchange membranes of these systems can be destroyed by the errant addition of tap water or other impure water into the generator.

Apparatus and method for generating hydrogen and oxygen by electrolytic dissociation of water


Embodiments of the disclosure are drawn to apparatuses and methods for storing an enable state of an address. The address may be broadcast from a fuse array to a fuse latch, and may be associated with enable information. The fuse latch may include a plurality of enable latch circuits, each of which may receive the enable information in common, and each of which may store the enable information as an enable bit. Each of the enable latch circuits may provide a respective enable signal based on a state of the stored enable bit. An enable logic circuit may provide an overall enable signal with a state determined by the states of all of the enable signals from the plurality of enable latch circuits.

This disclosure relates generally to semiconductor devices, and more specifically to semiconductor memory devices. In particular, the disclosure relates to memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Information may be stored in memory cells, which may be organized into rows (word lines) and columns (bit lines). At various points in manufacturing and use of a memory device, one or more memory cells may fail (e.g., become unable to store information, be inaccessible by the memory device, etc.) and may need to be repaired.
The memory device may be directed to repair failed memory cells. The memory device may contain additional rows of memory (which may also be referred to as redundant rows) and additional columns of memory (redundant columns) which may be used in repair operations. During a repair operation, an address associated with the defective memory cells may be redirected, such that the address is now associated with a redundant row and/or column instead. It may be desirable to increase the reliability of repair operations.

Apparatuses and methods for fuse latch redundancy


Detection system for cathodoluminescence analysis apparatus, wherein a screen is placed between the sample to be analyzed and the detector to intercept the electrons backscattered by the sample towards the detector. The screen is a plate of a glass which is transparent in a wide spectral interval, has a rather high conductivity, and does not present cathodoluminescence effects.

It is known that a sample of suitable material, bombarded by electrons, returns part of the received energy by photon emission. By collecting said photons by a suitable detector it is possible to build up an image of the analyzed area, thus obtaining information on the material properties. When making measurements by that technique it is necessary to collect and send to the detector as many photons as possible. The simplest solution would be to place the detector as close as possible to the sample emitting surface, but under these conditions the surface of the conventional glass screens protecting the detectors becomes charged by backscattered electrons. This charging generates an electric field which disturbs electron beam scanning. If the detector is placed relatively far from the sample, beyond the reach of the electrons, the signal emitted from the detector can be too low to permit a precise interpretation. Whatever the detector position, mirrors can be used to increase the collection solid angle, but such mirrors generally prevent the microscope use at low magnifications and are difficult to use (ie. constitute an encumbrance in the analysis chamber, make it necessary to center the sample with respect to the mirror, etc.).
The problem of simultaneously ensuring a good collection efficiency and good screening against backscattered electrons can be solved by placing the detector near the sample and placing therebetween a screen which is transparent to photons and thick enough to retain the electrons, which does not give rise to luminescence when struck by backscattered electrons and, finally, which does not give rise to electron charging of its surface, to avoid creating an electrical field capable of disturbing the scanning beam. To meet these requirements, it has been proposed to make a glass screen coated with a very thin metal conductive coating. This solution is described by J. Marek, R. Geiss, L. M. Glassman and M. P. Scott in the paper entitled "A Novel Scheme for Detection of Defects in III-V Semiconductors by Cathodoluminescence", Glass Technology, Vol. 24, No. 3, June 1983.
This known solution has a number of disadvantages. The metal coating increases absorption, consequently reducing the level of the detector output signal, what renders the measurement more sensitive to noise and requires more powerful, and hence more expensive, amplification systems. Additional work is required to fabricate the coating, and this also increases the costs. Finally, conventional oxide glasses present a fair transparency in a spectral region which, in the infrared, does not extend beyond 2.4 .mu.m.

SIP - Societa Italiana per l'Esercizio Delle Telecomunicazioni P.A.


In one general aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium can be configured to store instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform a process. The process can include producing a segment of a laser signal where the segment of the laser signal has a duration, and producing a first reference signal based on the laser signal. The process can include calculating a first phase deviation corresponding with a first portion of the duration based on the first reference signal, and producing a second reference signal based on the laser signal. The process can include calculating a second phase deviation corresponding with a second portion of the duration based on the second reference signal, and calculating a phase deviation of the segment of the laser signal based on a combination of the first phase deviation and the second phase deviation.

In some known LIDAR systems, lasers may be used to estimate range and velocity of moving objects. However, the range and velocity estimates can be distorted by, for example, phase deviation, frequency deviation, and/or other interference. Thus, a need exists for systems, methods, and apparatus to address the shortfalls of present technology and to provide other new and innovative features.


A furnace as described in this invention comprises a temperature regulating portion to assist in melting a non-ferrous material, such as an aluminium, and to reserve said material for the subsequent casting or injection molding procedure. The furnace provides a mean to eliminate an oxide, such as iron oxide, which generally floats on the top layer of a molten material inside a melting portion and a heating portion by preventing the flow of said oxide into the temperature regulating portion. A sensor or any detector that can detect the level of the molten material is utilized to measure the surface level of said molten material. A temperature regulating burner, which is a flat flame type, is utilized on the ceiling of the temperature regulating portion in order to prevent any oxidation reaction to occur as well as to reduce the concentration of oxygen inside the portion.

In general, there are three main types of metal furnace as follows. (1) direct fuel fire furnace—the furnace contains separate portions, zones or chambers for pre-heating a metal, for melting said metal, and for controlling temperature wherein the furnace utilizing the flame that is directly in contact with the metal inside the melting pot, and which is suitable for melting large number of metal; (2) indirect fuel fire furnace—the furnace having a cylindrical shape or pan shape which can be subdivided into a lift-out furnace, a tilting furnace, or a rotary crucible furnace; (3) electrical powered furnace—the furnace is subdivided into 2 types including those utilizing electrical resistance and electrical induction.
This invention can help solve the problem with the accumulation of metal oxides—such as aluminum oxides which are difficult to remove and clean up, and can have a negative effect on total yield of molten material production-inside the temperature regulating or holding portions for holding the molten metal inside the conventional direct fuel fire furnace.
A set of examples of the conventional furnace can be illustrated in FIGS. 5-8 herein a melting portion (6) is located under a pre-heating portion (5), and on one side of the furnace (6) contains a burner (9). Non-ferrous metal or aluminum can be transferred into the furnace through an opening (17) which is situated above the pre-heating portion (5) and is then heated with the burner (9) to liquefy the non-ferrous metal or aluminum into a molten material (1b). The molten material (1b) then flows over the tilted surface (15) and into the temperature regulating portion (3) wherein the temperature of said portion (3) is maintained or increased by a burner (12). The molten material (1b) shall then flow through a lower edge (13), which is an extension of a separator (10), and out of a furnace exit (4). The resulting molten material (1c) can then be used in the casting or molding process by an external casting or molding equipment. Non-ferrous material, such as aluminum, can be poured into the pre-heating portion (5) containing a lid (16) and wherein the melting portion (6) containing a door (23) attaching on one side. The door (23) can be opened for inspection and for cleaning the melting portion (6). The temperature regulating portion (3) contains a door (24) which can be opened for inspection and for cleaning of the temperature regulating portion (3).
The above components and structure of the conventional furnace have certain drawbacks since the molten material (1b) melted by a burner (9) can also flow into and mix with an oxide (21a) inside the temperature regulating portion (3) that is connected to the tilted surface (15). The molten material (1b) is then maintained at a defined temperature which is controlled by the burner (12) attaching to a ceiling lid (11). Since the molten material (1b) shall be kept under high temperature inside the temperature regulating portion (3), an oxidation reaction with the air inside the portion (3) can occur which can generate oxides (21b) that can form a cluster and grow in size inside the portion (3). Therefore, it is necessary for its users to constantly clean the temperature regulating portion (3) by opening the door (24). Nevertheless, as the cleaning process shall be conducted under high temperature, the total removal of oxides (21b) from the temperature regulating portion (3) is often a difficult and complicated task. In addition, the oxides (21b) that has not been removed and has been under high temperature for a long period of time may crystallize into corundum (Al2O3 or other forms of crystallized material, which are then intensely attached to the inner wall or surface of the furnace. The oxides (21b) as described is the root cause of the problems including, but not limited to, the shredding of said oxides (21b) from the inner furnace wall that falls into the molten material mixture, causing a hard spot in the casted or molded work and deteriorating the strength of the final product, accordingly. In addition, the oxides (21b) may grow on the inner wall of the temperature regulating portion (3), thereby, reducing the area inside the portion (3), altering or deteriorating an insulator (22) inside the temperature regulating portion (3), and subsequently, causing leakage of heat to the outside environment. To improve the quality of the product, it is therefore necessary that the furnace generates or emits the lowest amount of oxides (21b) during the production.
The problems caused by oxide accumulation as stated above had been anticipated by the U.S. Pat. No. 7,060,220 under the name "metal melting furnace" wherein the invention had intended to resolve the oxide accumulation issue by providing a separation wall between the inclined or tilted hearth linking from the melting portion to the temperature regulating portion. The separation wall creates a connecting passage that is in the level below the molten material inside the temperature regulating portion and the inclined hearth, and thereby, preventing metal oxides from flowing into the temperature regulating portion. However, said invention contains a molten metal processing portion which is less than half the size of the temperature regulating portion and has a floor level that is lower than said portion and the connecting passage which may increase complexity of the system due to the increase in number of furnace components. A Japanese patent JP2006071266 under the name "metal melting furnace" had also described a portion separator with additional heating plate within the melting portion. Reduction of oxide had also been anticipated by two other patent applications: one by a Japanese patent application JP2001272171A under the name "tower type aluminium melting and holding furnace" by increasing the temperature of melting portion and temperature regulating portion; another by a US patent application US20150042024 under the name "metal melting furnace" by utilizing a charging port, an upper air vent and a heating plate on the ground inside the melting portion, and a burner head is located on the side of the temperature regulating portion. The applications as suggest, however, had utilized a set of complex components which may not be suitable in some circumstances.
The above prior arts were intended to improve the components or structures of furnace or to provide the means to control the amount of gases or chemical processes in order to reduce the amount of iron oxide generation in the system. However, there is still lack of invention in the prior arts that has the capability to improve efficiency of the industrious, non-ferrous metal furnace, such as aluminium furnace, in eliminating oxide from furnace without introducing complex components such as heating plates, doors, or separators, in the furnace system.